Lynda Loveland: Soccer mom etiquette

It’s happened. I’ve become a soccer mom, minus the van. My two oldest, ages 5 and 7, are both playing. We have soccer practice twice a week and two games Saturday morning. I know this is probably a light schedule compared to most of you.

Now that I’ve finally figured out the proper order of shin pads and socks, I’m trying to figure out the proper game time etiquette. I played team sports throughout high school and some college, so I’ve always been vocal during games. Not the negative kind of vocal, the positive kind.

So there I was, sitting beside the field, watching Campbell play while my son Caiden sat beside me playing with his superheroes. When the game started, I started yelling. Things like, "great teamwork," "nice pass," "good hustle." I’m an equal opportunity cheerer. I do it for all the kids. But no sooner had I said, "great shot," when my son looked at me with astonishment and said, “Mom, what are you doing? Why are you yelling?” I explained that I was just cheering on the team. He responded with, “You’re too loud!”

After that I decided to observe. I noticed that I was in the minority. Not many parents yelled. Of course they would after a goal, but not much during the game. I tried to restrain myself but I just couldn’t. It kinda just comes out. I don’t know, maybe I should just kinda keep it in…