Stephanie Landis (00:06):

Hello and welcome to UN Babbled, a podcast that navigates the world of special education, communication, delays and learning differences. We are your host, Stephanie Landis and Meredith Crum, and we’re certified speech language pathologist who spend our days at the parish school in Houston helping children find their voices and connect with the world around them. Hey, this is Stephanie jumping in really quickly to tell you about our sponsors soccer shots. Houston, the Parish School has been lucky enough to have a group of students participate in soccer shots right here on our campus for the past couple of years, and it has been an amazing way for our students to be a part of a team. Soccer shots began programming in Houston in 2009 with a goal of positively impacting children’s lives and supporting their learning of their favorite game soccer. Their program was formed under the guidance of childhood education specialist, professional soccer players, and experienced and licensed soccer coaches. They use a developmentally appropriate curriculum that meets children where they are, and the coaches place an emphasis on character development and skill building. The coaches use words like respect, confidence, and determination in their weekly classes. To learn more about soccer shots, visit their website@www.soccer shots.com, back slash Houston. Again, that’s www soccer shots.com/houston.

(01:25):

In this episode, we chat with the executive director of soccer shots Houston Wade Barrett, about inclusivity in sports and how soccer shots is leading the way. Wade is a former professional soccer player. He spent 12 years playing for various clubs, including the Houston Dynamo, and is represented the men’s national team on the pitch. He then spent seven years coaching for the Dynamo. Most recently as the head coach, Wade joined the soccer shots team as a coach and executive director to share his passion for personal growth and soccer with children. Throughout the episode, Wade discusses soccer shop’s unique approach to teaching soccer skills to children by focusing on developmentally appropriate lessons, character development, and through specialized trainings for coaches. He also explains why he is so passionate about their programming and the joy of watching his own children thrive in soccer shots. We know not all children will love soccer, so Wade gives parents advice on how to advocate for your child and other programs and tips for what parents of Neurodiverse children can look for when searching for a sport or activity for their child. Welcome. Today’s guest is Wade Barrett from Soccer Shots Houston. We’re excited to talk to him about kids sports and soccer. So welcome, welcome, Wade.

Wade Barrett (02:38):

Thank you so much for having me.

Stephanie Landis (02:40):

We’re excited to have you here. Meredith and I’s children have both done soccer shots. I have loved watching soccer shots be here on the parish school’s campus and work with our students of various ages, so we are really excited to get to know more about the program and more about you.

Wade Barrett (02:57):

Well, I’m excited to be here too, and we have that in common because I am a former soccer shots parent. Um, my kids participated for like many years and they, they are 11 years old, so they’ve aged outta the program, but we at least have that in common.

Stephanie Landis (03:12):

So for you, what makes soccer shots really unique?

Wade Barrett (03:16):

Um, great question. Um, I, I, I really love soccer shots, number one, because I came to soccer shots as a former soccer shots parent. Um, my kids were initially involved in, um, the Y M C A program, which was a parent led program. Um, and I can only speak from my own experience that it’s a parent led program. Um, the parent that had volunteered to kind of take that team kept not being able to be there, um, at that particular time. So my wife and I ran some sessions, um, and here I am with, I have lots of soccer background and my wife is excellent with children, and the practices were a total mess <laugh>. So I just don’t know that we were familiar with what it was like to be with a group of three-year-olds. Um, and over time we kind of thought there, there, this has been great.

(04:01):

The community was really great to be a part of. Um, but we thought there must be something else out there. And we found soccer shots. Um, and kind of right away we just saw that my daughter loved the fun imaginative language, um, that we have in our program because it, it is developmentally appropriate. It’s built for children at those specific ages. Um, they learn through creativity and imagination, and that’s what our classes teach at that time. So my daughter loved, um, loved all the games that we played. She was the one in her tutu and tiara, um, playing out there on, so in soccer shots, but just like loving every aspect of the social aspect of what we do. Um, and then the fun imaginative games. Um, she, she was there. I’d say the scrim was probably her least favorite part because that’s the thing that looks the most look like real soccer.

(04:48):

Um, my son on the other hand, didn’t know that anyone else was in the class. All he had was a relationship with the soccer ball and he was the child, like the second the ball went out of bounds, he was looking for the next ball to come in. Um, so I mean, I, I came to soccer shots because it’s developmentally appropriate. I could see that my son and my daughter both benefited from their time there and for completely different reasons. Um, but because it met my son’s needs and it met my daughter’s needs, I thought this is, this is a program that makes a lot of sense.

