Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: September 22, 2023 @ 4:47 am
I’m officially a “soccer mom.”
The internet tells me “soccer mom” usually implied married, middle-class, suburban woman with school-aged children who drives a minivan or SUV. Check, check, check. Guilty on all counts, unless you want to quibble that Manhattan isn’t a suburb.
I always expected to be a sports mom. But I think I see now why soccer is the sport that’s stuck as part of the popular phrase.
Soccer in Manhattan is serious business.
The local parks and rec department mostly doesn’t offer youth soccer, except for a four-week intro for 3- to 5-year-olds. In its place, private entities have stepped in to fill the void. You’ve got your Sporting Kaw Valley, and you’ve got your Puma FC, which recently became Manhattan Surf Soccer Club. For some ages, they have the recreational leagues and the club leagues. And maybe there’s even a separate level for “elite” or “premiere” players. I don’t remember, exactly; we’re not in that deep yet.
My kiddo joined the recreational league with Manhattan Surf. Guess how many kids they have signed up this spring? 821. Eight hundred and twenty-one.
When I pulled up to Annenberg Park for the first practice, I was blown away. It seemed like all 821 of those kids and their parents and siblings had all shown up at once. I mean, it looked like the whole city was there. People were running like ants all over the big green space at Annenberg, which had been spray-painted with white squares so each team had a designated practice space.
I was not quite prepared. Our practice space was 5W. They couldn’t just use numbers or letters, they had to use both. I pulled up the map on my email, turned it around to get oriented. It looked like a diagram of a whole residential development.
Parking was also shockingly bad. Cars were lined up to get into the lots. It wasn’t just soccer players; baseball and softball moms were also jockeying for limited spaces at the park.
We found a spot by the pond, which was a good hike from 5W. The kiddo and I lugged a 3-year-old, a folding chair, my purse, a ball, a water bottle and shoes.
Once there, it was about 30 minutes of pleasant chaos, while our amazing volunteer coaches — some parents with near saintly patience — tried to explain to eight preschool and kindergarten-aged players which goal was theirs. The kids picked flowers, they threw handfuls of grass, they rolled around on the ground. Some of them even kicked the ball.
And then, just as dramatically as we entered, practice for most of the teams ended, and there was an exodus as everyone tried to leave their hard-won parking spots at the same time.
Just crazy.
I don’t know how long my career as a soccer mom will be, but my son has loved it so far, and I enjoy watching him. So we’ll join the masses as long as he likes it. In the meantime, if you want a cold Capri Sun, I’m your girl.
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