Soccer: Keep Your Head In The Game

As part of the special weeklong series, The Early Show Goes To Camp, Hannah Storm got to have her own athletic adventure at a soccer camp where the ratio of girls to boys is 4-to-1. Even better, she got to bring her 8-year-old daughter along for the fun.

The following is her report:

For campers at the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy, no soccer trivia is too trivial.

"Where does Kristine Lilly live?" asks the group leader. "Boston" exclaim the group. "Boston, Yay," the group leader cheers.

To them, Lilly is an inspiration. The two-time Olympic gold medalist spends her summers serving as coach at her week-long soccer academy camps in her hometown of Wilton, Conn.

"Just to not be afraid," is the most important thing Lilly says she teaches campers. "To go after it. You're not going to succeed on everything you do; you're going to make mistakes, but if you try, that's all we can ask."

That's something I tell my daughters all the time. My 8-year-old, Hannah Beth, is the soccer star of the family. She routinely beats me in the backyard. But we're both here to learn how to keep our heads in the game.

Trying to teach me to hit the soccer ball with my head, Lilly throws it and assures me it is her job not to let it hit me in the face. And she points out the power that it takes for me to hit the ball successfully.

You never know what you'll learn. I even got some fashion tips from the fourth grade set, who were happy to show me how to wear my shin guard the "cool" way.

My shinguards in place, it was time for a shoot-out. While Hannah Beth made fast friends, I was the odd mom out.

Nobody wanted me as a partner, so I played with the teacher.

The day also provided Hannah Beth with the chance to meet and interview one of her idols, soccer star and special guest coach Mia Hamm.
The following is Hanna Beth's interview:

Hannah Beth: "How many countries have you played?"

Mia Hamm: "How many countries have we played? Gosh, I would probably say about 20."

Hannah Beth : "How do you get to be an Olympian?"

Mia Hamm: "Well hopefully, a lot of hard work."

Hannah Beth: "What does it feel like to win a gold medal?"

Mia Hamm: "It's beyond words. You're standing there and knowing that all that hard work and sacrifice you put in paid off."

While we both improved our technique, my most valuable lesson of the day came off the field. Both Hamm and Lilly encourage proper parental behavior, telling me how moms and dads of budding soccer stars can support, but not push, their kids.

"I think first and foremost, just love your kid," Hamm says. "We don't want you to coach them; we don't want you to sit there and get all riled up; we just want you to enjoy the experience that your kids are having out here."

So, how did this soccer mom and her daughter do at their first - and only - day at soccer camp?

Lilly says, "I have to say, you and your daughter today, the first day out at the Kristine Lilly soccer academy, did OK. You got some skill. However, little Hannah, I think she's got potential."

My daughter was so inspired by her day at soccer camp, she asked if she could go again the next day. We're thinking of signing her up for next summer's session. Poor little Hannah Beth complained, "That's 365 days away!"

Friday, Dave Price rounds out the weeklong summer series with an action-adventure inspired day at camp.