Meredith Krimmel (05:15):

Okay. What are the ages of your program? What ages do you serve at soccer

Wade Barrett (05:19):

Shots? Yeah, so we go from age two up to age eight. Um, in the public programs it’s two to seven, so we have a little bit, um, smaller age range in that last section of curriculum. Um, but there are three different curriculum in that, um, range. So we have a mini curriculum, which is for ages two to three. We have a classic curriculum, which is ages three to five, and then a premier curriculum for ages five to seven. Um, and again, they’re all developmentally appropriate for those kids. Um, I think a lot of folks, um, we might be their first introduction to a sport because we do have programming for kids that are two years old. Um, that is the program that I’m just like really inspired by because you see so much growth from the beginning of the season till the end. It’s really fun to watch.

Meredith Krimmel (06:01):

Yeah, my son started in soccer shots when he was two or three. That was his first experience. And what I loved was, um, at the end of every, um, semester you would get your report card and it was all so positive, focused. Um, it was all about the great things he was doing, and the notes that the coaches would make were so specific that he, they felt like they really knew him, um, knew my child and, um, that was something I really loved about your program.

Wade Barrett (06:25):

Yeah, I mean, it’s, it is a lot for those coaches because on the balance, they are coaching lots of children. Um, and the one thing that’s a little bit different than in an educational environment is that we have those kids one time a week in that mini curriculum, it’s only 30 minutes. So, um, whereas a teacher might have a child for, you know, five days in a row or three days in a row if they’re in a three day program, um, you know, by the time we’re seeing that child for the fifth time, it’s the fifth week of the season. So, um, it’s a short period of time to get to know those kids. But every child is a little bit different. The coaches remember, I mean, they know those kids’ names after the first week. Um, and you start understanding what that child needs from the curriculum and you’ll see the things that they excel at.

(07:08):

Um, so I, I do think it’s really fun over the course of a season for our coaches to get to know those kids, um, to celebrate the things that they’ve, um, that they’ve accomplished over the course of a season. And that growth does not look the same for every single child, for, especially in that mini program that might be that that child by the eighth week of the curriculum is staying on soccer island, and it might be that they mastered a skill or they played in all the games. Um, the growth doesn’t look the same. And I think that’s one thing I want us to continue to, to continue to pay attention to is making sure, um, kind of parents are along with us on that ride and knowing what growth for their child looks like over the course of a season.

Stephanie Landis (07:51):

Yeah, that was definitely what was important with, with my daughter. She is always been very anxious and she loved soccer, but was also anxious, and the coach just jumped right in with being like, all right. And she became like the helper and she would hold the coach’s hand while they were doing drills and activities. And growth for my daughter looked like going from like being a mini coach to like actually participating and having that. And I could tell that a lot of training went into that to get a coach to be okay with being like, yeah, this is what this child needs. Instead of like, no, this is what our program does and you have to learn these skills and the way you learn is by following these directions. They were just so flexible. That’s a long-winded way for me to say what kind of training do you provide coaches because it’s evident that it’s different from a lot of different programs for sports that are out there.

Wade Barrett (08:50):

Sure. Um, yeah, this gets back to your first question about kind of what differentiates us <laugh>. So, um, I, I do think the, you’re exactly right. Number one, we have to, we have to look for people that are passionate about positively impacting children’s lives. So if you are not passionate about working with our age group, um, you’re just not gonna be a good fit. So again, we, we do advertise that we are a soccer program. Um, we try to make sure, um, anyone that’s looking at us understands that we are a soccer program, but we work with those children in that in the youngest ages. Um, I heard this as my kids were entering middle school and, um, the administration at the school was talking about that there’s nobody on that staff that doesn’t love working with this particular age group, cuz middle school can be a big challenge.

(09:37):

Working with a group of two year olds and three-year-olds and four year olds is the same thing. So if those coaches have soccer background or they’re passionate about soccer, but they’re not passionate about working with our age group, it’s just not a good fit. So that’s number one is that we look for people that are passionate about positively impacting children’s lives, making sure they understand that it’s this age group that we’re working with and what that really looks like. So the one thing we do is we put that candidate on the field with a group of three year olds under our supervision at one of our, you know, childcare center locations. And we see how they do and we know that that is not gonna be a perfect demonstration. They are trying to model what our, um, either coaching coordinator at what, what someone has just said an example of what it can look like, but we know that they’re attempted, that is not gonna be perfect.

