Full Circle: A Family's Passion for Soccer
By Alison Edwards
Fourteen years ago, my little girl came home from a recreational soccer game and demanded that her dad, Giap, start coaching. I remember that day so clearly. Aly was adamant that Daddy start coaching and teach soccer to her friends. There was little choice but for her father to begin his coaching career.
It started with the Swarthmore Striking Bobcats with Aly on the team and, shortly after, our other daughter Julie joining. There were many days when Giap and the girls would just go out to kick the ball around. It was those times together that helped Aly and Julie develop into the wonderful soccer players that they are today. In addition, the passion and cultural love for the game was being passed on from generation to generation. I also remember when Giap and the girls starting taking our little boy out to begin teaching him about soccer. Soccer was flowing through the lifelines of the Edwards family.
A few years later, it was at Aly’s prompting, again, that her father took up yet another endeavor in coaching with the Spirit United Under-9 Girls team so that Aly could help coach. Aly helped her father by teaching the girls the fundamentals, strategies and, most importantly, instilling within them the passion for the game. She was learning how to become a complete coach just by watching and helping her dad.
Aly went on to play soccer at West Chester Univeristy. Aly was a recipient of the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Scholarship award. She learned more about the game and the art coaching while she was there. Her father and I knew all along that Aly would one day make a terrific coach. Aly’s ability to breakdown skills, teach these skills, and impart her tactical knowledge and passion for the game was always apparent.
A few weeks ago I watched my two soccer coaches come home from a team meeting. Aly had just introduced her father to a roomful of parents as her assistant coach for the Spirit United Bulldogs Under-14 Girls of Downingtown. Soccer had truly come full circle in this family. I was so proud of my two coaches!
From the Father’s Perspective
By Giap Edwards
I am so proud of what Aly has achieved. Soccer has taught her a lot about life. Watching her go through the youth soccer experience and now, 14 years later, coaching and passing on what she has learned to her players is gratifying for me both as a coach and as a proud father.
We need more female coaches for our girls’ teams. We tell our players, “play because you love the game.” It’s the same for Aly and myself. You coach because you love the game.
Looking back, there are many times I have asked myself, “Why are you still doing this?” The passion and the love for the game and a chance to pass this on to the players makes it worthwhile. And now to be able to learn from a young female coach is a bonus for me. The fact that this happens to come from my daughter makes it all the better.