Triumph and turmoil.

• Author: Hiatt, Claudia
• Position: Athletic Arena - Child athletes

"The whistle blows and the players are off and running. Your kid actually is one of the starters for a change, and your jaw drops to the ground--you never have seen such amazing skill from a seven-year-old.... In your mind, you just checked off the college scholarship box and are wondering if you should be thinking professional status."

I AM THE MOTHER of three soccer players, all of different abilities and interest levels in the sport. Over the years and hundreds of games I have coached, watched, refereed, or managed, there is one scenario that can be confusing and discouraging if you do not know what causes it--and even if you do.

Imagine it is a tournament weekend. The tourney is close enough that you do not need a hotel room, but far enough that you have to pack up everything so that you do not end up at Walmart buying extras. (Whatever it is, you already have four because you forgot to take it with you last time ... and the time before that.) Prior to heading out the door, you go through the checklist: kid(s); uniforms (tops and bottoms); cleats (x 2, don't tell me you never have shown up with only one cleat before); shinguards (x 2), socks (x 2), water, food, weatherappropriate gear for you and the kids (we get so busy making sure our child is prepared that we forget about the sideline crew). You have it all; now you look at your watch and realize you should have left 10 minutes ago. So, you throw everyone and everything in the car and you are off, with that nagging feeling that you forgot something.... Oh, well.

You locate the complex and see some familiar faces near the field; you send your child off with his teammates and coach. Time to find a parking spot and lug all of the gear to the field. You nab a nice spot on the sideline and take a deep breath and relax. Your duty for the next hour or so is to watch and cheer.

It finally is game time. The whistle blows and the players are off and running. Your kid actually is one of the starters for a change, and your jaw drops to the ground--you never have such amazing skill from a seven-year-old. Everyone (at least those rooting for your team) is calling out names and cheering like crazy. In your mind, you just checked off the college scholarship box and are wondering if you should be thinking professional status.

You are sure that even Leo Messi did not play this well at seven, and you just may be looking at international fame. Do we hire an agent? How does that work? I have heard about scams that take advantage of exceedingly talented people who do not know how the system operates. You are on cloud nine...