(10:20):

But we’re looking at does it look like they can get down on that child’s level? Do they understand that they need to be right down in front of those children at eye level, connecting with those kids, um, having a positive attitude, laughing through issues that might come up on soccer island, keeping all of those kids safe. Um, so that’s the first thing is we, we look for people that we, we see great potential in what they can provide. Um, and then the coaching part, there’s lots that goes to that. And I would say, I think one of the best things that we have put into place as a coaching apprenticeship, so we have a four week apprenticeship. Um, when a new coach gets hired with soccer shots, they get put with what we call a captain. A captain. We have four captains on the team right now.

(11:00):

They are the most experienced, the ones that have been with us for a really long time. They are passionate about positively impacting children’s lives. And they are the ones that have all these tools in their pocket to help meet those children where they are developmentally and run the class successfully. Because we’re looking for multiple things. We’re looking for safety in the class and the kids feeling safe in their environment because we know that’s when they’re gonna learn the best. Um, we want them to have fun. We do want them to like learn some soccer skills. So we have to have that, that aspect also. So these captains take these apprentices through the four weeks. They go from what we call, um, unconsciously incompetent. They don’t even really know what they don’t know <laugh>. So we’re teaching them lots along the way, but we do put them with these kids through that four weeks until they are eventually, we probably don’t get all the way there, but we say unconsciously competent, where they don’t even really have to think about it.

(11:50):

They just, they know the curriculum, they know how to implement and they have tools in their pocket when anything comes up on soccer Island for them to help direct that child in a positive way. Um, we just did a training here with, um, Amy Luman and the Speakers bureau about positive language strategy. So on top of the Apprenticeship Square, we are looking for ongoing learning opportunities for our coaches. Um, the book, uh, no, uh, no Bad Kids by, um, Janet Lansbury Berry. Yes. Love her. Um, that’s popular reading with our coaching staff. Um, we’re always looking for those ways of like positive discipline. Um, again, meeting children where they are developmentally because as we learned through that book and as we learn through the, um, learning with Amy, there’s so many different ways that children are experiencing the world around them. And our coaches, they only have 30 or 45 minutes to kind of understand where they need to meet those kids. So there’s a lot that goes into that, but we see the most success in the program and we see kids that thrive and do well. Um, when we pay attention to those aspects of it. It’s not about soccer at that point, it’s about meeting those kids where they are and trying to provide a growth experience.

Meredith Krimmel (12:59):

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It, it’s not really about soccer at first. It sounds like it’s about child development at first, and then soccer gets layered on top of that.

Wade Barrett (13:07):

Yeah. Our vision is to positively impact children’s lives. We want to be every child’s favorite day. Doesn’t say anything in that about soccer. We just happen to all be soccer people. That’s what we love and that’s the way we want to implement that vision. But the vision doesn’t say anything about soccer.

Meredith Krimmel (13:23):

Love that.

Stephanie Landis (13:24):

And soccer shots is a national organization. Do they all do the same curriculum?

Wade Barrett (13:28):

Yes. So it’s a franchise business. Um, our owner is a gentleman named Alex Woods. Um, he, he lives every core, every core value that we have. Um, he brought the business here in 2009, um, started with there were around 10 schools and he put, you know, hundreds of thousands of miles on his, um, Prius driving. And, um, he did everything. He, he coached the classes, he marketed the classes, he helped grow the program. So yes, it is a franchise. Um, we do run the same curriculum. It’s at least offered to the franchise community on a seasonal basis. They have people that are evaluating that curriculum. Again, that is run through early childhood education specialists. It’s run through, um, professional soccer players, um, people that have that background so that we are delivering curriculum that meets those children where they are and we want them to improve their soccer skills. Um, again, the end result is not for these kids to become professional soccer players. The end result is for the kids to have fun and to learn and to grow and to like love that social interaction and the activity that they get from a team sport.

