If you give a girl a soccer ball, she will want some cleats to go with it.
You'll buy her the most adorable pair of little cleats, and then she will probably want some socks and shinguards too.
The more soccer toys she collects, the more room it will take up. So you'll have to get her a soccer bag - with her favorite number on it of course.
She will probably spend hours tugging at your arm, begging you to go out in the yard and play soccer with her, even though you may want to finally sit down and relax after the hectic day at work you've had. But of course, you can't say no.
You will patiently teach her how to dribble and pass and shoot, as you see her face light up with every new thing she learns. She will not want to go back in the house for dinner, no matter how much the light is fading and she can barely see.
Eventually, the little toy soccer net you've been shooting on will get too small and she will want to see how hard she can shoot a ball into a real-sized net with her new cleats and ball, and she will ask you to drive her to the soccer field at your high school.
Bring on the grass stains and dirt and scrapes and bruises. It will be impossible to miss how happy she is on this new territory. She will probably smile, and laugh and run around to the point of complete exhaustion and not let you leave.
As she gets better at dribbling and shooting and passing, she will want friends to play this new favorite game with. Then you will get this girl a jersey. And when a girl gets a jersey, she will want a TEAM...
And then life as you know it will change...
There will be no more lazy weekends watching ESPN or taking trips to the beach. Every minute of your time will be spent hauling soccer balls and cones and orange slices and coolers and stinky cleats and cars filled with little giggling girls all over the place to play soccer.
Your car will be transformed from a neatly kept, freshly washed car to a mud-stained, grass-clippings-filled vehicle. And your house may be a mess. And the laundry will be never end. And your shoe basket may pile up to the ceiling. And it's all because you gave a girl a soccer ball.
Your weekends will be spent in the blazing hot sun or the frozen tundra on a fold up chair. And her weekends will be spent gaining confidence, learning new skills and making new friends. 
Her smile will grow bigger and bigger. And each year she plays with that soccer ball, she will get better and better. Her love for the game and her inner strength will grow right along with her jersey size.
And you will be there the day she scores her first goal or makes her first big save. And she will make you proud. So proud that you will get her and her teammates ice cream and tell all your co-workers all about it.
And right before your eyes, that little girl will be transformed into a soccer playing animal, who ignored a Barbie Doll a long time ago, simply because you handed her that soccer ball once upon a time.
When you give a girl a soccer ball, you give her so much more than just a ball. You give her a dream and a place to learn about life. A field that teaches her she can be anything she wants to be. That she can push her limits and have the confidence to face anything life throws at her. And she will be the luckiest girl with all of these things, simply because you gave a girl a soccer ball.
Then one day, many years from today, she will come home to visit you and find that old soccer ball in the corner and her framed jersey under some boxes. And she will pick it up and realize instantly that when you gave that girl a soccer ball, you also gave her a childhood that she would never forget. She will hug you, and in that moment you will realize that everything you gave up along the way, was worth it.
All because you gave a girl a soccer ball...
Inspired by: http://softballisforgirls.com/2016/04/12/if-you-give-a-girl-a-jersey/
Giving my kids including my youngest daughter who won a 2003 NAIA National Championship only further ignited my passion for the beautiful game. The Champion coaches youngsters, plays yet, and started her own business. Futbol provides life long friends, life skills, confidence, and optimism. Put a ball at their feet, only encourage them, and watch them grow into amazing adults pursuing with passion whatever vocation they choose.
Sooooo true—this is my youngest, she used to sleep with her soccer ball. She will be a high school senior that still can’t get enough soccer on a daily basis!
Oldest daughter just graduated high school and will be playing college soccer. Best decision ever to let her try soccer when she was a 3 year old!
lo more beautyfull soccer women bravo’’
Nailed it! Exactly what I am going through, at this time, with my 12 and 9 year old girls and love every minute of this experience. You just need to mention having an empty wallet that goes along with this journey! Lol. Nice post!
CL (soccerdadchronicles.com )
This brought tears to my eyes. I’m at the tail end of this journey and it has been so much fun to watch my daughter and her friends grow into confident, strong, empowered young women. What am I going to do with all my free time! Thanks for writing this. I couldn’t have said it better.
Immediately made both of my soccer playing daughters read this. That was after I brushed the tear from my eye. You know all of these things as you are on this journey, but when you see it in writing and realize others feel the same way, it is pretty cool. Thank you!!