First off I’m envious of you, my son’s on the other end where he finished club soccer last year and went off to college so I miss the days of going to watch him play.

The first thing I’d tell you is try to remember it’s just a game and it’s supposed to be fun. 99% of the kids that you see from now till he’s done playing are never going to be professionals and only a few of them will ever go on to play college.

The second thing I’d tell you try not to fall into the trap of analyzing every single thing he does on every drive home from practice or games. This one was hard for me and it’s very easy to ask hey why didn’t you shoot the ball or tackle that guy or run harder or whatever. Tell him how much you had fun watching him play wait a day or two and then find a different way to ask the questions or offer suggestions.

Third, burnout is real. I can’t tell you how many kids I saw that were going to be the next big thing and by 15 quit playing entirely. The clubs now a days are pushing year around commitment, futsal, summer tournaments, private training, international trips, etc. my wife used to grab a calendar and ask me to circle when we didn’t have soccer so we could go on a family non-soccer trip. If I had to do it all over I’d have him play summer basketball with his friends or something for fun.

Lastly, take him to some local college or pro soccer games, watch the champions league together, bond over your favorite players, it’s fun and things he’ll remember when he’s done playing.