Meredith Krimmel (14:31):

I can speak to that as a parent. My son, as I mentioned, started soccer shots at two or three at one location, at a daycare that he was attending. And we, we switched locations, we moved daycares, picked up soccer shots at a new school, and in the spring of that year, he did soccer shots again. And on his coach’s note, the coach wrote, I remember Owen from, and he mentioned our old school. So I just thought, gosh, I don’t know how many kids this, this person coaches, but he remembered my child at a different location. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it felt really personal and, um, like your coaches really care about the kids more than anything. Yeah,

Wade Barrett (15:05):

I would say, I mean, some of our coaches’ meetings for some of the most fun experiences when you just have a coach like share an experience about, you know, something that like really had an impact on them in that season or on that day, whatever it might be. Um, we try not to always talk about work when we’re at lunch <laugh>, but it’s just really fun to listen to people talk about how they’ve been impacted by the kids in the program. So, and I would say the coaches that really stick with us and that, um, have become, you know, foundational members of soccer shots are the ones that, um, they are delivering a wonderful experience to those kids, but they’re benefiting in their own way because it is like so rewarding. Um, I mean, we talk about with our new candidates about how difficult the job is and, uh, you guys ought to check the job post.

(15:50):

It’s really fun. Um, we talk about everything that it takes and it, it takes commitment and it takes hard work and it takes being on time every day, and it takes carrying heavy equipment bags. I mean, we’re a soccer program, that’s what we do, takes sweating through your clothes every day, um, and then like what you get, uh, this is like the opportunity to talk about all the things we give them. And the first thing we say is, well, what you get, you get amp bites and you get, like, you get a cold or a runny nose because you’re constantly around kids. Um, you get dirt in your car. Like those are all the things that you get, but you also get the potential for a life-changing experience by just being around these kids. Kids are so, um, they’re just so inspiring to be around. Um, there’s lots that they can teach us if we’ll listen.

Meredith Krimmel (16:35):

Yeah, I think we definitely feel that here.

Stephanie Landis (16:38):

Yeah. On our campus, we have a lot of children who have motor difficulties on top of maybe some attention or just language where’re following multiple step directions is difficult for them. One of the things that I’ve noticed and really appreciate for soccer shots is that the coaches will slow down and kind of take it on their level and the kids still get to feel like they’re a part of a team. Do you guys have any training on working with children that might have motor difficulties? Is that part of it as well? Or are your coaches just kind of naturally

Wade Barrett (17:19):

Adaptive? <laugh>? Um, well, again, I, we look for those learning opportunities. So any, any opportunity we have, we set something up again with, um, with Amy. This was prior to Covid, um, just for those additional learning opportunities, which really is implementing those positive discipline tools, understanding what, um, what children’s brains are like when they are two years old and three years old. Um, I mean, we talk to our coaches about a two-year-old likely has 50 words and their vocabulary. If we, we are being wordy in the way we are explaining something, or if we’re taking longer than 30 seconds to transition from one thing to the next. For example, if the coach is, um, speaking to the children about what the next thing in the curriculum is, and then they go set the cones down so that next thing is ready, well, that’s probably taken a minute or a minute in 15 seconds.

(18:09):

But if they are actively speaking with the children in simple words, they’re visually showing a child when they say the word cone and they have the word, they have the cone in their hand, they’re making that connection and they’re doing all those things, then it only takes 30 seconds to explain the next game and to have it all set up so the kids are ready to go. Um, so we, we do put a lot of attention into making sure our coaches know what those developmental stages look like, um, in two-year olds, three-year-olds, four-year-olds, um, and then just modeling, like making sure that we are modeling our behavior because, um, even even children that might have some type of communicative delay, um, or any other, anything else that if they’ve said what we’re doing, if they’ve modeled what we’re doing, if they’re kind of working on the pace of how they’re delivering that, then we have the best chance for success.

(18:59):

And believe me, we, we are not a finished prog product. We are, we are a work in progress on all of those things, but we understand that we have to know how to meet these kids where they are, and that there’s a lot that goes into that and that we don’t have all the answers. So that, that’s why every season we wanna look for an opportunity for our coaches to like learn just a little bit more. Um, those things that we took from this last training with Amy on the positive language strategies, um, there were some big takeaways, which are tough for us to implement every single one of those things, but there were four or five things that it was like, can we right away start putting this into what we’re doing? What’s great is that we do have the captains that once we kind of get that into the captains, um, they are then putting that into every new coach that we bring on board.

