I vividly remember a feeling of sadness coming over me as I approached the end of a great book. I knew I would finish the final pages and have to put it away. I remember that feeling heavy, for lack of a better word.
I also remember finishing those books and crying. It owed me nothing, but soccer taught me so many life lessons, made me a better dad and provided a vehicle to build an amazing relationship with my little boy. He was kind enough to let me have a front-row seat for the entire journey.
I would guess he was five or six years old when we signed him up for Oxford Park Commission soccer. We have a photo of him all bundled up, wearing an Oklahoma City Thunder beanie, before a game out at what is now MTrade Park in Oxford. I remember him being very good. I remember his mom, Laura, urging him to let the other boys score, too. I remember his coach telling us he had some real natural soccer skills and that one day we should seek out a higher level of competition.
I suspect we were just doing that thing young parents do -- grinding through the days, getting ready for the next, failing to truly enjoy the moments. Club soccer eventually came to Oxford and we signed Carson up. He loved it immediately. He drank in the coaching, the drills and the development. At the time, he loved baseball and basketball more, but it was obvious soccer was his best sport. We had a soccer goal in our side yard, and he'd go outside and kick for hours at a time, and over time, he fell in love with the sport.
One thing I learned about Carson quickly was while he looked just like his mom and acted just like her off the pitch, when he was on it, he was definitely mine.
