Soccer moms got a lot of press in the 1990s when political pundits speculated on how they would vote in the presidential election. Soccer dads didn't get mentioned in the equation.

Personally, I think all those pundits missed the boat. There's nothing political about soccer parents, not when you're standing out in the cold watching your child play on a muddy field on a Saturday morning when many Americans are still in bed. Hot coffee only goes so far.

My daughter, Bailey, played on a recreation-league soccer team this fall and then on a Cape Girardeau all-star squad. That team participated in soccer tournaments over the last three weekends. It's a sight to see, Hundreds of soccer players, in shorts and colorful jerseys, chasing after soccer balls on the fields.

It's a credit to the parents who take their children to weekday practices and weekend games. Also, it's a credit to the coaches who volunteer countless hours to their teams.

Bailey has played soccer for several years now. But until this fall, I was just one of those sideline parents who cheered at games. I didn't realize how much work went into coaching.

This fall, Bailey's coach told parents he'd welcome an assistant to help coach the team. Without much thought, I volunteered. How hard could it be~

I figured we'd have a few practices before the start of the league season and then we'd just show up for games on Saturdays and some weeknights. I quickly learned that practice doesn't end at the start of the season.

I also learned that you can't coach recreation league soccer without some orange plastic cones to designate areas of the field for practice.

It's also important to play games on the field during practice. Fifth- and sixth-grade girls like games. Of course, these games teach skills, too. But don't tell the girls that. They prefer to think of it as just fun.

One of their favorites games was "crab soccer," kicking the ball around while walking on feet and hands like a crab.

I doubt that World Cup teams practice that way. But Bailey and her teammates loved it.

I spent a lot of hours after work this fall chasing soccer balls and doing whatever else I could to help Coach Scott. Along the way, I became Coach Mark. It was kind of flattering. I'd never been called "coach" before.

As it turned out, Scott ended up coaching Cape Girardeau's all-star team made up of players from three fifth-sixth grade soccer teams in the city.

He asked me to help coach the team. And that's why I spent the past three weekends on soccer fields in Carbondale, Ill., and Sikeston and Cape Girardeau.

Cape Orange, as our team came to be known for its orange jerseys, learned how to play in the mud. It became a necessity during the recent rainy season.

We won some games and lost a few, too. In Sikeston, the team finished third in its division and the girls all took home trophies.

I even took home a trophy, my first as a coach.

Our last tournament was at the Shawnee Sports Complex in Cape Girardeau. We didn't take home a trophy. We just missed getting third place.

But ultimately that didn't matter. What mattered was that the girls came together as a team. They formed friendships. They laughed at each other's jokes and spray painted their hair orange.

Before our last game Sunday, they even warmed up with their competition, a team from Jackson. Neither team captured trophies in the tournament. But when the game ended, the two teams cheered each other. It was great to see such sportsmanship. In my mind, both teams left the field as champions.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.