Meredith Krimmel (19:41):

Sounds like it’s hard to compete with soccer shots, but there are many of us who have children who are aging out of your program. <laugh>. Do you guys, um, have any recommendations or, um, tips for finding the next program? I mean, whether it’s soccer or any sort of sports pro program, what our parents should be looking for in a good curriculum or a good, um, sports program for eight and above kids?

Wade Barrett (20:03):

Sure. Um, I mean, a as you all know, the answer to this is, um, it’s wide ranging <laugh>. So I’d say what, um, every family you might be looking for something different. Um, some of the primary things that we would recommend keeping in mind, number one is proximity. There’s, there’s lots of opportunity for your kids to turn professional later in life. Um, and so I think proximity matters, um, just with the parent’s capacity on what they, what they can do during a week, um, developmentally, um, I think it’s really tough to put a six-year-old or a five-year-old into a program where there’s three practices a week plus games on the, the weekend. Um, I think healthy attitude for children is, it’s great for these kids to experiment with different things. Um, if you’ve got, you know, soccer three times a week plus games on the weekend, there’s not a, not a lot of time for them to just be a kid in the afternoon to play with siblings or with friends to be at the park.

(21:03):

Um, so I would just always recommend a little caution into jumping in, into anything so serious. Um, if your child is passionate about it and you just see joy in them when they’re out playing, there’s lots of great programs out there. Again, I’d always just, um, ask for parents to pay attention to the interactions that you see with, um, with whatever club or whatever organization that might be. Um, again, there’s lots of opportunity for this to get real serious, real quick. Um, so that’s just one thing I always want people to keep in mind. Number one, proximity can, can you, um, get your child around all these things that they need to be at? And just the level of meeting those kids where they are, which again, at the six and seven year old, they don’t need to be playing professional sports.

Stephanie Landis (21:47):

No, I think that’s one of the hardest things. Um, my daughter loves softball. She’s gotten into softball and yeah, it’s, it was a big eye-opener for me, um, other than like gymnastics and we went to a very relaxed gymnastics place that was incredibly encouraging and welcoming to switch from soccer shots and that experience to our softball experience, it is eye-opening about how different it can be when you have different coaches, whether they are kind of like authoritarian and like punitive in nature or whether they use the positive supports and like really develop a love of the game. And we have found a coach that just is very positive. I mean, she wants to be competitive, but she’s like, you know what? I know that I have to build them up positively to get them there. And my daughter has been like, I don’t wanna play for any other coach. So I’m just so appreciative of, you know, you guys building a love of sport at a young age with them having that positive forced experience.

Wade Barrett (22:53):

Yeah, I think one, one thing that is really important is making sure, um, I just think the expectation, we just need to make sure that we are clear with expectations. And again, I’m, that that might be the right step for a child is to move into something that’s competitive. Maybe they’re ready for that next step. Um, and that’s certainly, there’s no problem with that. Um, I think it’s important to just be clear about what, what type of program are you running? And you can’t be all things to all people. So all I can speak to is soccer shots. At soccer shots. We are not a competitive program. If you were looking for, you know, that multiple practices a week and want your child to be playing in games on the weekend where like you’re keeping track of the score and you’re celebrating wins, and I’m, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that.

(23:35):

I did. That’s not what we do. So we don’t try to be everything to everyone and we’re happy to tell someone, it just doesn’t sound like we are the right program for you. And I think, um, you know, when you’re moving on to the next thing, it’s just really maybe asking those questions. What is the, what are you looking for? Um, is this, do you want these kids to be competitive or are we trying to get them ready for the next level? Um, is this a developmental pathway where we’re trying to push them into the next thing? Or is this, this is meant to be fun? Um, we want the kids to just learn and have a great time and hope that they come back next, next, um, next season. We’re also okay if they miss a practice because they have, um, an art project or they have something else that’s going on, or does my child need to attend every single week for them to be able to play in the games on the weekend? Um, I guess I just recommend for parents to kind of ask those questions into whatever the program is not saying right or wrong on any of those things other than to say, just ask the question about what you could expect from that level, the level of kind of competitiveness and what you’re looking for. Um, asking those questions up front could save a little heartache down the line.

Stephanie Landis (24:37):

<laugh> agreed. And don’t worry, I am a highly competitive person. Meredith is laughing because she knows me well. I just think that sometimes there’s a time and a place for <laugh>, it’s tough for the competitiveness. So if you are competitive at a young age, that’s great too. I just, I, I I just think there’s also ways to be competitive and supportive.

