Did I ever tell you about the time that we took Liev to soccer class when he was two? Since his big sis had been taking classes at the same soccer school for a couple of years already and since he had come along with me to watch her, we figured that Liev would just fall right in, no problems.
Sean took him to his first class one cold Saturday in January. Mira and I met them afterward, and Sean looked half amused, half forlorn.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Oh, well, Liev wanted to be a dog the whole time. He didn’t want to do any of the drills.”
Already, I had to laugh. And so it went for the next couple of classes: Liev, the dog, sniffing around the bleachers and barking at the other children.
Finally, I asked Sean if Mira and I could come and try to help. He agreed. The other dads, whose kids were, of course, complying very nicely and doing everything Coach asked, were looking at Sean with a bit of incredulity. He was getting a complex, I think.
We showed up, and immediately Liev is down on the floor nipping at our feet, ruffing, panting, and doing, if I may say, a most excellent dog impression.
With everyone’s help, we got to work.
“Liev, here, boy! Doggie, let’s go play some soccer.”
Mira did the entire class with Liev, and Liev did the entire class, drills and all, as a puppy, down on all fours with his hands curled into his now-famous puppy paw.
I couldn’t stop laughing. Every time I looked at the dads on the bleachers looking at us all like we were out of our tree, another eruption of giggles began. Sean started laughing, too. Mira was definitely laughing- while she was serious as can be about her own soccer class, she was having a lot of fun playing dog owner and teaching her puppy how to dribble.
One person who was NOT laughing? The coach. He told us in an irritated tone that Mira could not come back to the class and that Liev needed to listen to him. Clearly, he was not a dog person!
Liev amazed me with his dramatic skills, his attention to detail, his focus, and his wildly creative mind. Personally? I thought that coach was rather silly.
Travel around a world of Sillies with Corner View, hosted by Francesca and this week’s theme by Heather:
jane - ian - joyce - francesca - kasia -isabelle - janis - kari - jgy - lise - cate -otli - dorte - ali- sunnymama- daan-ibb- kelleyn- ninja- theresa - cherry b - cole - lucylaine - skywriting- anna- rosamaría - tikjewit - juniper -valerie - mlle paradis- wander chow-don -flowtops - susanna- tania -kristin
21/09/2011 at 9:24 am Permalink
You or I mean Liev have me cracking up! My one friend’s daughter when she was younger thought she was a kitten. BTW she out grew it. A note to the not so silly coach/parents. When Liev is a well known comedian “no free tickets”.
21/09/2011 at 9:28 am Permalink
Silly coach, indeed! He needs some drills to learn to embrace Liev’s creative dog tendencies!
21/09/2011 at 10:30 am Permalink
hear, hear!
n♥
21/09/2011 at 10:49 am Permalink
Liev has the right idea – enjoy life and don’t take yourself too seriously. Sounds like the coach should not be working with children AND needs to develop a sense of humor!
21/09/2011 at 11:52 am Permalink
silly … no sense of humor at all that coach
21/09/2011 at 12:43 pm Permalink
What an interesting, fun, original child — I love kids with a strong character!
21/09/2011 at 2:32 pm Permalink
Oh that’s a sweet story.
:) I like very much. And the coach is really stupid. Children are children – thankfully – and act accordingly to do what they want. Very good.
21/09/2011 at 3:17 pm Permalink
cate!
I’ve been there . . . except I was the volunteer coach with the child (my child) who preferred to do a circus act in the field. it was a disaster. simply a disaster. i wish i could have stopped and enjoyed her silliness. in hindsight, she was simply fabulous. like liev. she was three.
REally. How silly of ME! What was I thinking?
D
21/09/2011 at 5:13 pm Permalink
Can only shake my head about this silly reaction of the coach, humourless person. What fun would it have been if all the other children turned into animals, too, and played a whole zoo alltogether?! Haha!
21/09/2011 at 7:15 pm Permalink
Too bad the coach could not enjoy a little silly.
22/09/2011 at 1:36 am Permalink
personally I think he had the right reaction to soccer
22/09/2011 at 8:14 am Permalink
A childrens coach without humor? Weird.
Nicki
22/09/2011 at 9:05 am Permalink
Great story, and the accompanying picture!
And a great portrait of a family who knows how to laugh together, the best way to be!!
Smiles and cheers:))
22/09/2011 at 10:40 am Permalink
Silly AND cute
23/09/2011 at 1:27 am Permalink
I love it. He would get along with my girls. They are very good at being dogs. They both get around on all fours and can move at quite a speed and of course can make all the puppy sounds. What a shame the coach has no imagination. May Liev enjoy his ‘puppyhood’. It will be over all too soon. Jacinta x
23/09/2011 at 7:59 am Permalink
ha ha ha, fabulous liev. I would have loved to see him.
then again, and not wanting to sound like a party popper, but coaching kids at the age of two? really? they’ll have enough time to be told what to do… again, that’s just me, being my own rebellious ninja self.