This spring had a little bit of everything. Growth. New faces. New energy. Rainouts, muddy fields, all day Saturdays, and yes — still the Blue Jays. But we’ll get to them.
Spring season is never just a season. It’s a whole thing when you are a soccer mom. Two kids. Two teams. Two very different sideline experiences. And when it’s over, you feel it. Tired. The kind of tired that means it mattered.
Season’s over. Here’s how it went.
Aliah’s Team: They Dominate. Every Season. Full Stop.
Aliah’s team doesn’t just compete — they dominate. That’s not a brag, that’s just the record. Every season they show up and handle business, and this spring was no different.
They don’t officially keep standings at her age, but let’s not pretend we don’t all know exactly where her team finishes. First. Obviously. And these little turtles play hard. Every single game, rain or shine. And we had plenty of both this spring.
Aliah brings her own brand of dominance to the field. Built for speed, that girl is something to watch. Track is calling her name — and I told her the soccer field is her practice ground. Consistently the fastest player out there, at her height it only takes a few strides to cover distance most kids can’t close. Long, fast, and she uses every bit of it.
Two of her teammates caught my eye this season in particular. One of them — I’ll just say it — I am actively trying to see how to get her on with the Cobras. She has the instinct, physicality, and footwork to fit right in with our guys. The other one has throw-ins that are honestly more accurate than half my boys. And that is not a slight, it is truth.
Next fall Aliah’s team moves up to the bigger field — 7v7 with an official goalie. A new level. I can’t wait to see her/them.
Now. My role on that sideline? Strictly mom. Aliah makes that very clear. I’m too loud. Too much. And embarrassing, apparently. Doing my job if you ask me. Nonetheless, I sit, I cheer, and I try my best to stay in my lane. But honestly. I love being her mom on that sideline. No strategy. No plays to call. Just pride.
The Cobras: 7-3. Second Place. Our Best Season Yet.
Now let’s talk about my team.
Seven seasons. Seven springs and falls of rain delays, muddy fields, untied cleats, and boys who absolutely did not hear me the first time I said anything. Seven seasons of watching these kids grow from barely knowing which goal was theirs into actual soccer players who fight for every ball.
This spring the Cobras finished 7-3 and took second place. Our best standing yet. I will not minimize that. We earned every single one of those wins.
The three losses? All to the Blue Jays. Twice in the regular season, and once in the championship game.
I will not pretend that doesn’t sting. It stings. But the Blue Jays have my full respect and my full competitive energy, and I fully intend to be on the other side of that scoreboard one day. We are not done.
Oliver “The Bulldozer” and the Energy Shift
This season we welcomed a new player to the strike. Oliver.
One game. That’s all it took. I watched him play one game, against the Blue Jays, and the nickname came immediately: The Bulldozer. A force as a defender. He does not move out of the way. He moves through things. It fits, and it’s sticking.
But Oliver didn’t just bring his game. He brought his dad.
Coach Poku: The Voice This Team Needed
There are moments in coaching when you realize that a voice that isn’t yours might reach the kids better. Not because you failed, but because sometimes a different frequency gets through. That’s Coach Poku.
He grew up playing soccer. He also played American football. When he talks, these boys listen. His knowledge is deep, his energy is exactly right for this group, and he brought it every single practice and game.
Arrington connected with him. Arrington is his father’s son in trust and loyalty. If Dad gives his stamp of approval, that settles it. And his dad, the coach, said yes. Done deal. Dad approved.
I have said before that I hoped to take a backseat role and let someone else lead this team. It hasn’t fully happened yet, but this season made me believe it actually will. The boys trust him. They respond to him.
Come fall, I am ready to hand him the wheel. I’ll still be there. I will always be there. But there is something powerful about building something and then trusting the right person to take it further.
What’s Next: The 9v9 Era
Fall brings changes for the Cobras too. We move to the bigger field—9v9. More space, more players, more strategy, more everything.
I hope every single one of our guys comes back. These boys have been with me through rain, through losses, literally through the mud. Some of them since the very beginning. I want them all back.
And I am genuinely excited to see who else joins the strike. (We’re Cobras. Get it.)
Seven Seasons In
I have been their coach since spring 2023. Seven seasons in. This team has come a long way. We still have a long way to go. That is not a complaint. That is the whole point.
As a youth soccer mom, I didn’t expect coaching to become this. This much of my identity. This much of my heart. But here we are, seven seasons deep, moving to a bigger field, and I wouldn’t change a single muddy Saturday.
One chapter closed. A bigger field ahead.
It take a village to raise a team. Coach Poku, Uncle Carl, the parents, the kids who show up every week.
See you on the bigger field.
BTW: “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” – African Proverb
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