Meredith Krimmel (24:56):

Well, and I love the advice about listening to your child too, because you might be a competitive parent, but if your child doesn’t want the competitive nature of the sport yet and they just want the fun team building part of it, then it’s important to listen to

Wade Barrett (25:09):

It’s, and it’s really hard to know, especially, um, I don’t know. Yeah, it’s, it’s really difficult to know exactly what the right, what the right thing is. Um, and if that is, if that’s your competitiveness coming out and that’s impacting your child or if it’s your child, it just has that in them. Um, I, it was the podcast you guys had last week that was kind of talking about just taking a second to, um, think about maybe what’s happening and what your response would be as a parent to a situation, um, that was from, um, Greg Santucci talking about just kind of taking that moment first. Um, maybe that’s a good thing for us all to keep in mind,

Stephanie Landis (25:48):

<laugh>. Yeah. You know, so many times on our podcast it comes back to parents and the parents’ response <laugh>. Yeah. It’ll sink in for me one day. It’ll sink in. Yeah.

Wade Barrett (25:58):

We’re all like, again, we’re all, we’re all learning. That’s why, that’s why it’s been so much fun to listen to the last couple of podcasts because I’m, I’m not a finished product as a parent and it’s just fun to listen to these, um, different experts kind of talk about strategies.

Meredith Krimmel (26:11):

Yeah, I was just talking with my husband the other day about this. When you think about adults as just grown up kids, you know, it just changes your perspective of the situation. We’re all still learning and working on different things, um, and trying to take that moment to figure out what’s me and what’s my child and what’s my influence on my child. Um, we’re all working on that I think.

Wade Barrett (26:31):

Sure. Well, I mean, we, that does not stop in our program. We have, we have, you know, talked about the 7,500 kids in the program. We also have 57 employees that are working for soccer shots, and that’s a big team. And we always talk about kind of having the right people that live our core values and those things are, they have to be there in every single employee. Um, and then having the right seats for those people, putting them into places where they are gonna be in their unique ability where it’s like 70% of those job responsibilities they just love and it gives them energy and maybe they can handle the 30% that, you know, maybe they don’t love. Or is it a learned behavior because the u the 70% is there and then that’s putting them in the right seat. Um, we say oftentimes the issues in the company are, they start with people so it doesn’t stop. It doesn’t stop when you get to <laugh> right. To adulthood or running a small business.

Stephanie Landis (27:24):

Going back to as children transition, some of our students aren’t as interested in soccer or they might be also aging out for parents who are looking for other programs other than asking like, what is your goal? Are there any tips? We really wanna empower our parents to be able to be advocates for their kids. On your end, having come from both a parent and a coach, do you have any advice on parents of ways that they can approach coaches in a positive way to maybe give details on the best way to work with their child? Do you like having information on like, Hey, my child might have a language disorder or ADHD or motor difficulties? Is that helpful?

Wade Barrett (28:07):

Yeah, um, I mean, it, it obviously is every bit of information that we have about that child is gonna help us. Um, I would say again, because we are not with those children every day of the week, we have those children for, you know, a season, our longest season, um, in the school programs, we run a longer season, but typically our parks are eight or nine weeks. We do run a 12 week fall. So let’s say we have those kids for 12 weeks, but it’s just one time a week. Um, if there’s anything that, you know, a parent might be seeing or something that they can relay to us that we can implement, um, to help that child have success. Um, I would say particularly over this period of time when, you know, the program was kind of shut down during covid and reintroducing the program back in the fall of 2020, we had a really small park program, but we were running in public parks.

(28:54):

Um, it was so difficult for children to know what was, we talk about children need to feel safe in their environment to really learn. And that was such a difficult transition because these kids didn’t totally know what was safe and what wasn’t on a daily basis. None of us knew what was safe and what wasn’t. Um, so at that period of time we saw lots of different things on soccer island and there were just lots of challenges to running the program because, um, that reintroduction was really difficult. Um, and I can just think of some personal examples of a parent sharing a little bit of information about that child, um, that helped try to get that child onto soccer island and then ended up having, you know, one of the best experiences that I’ve seen. And that was really rewarding. And I think some of that came from just conversation with parents about, um, what, what I could do to get that child more engaged, um, what she was gonna do about continuing to come on a weekly basis. We wanted that to be consistent. Um, and just through that conversation and kind of through that, um, pro like progression, um, that child ended up having a, you know, a positive experience, um, at a time when they really needed one.

