Soccer for 3 year olds... really?

So, in an effort to get Ezra involved in something (while his sister gets to go to school, dance, and violin), I signed him up for soccer.  He was excited.  I was excited.

But, keep in mind here that I never played any real team sports growing up.  None.  (Unless you count cross country my senior year because I wanted someone to help me learn how to run long distance.  But I only competed in one race and didn't pose for the team picture, so I don't count it.)  Anyway, did you know that there are, like, 8 games in a soccer season?  And that they are held EVERY SATURDAY rain or shine?  I had no idea what I was getting into.  And apparently neither did Ezra.

Ezra is a pretty big tease which made me think he would be aggressive on the field, but this is what he looked like pretty much half the time:

Move buddy!  Go run after the ball!  And, there it goes down the field and into the other team's goal.  Sigh.  By the last game he was actually running back and forth and he'll tell you he got a goal (he was running next to a girl from the other team as she dribbled the ball down the field and into the goal--the ball bounced off his foot into the goal.)  But, he never got aggressive enough to actually try and get the ball from anyone, or dribble it for any length of time down the field.  I don't get it.  All the other players on his team were the same way, too.  None of the boys had played before and only a couple were even interested.  They would cry and beg to sit on the sidelines instead of play.  Really??

Ezra was generally a good sport about it all, but in the end I decided that 3 years old is way too young for team sports.  He didn't get the rules and didn't like to play. 

He did make friends with the other boys though.  Bless his heart.