ROLE REVERSAL WOMEN'S LEAGUES PROVIDING A REAL KICK FOR SOCCER MOMS.Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - For 13 years, Kathy Cooper was a typical soccer mom soccer mom n. An American mother living in the suburbs whose time is often spent transporting her children from one athletic activity or event to another. . On any given day, she cheered as one of her four children ran up and down the field, passing the ball to a teammate or kicking it toward the goal. She rallied when they won, and consoled when they lost. But five years ago, Cooper, her two sons and two daughters switched roles. Now, the soccer mom has become the soccer player, and her kids are the fans. ``She does pretty good,'' Mackenzie Cooper, 10, said from the sidelines Sidelines Hypothetical position referring to noninvolvement in a stock; merely watching. of the Santa Clarita Soccer Center where she watched her mom kick the soccer ball from one end of the field to the other. Cooper, 45, is one of the hundreds of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, women who have watched their kids play soccer for years and now grabbed a piece of the action. ``It's addictive,'' Kathy Cooper said. At soccer arenas in Santa Clarita, Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Northridge, Camarillo, Garden Grove Garden Grove, city (1990 pop. 143,050), Orange co., S Calif., a suburb of Long Beach and Los Angeles, on the Santa Ana River; founded 1877, inc. 1956. Many of its residents work in nearby aerospace and defense installations, and there is light manufacturing. and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , the games have become new outlets for exercise and a social place for them to gather and focus on no one else except themselves. Many who play are 30 and older and had never kicked a ball before joining the adult league. But that didn't stop them from forming teams, picking team names and running to the arena fields once, twice and sometimes four nights a week. ``I'm no good, but it's fun,'' said Terri Sage, 44, a Sierra Vista Junior High School physical education teacher who never played soccer until she joined the Women's Over 30 League when the Santa Clarita center opened five years ago. ``You get to be with friends and get a workout at the same time.'' Much like field soccer, arena and indoor soccer
Youth soccer had already taken off in Santa Clarita, with about 7,000 playing, so why not give adults the same opportunity, he said. Today, there are 24 women's, 30 coed and 36 men's teams that play at the Santa Clarita Soccer Center. There also are 20 youth teams, and in a few weeks, at the start of a new season, there will be six more women's teams for those 35 and older. Regardless of ability or age, as long as you're 30 or older, anyone can play, he said. There are four different leagues, ranging in experience from never having kicked the ball to playing competitively. Only six members play at a time during the 45-minute games, which are played on smaller, Astroturf fields that are surrounded by plywood plywood, manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in that the grains of its sheets are parallel. , Plexiglas and netting. The rules are simple: Kick the ball toward the net, keep running and don't use foul language. The boards and netting keep the ball in play. ``We try to keep this a family place,'' Schauer said. That's one reason why teams at the center aren't highly competitive and why some women are attracted to the game, he said. Often, those games become too aggressive and serious. Though there may be an apology heard from one to another for stepping on toes or bumping too hard, these games aren't played without bumps, bruises Bruises Definition Bruises, or ecchymoses, are a discoloration and tenderness of the skin or mucous membranes due to the leakage of blood from an injured blood vessel into the tissues. Pupura refers to bruising as the result of a disease condition. , black eyes and sprained ankles A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. . Channing Licon stands in a team pit, watching as his wife, Julee, mother of four, sprints to defend her team's goalie. Her skills have improved since she joined the league with a friend three years ago, he said. While that's been fun to watch, at first it was tough to see his wife bumped around, eventually seriously injuring her ankle. ``I used to feel sorry for her, but I guess it's part of the fun,'' Licon said. Other than the exercise, the fun and challenge keep the soccer moms playing. Sharie Telles, 44, heads to the field year-round at the end of a long day of teaching preschoolers at St. Stephen's Nursery School nursery school, educational institution for children from two to four years of age. It is distinguishable from a day nursery in that it serves children of both working and nonworking parents, rarely receives public funds, and has as its primary objective to promote in Valencia. It's a good release of energy, she said. She started playing after watching her kids' games for 15 years. Instead of giving them pointers, her youngest now helps her practice kicks and passes in their back yard. If also puts the women on the playing field, a place where they've yelled to their children to run faster and play harder. ``This gives you a different perspective on the players,'' said Debra Hayes, 49, who watched her son play soccer. ``You get out here and get tired and think, 'Maybe I was a little hard on my kids.' '' It's more tiring than it looks, all the women agree. They have just learned to appreciate their kids' abilities that much more and use their knowledge in their games. On Monday night, underneath the fluorescent lights and inside the boarded field along Soledad Canyon Road, the clash between the Turf Rats and Rowdy Bunch was about to begin. The Turf Rats wore green. The Rowdy Bunch yellow. It wasn't their first meeting. Most met five years ago when they started playing soccer, if not before while watching their kids play. Cooper wears yellow and recalls how she named the team as the ``girls'' stood in the center's lobby, all screaming at once about what to call the team. ``Gosh, you're a rowdy bunch,'' she remembers saying. The name fit perfectly. Cooper, the Bunch and other soccer moms dashed onto the field one Monday night during the last weeks of the season, stretched their legs and rubbed their hands together in anticipation of the whistle. It sounds at 6:50 p.m. ``This is going to be fun,'' The Rowdy Bunch's goalie, Marcela Serafin, 34, yelled from her post while smacking smack·ing adj. Brisk; vigorous; spanking: a smacking breeze. Noun 1. smacking - the act of smacking something; a blow delivered with an open hand slap, smack her gloves. ``It's going to be a good game.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Players pause after a goal at the Santa Clarita Soccer Center, where moms who have watched their kids play are taking to the field. the games have become new outlets for exercise and a social place for women to gather and focus on themselves. (2 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Bulldog edition Bulldog edition refers to an earlier edition of a newspaper or other print publications. For instance, the Sunday New York Times publishes its bulldog edition, about 100,000 copies, for distribution around the country, at about noon on Saturday. only) Kathy Cooper, 45, practices her footwork during a pickup game at the Santa Clarita Soccer Center in Canyon Country. (3 -- color in Bulldog edition only) Max, 5, and Alix Schwartz, right, cheer on their mother during a recent women's soccer match at the Santa Clarita Soccer Center. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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