Stephanie Landis (30:02):

Yeah. And how great that the parent felt comfortable and empowered to be able to, to bring their child’s needs up and kind of have a partnership.

Wade Barrett (30:10):

Sure. I mean, when we talk about that at our mini program in particular, because so often over those first couple weeks of the season, it looks messy. It, it just does. Um, a lot of those kids are not comfortable coming away from mom or dad. It might be their first experience in a group with another authority figure because they’re two years old, they might not have done something else. Um, separating from that mom or dad’s leg or their shadow or caregiver is really difficult. Um, so a lot of times it’s just conversation with that parent. Should they continue to come to the classes and attempt to try to get their child on soccer island, getting that little bit of independence that we see grow in those kids over that period of time, or is it the right decision to just wait and decide, you know, what, we’ve come for three weeks in a row.

(30:55):

It has kind of been a battle to get out the door and to get my child to come participate. Um, at this point I think we’ll probably just hold off. And in that case that’s great because we do get to have that conversation with the parent and we can either direct, we can say, you know what? We’ve seen some progress in your child. They’ve gotten a little bit closer. Like, I was able to, I was able to get them involved in the skill portion of the curriculum last week. So I see progress. We’d recommend, you know, come next week and let’s see how it goes. Let’s see if we can get your child to take one step closer. Maybe they do this goal portion and then they also do the goal scoring. Um, or they can say, you know what? I, I think you’re right. It might be a little bit too early. Um, in that case, we’ll refund that family for the rest of the season and recommend that they come back to us at a time when they feel like their child is ready. Um, we can, we can always try to make those decisions on our own, but any information we have from the parent helps.

Meredith Krimmel (31:43):

Yeah. I love how individualized and how collaborative your your program is for parents and families.

Wade Barrett (31:49):

Well, I, like I said, work in progress. I, I, I do, I think we can continue to try to talk to parents about what they can expect from the class and that they will likely be participating alongside their child. Now if they’ve been with us for a season, it’s likely that they won’t have to do that. They might be, they might show up to that two to three year old class and they set their chair down on the side and they are on the sideline for the whole period of time. Um, but it’s also fair for another parent to expect they would probably need to wear their running shoes and be ready to sweat right alongside their child. For the summer season,

Stephanie Landis (32:22):

I’m having flashbacks to my sure two year old <laugh> in, in Houston in the summer. And even though we tried to pick like the 9:00 AM class, so it wouldn’t be as hot, but I got to be right out there on soccer island. But it was a lot of fun. I, I enjoyed it.

Wade Barrett (32:37):

Well, I hope you, I hope you learned the pullback and the step over. Yes. Okay, that’s great.

Stephanie Landis (32:41):

Very good. <laugh>, I can also do cheetah speed and turtle speed

Wade Barrett (32:44):

And good, you know how to wear your turtle backpack. That’s

Stephanie Landis (32:47):

Great. And I’m very good at pretending to be an airplane <laugh>.

Meredith Krimmel (32:50):

I really missed out by doing the school program and not the park program. I know nothing about soccer

Stephanie Landis (32:55):

<laugh>.

Wade Barrett (32:55):

Well, I mean that, that is a, it’s a great asset to a lot of families to have their child participate with children right there that they’re familiar with. They’re comfortable in the school and parents’ schedules. We know that a lot of folks have difficulty navigating the city in the afternoon to get to a part class. Um, in other cases, if they do have the capacity, it is great because you get to see all those little wins along the way, um, that are sometimes difficult. It’s difficult for, for our coaches. We, they coach lots of kids, so we can’t share every moment that a child has a little breakthrough or, um, and when you’re, when you get to watch the class, you see all those little things along the way. Um, so yeah, that’s, I I hope the program can be great. I hope our communication can be excellent to parents that don’t get to see the classes, um, because again, the capacity is stretched, but it is really fun to watch your child and see those little moments when, you know, they, they do something that they didn’t think they were capable of, or they, they do a skill that they hadn’t been able to do before.

Stephanie Landis (33:53):

One of the things that we haven’t touched on that I really appreciated is that it seems like one of your core values goes beyond just teaching the skills to also teaching character development. And I think that goes really hand in hand with a lot of the social aspects that we’re working on here at like Parish and why it works so well to have a partnership with soccer shots on campus. Can you speak to some of the character development that you guys build into your program?

