Soccernomics

Just spent a hard day at youth soccer; those snack stand duties are never-ending. Guess it pales in comparison to the lousy days B1 and B2 had on the soccer field - both were on teams that lost badly, and both were goalies on the receiving end of the five goal rule. (This means that after the opposing team is more than five ahead, they have to stop scoring. Instead they pass the ball back and forth to each other in a mocking manner, while you, as goalie, are left to aimlessly ponder all those goals that sailed past you, landing you in this miserable state.)

Youth soccer around here is an elaborate behavior modification program, not just for the kids, but for the families as well. The newest twist this year is snack stand duty, a staple of little league (apparently) but new to those of us who only do soccer. So I'm out there first thing in the morning hawking overpriced root beer and Nerds candy to seven year olds (part of a balanced breakfast, I'm sure), so that our registration fees will only increase by five dollars next fall instead of ten. How about we all go home, feed our kids a frozen waffle or two, and save the money we would have spent on overpriced snacks for next fall's registration fees?

Kvetchy on the subject of fundraisers, because it is fundraising season at school as well. We give this one a miss, and just write a check directly to the PTA instead of buying overpriced candy and gift wrap. The kids don't quite understand why we pass this opportunity up, but they are resigned by now. SGH came up with a radical new fund-raiser idea: the adopt-an-elementary-student program. For the price of a Starbucks coffee a day, you can sponsor the education of an elementary student. You will receive a photo of your student, and weekly correspondence from your student. Periodically, you will be apprised of your student's academic progress. In fact, you will even be invited to meet with your student's teacher to discuss your student's unique situation.

Or maybe we'd all rather just do another jog-a-thon.