Anarchy, Lightning Strikes and the San Siro

Are you in love with your child? Congratulations, that’s amazing. But let me change the question a little.

Are you in love with a child? Are you sure about this? Are you in love with a child that’s not yours, not genetically anyway?

A word to the wise for those that have given their hearts to the little men of this world, to the future stars of the game.

Youngsters are not normal. That sounds horrendous so let me paraphrase. Youngsters are full of energy, innocence and have not been conditioned by pecking orders, authority or anybody else pointing the finger.

Kids will fight tooth and nail for what they want. Their defiance is seen as a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia to most adults. My point is young children are a little crazy at times. They hear music that the rest of us don’t.

Have you ever tried to put a hyperactive four year old to bed? Have you tried to brush their teeth whilst trying to stop them from eating the toothpaste?

A young child wants what he wants, now. No doubt about it. But is this a bad thing? Demanding want you want makes perfect sense, don’t you think?

That’s why we must exercise patience. Youngsters are driven by forces they don’t understand and cannot control leaving us to walk the tight rope over a 1,000 frustrations and sighs.

Do we seek proximity to discipline and the need to control? Are we intoxicated by the power to produce robots with no emotions or character? Remember, wild horses will gallop, bulls will stampede and wolves will howl.

Kids will seek and destroy. Kids will fight authority. Kids will grit their teeth. Kids will punch the air in defiance and will never surrender. Makes you wonder why we stopped being kids. Have we surrendered to the status quo? Are we raising children that will inevitable add to the status quo?

Here’s a thought

Don’t look to change your child. Harness the mischief, the energy and direct it towards the soccer field. Harness the mo. For those that aren’t hip or tech savvy, mo is momentum.

Momentum is cumulative; it builds and increases with repetition. Instead of controlling your children let them run wild on the soccer pitch. Let them exhaust every ounce of energy they have and let them pursue soccer immortality.

Trying to control your child while watching the tube or drinking beer deserves the anarchy you’ll receive. It’s time for accountability, so grab your hats and wear them. A father, a friend, a coach, an anarchist and a plan to take over the world.

Start with passing, shooting, it doesn’t really matter, just START! Introduce the anarchist (your child) to sustained effort (training) and the soccer world awaits. Turn the beautiful game into a heroic challenge.

Your love and attention will create self-motivation and self-validation. Your child will direct his energy towards the game and will inevitable stop eating the toothpaste.

If we fast forward 10 years from now I can guarantee you “Mater Chef” is no more. Those fat food critics have become a suppressed memory that only surface through trauma or weird flashbacks.

The Year 2020

It’s 2020 and you’re 100 meters in the air. The smell of smoke irritates your nose but you don’t mind. The orange smoke clears and you remove your scarf from your face. As the 80,000 capacity sits down you catch a glimpse of your son looking at you as if to say, thank you for this life. A tear escapes your eye as you think of the hours you put into training and into the MO. The San Siro stadium is now your home.

Lightning Strikes

There’s usually a moment, isn’t there.

When something happens.

The lightning strikes and nothing is ever the same.

Well, this is you’re lightning bolt. Strip away your self doubt and self-delusions and kick the ball around with your child. I’m sure the fat food critics will be just fine without you.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”