Wade Barrett (34:19):

Sure. Um, I mean the, we do have character words that are a part of the curriculum every week. Um, depending on the curriculum, we have different ways of teaching the kids what that word means, because again, we know in that two year old program, we can’t be too wordy. It has to be really simple. Um, we have to point to some really simple examples of how that character word can be shown. Um, and then we have to reinforce that, which is not once or twice through the class. It is reinforcing that character word 10, 15, 20 times over the course of a class. So they’ve heard that word and they’ve seen examples of what that word means. We use words like respect and confident and determination. Um, we use, we use words like honesty and integrity. That’s a really fun one to like teach to the kids, um, doing the right thing even when nobody’s watching.

(35:05):

Um, and the curriculum is built to encourage opportunities for us to look for that. Um, so I think that’s one thing is we, we do introduce those words and you can’t just use ’em once or twice. You have to use ’em throughout the curriculum. And then so much of that is, is just about the social development because the strength of our program, again, is in the curriculum that’s built as a group activity. It is not really built for one-on-one or two on two. Um, a lot of times we have folks that say, oh, well can you do some private training for our kids? And they just say, well, again, we’re not everything to everybody. We don’t really do that. The curriculum that we’re, we’re excellent at running is more to teach the social development that comes through group activity. Um, so I mean, we talk about those character words all the time, and then we’re in a group, so we get to really <laugh> drive home the meanings behind what it is to show respect and what it is to be confident in how you can show determination because we’re out there doing things in the group.

(35:57):

Um, so much of those like aspects of just being with other children and what, what is a good way to behave around, not a good way. Um, just different ways to behave in an, in, in a group.

Stephanie Landis (36:11):

Well, you’ve heard our last question. If you’ve listened to the podcast, so maybe you thought about the answer or we’re putting you right on the spot, but if you have one piece of advice to give to our listeners, and it can be on coaching and soccer or it can be any advice that you wanna give out. I always love listen to your mom <laugh>. But any advice that you wanna give out, what advice would you give?

Wade Barrett (36:36):

Yeah, I have heard you ask this question. Um, so the, the one piece of advice I would give, um, is, gosh, this is, it’s a great question, <laugh>, um,

(36:52):

I say is to pay attention to number one, that your children want to go to that activity and have fun. Um, and that you think that they are like really taking something from the program. And again, that the growth always looks a little bit different in every child, but if at the end of the day your child is excited to go do that activity and you feel like they are learning something from the experience, then it’s a worthwhile activity. Um, and uh, if you don’t feel like those two things are happening, then there’s lots of other things out there that might meet your child’s needs that might meet their, your child’s like aspirations or what they’re interested in at that time. Um, I always say like, we love for a family to be a soccer shots family for as many seasons as possible, but it’s also great for them to go try something else. Or if they feel like their child is showing more interest in going and doing dance or a gymnastics thing, um, again, there’s limited amount of time in, in a child’s week. So to not get them too overburdened, take a season off from soccer shots and go try something else, um, just listen to what your, your children are telling you.

Meredith Krimmel (37:54):

Yeah, that’s great advice. And lots of different areas, not just in their activities.

Stephanie Landis (37:58):

Yeah. And also I’m just sitting here thinking about that advice coming also for somebody who has like played competitive sports <laugh> at the highest level to be like, yeah, it’s okay to, to follow their interest. And you know, if they’re not into it, then they’re not into it. Go explore. And as a parent that sometimes that can be really hard, but also exactly what we need to hear.

Wade Barrett (38:23):

Yep. Well, thank you so much, <laugh>.

Meredith Krimmel (38:26):

Yeah. Thanks for coming. Thanks for talking with us. Yeah,

Wade Barrett (38:29):

It’s been a lot of fun.

Stephanie Landis (38:31):

Thank you for listening to the Un Babbled podcast. For more information on today’s episode, please see our episode description. For more information on the parish school, visit parish school.org. And if you’re not already, don’t forget to subscribe to the Un Babbled Podcast on your app of choice. And if you like what you’re hearing, be sure to leave a rating and review. A special thank you to Stig Daniels, Andy Williams, Leslie Holly and Molly Weisselberg for all their hard work behind the scenes. Thanks again for listening.