A few years ago, the United States Soccer Federation and Nike put together Project 2010, a plan to help young talent develop so that the U.S. might be a World Cup contender by the year 2010. You don't hear much about Project 2010 any more, in part because the U.S. is now ranked #6 in the world and has to be considered a dark horse contender (still a very long shot) for the title next year in Germany. This rise in talent and national team play has very little to do with Project 2010 and almost everything to do with Major League Soccer, where most American talent has developed, even if many elite players are now based in Europe.

Still, the title sounds cool. And Barbara and I have embarked upon Project 2022, whereby our son Max will be a member of the U.S. national soccer team when it plays for the Cup in that year. He'll be 20 and an undeniable force on a strong team.

Or not. My athletic achievements (such as they were) resulted from my stubborn nature, rather than any natural gifts. As a kid, I was undersized, clumsy and slow. Now I am normal sized, clumsy and slow. Very slow. Barbara has been playing since she was a child, but like me, her best attributes are bull-headedness and recklessness. She's tall, thin and somewhat slow.

Max played his first soccer game yesterday. If you've watched little kids play soccer, you might believe (as I did) that the first thing you have to teach a three-year-old about playing soccer is how to play positions. We'd be wrong. The first thing you have to teach kids is to chase the ball.

Max's inclination--and he isn't alone--is to watch. He was as likely to sit down on the field (while play continued) and suck his thumb as he was to chase after the ball. One of the coaches would encourage him to get up, and so he'd stand up, stand still and suck his thumb while play continued, even if the ball and attending pack of players thundered right past him.

He did get to the ball a few times, and the one time he kicked off he dribbled the ball a good ways down the field before he ran out of bounds (and kept going). He's known how to kick a soccer ball almost since he could walk. But the concept of playing an actual game is still decidedly fuzzy.

I suppose some dads would be mortified by the picture of a son sucking his thumb on the field of play, but I'm not worried at all. Max is one of the youngest players on his team (the league is for three and four year olds, and he's three and a half), even if he's about the same size as everyone else. And he's not particularly comfortable in new situations. When confronted with something he's never seen before, he tends to stand back and suck his thumb. And truth be told, even when he ran after the ball during the game, he had his thumb in his mouth more often than not. Whatever. He's three. It's cute.

He did make a new friend. One of the girls on the other team always seemed to be at his side when he fell down. She helped him up every time. That's cute, too.

Barbara and I aren't really serious about project 2022. We want Max to enjoy sports and to get in the habit of playing them. The exercise is good, and anyway, they're fun. It's nice that he has the opportunity to play.

And we're not holding our breath for his first goal. I played soccer for two years as a kid, and I think I scored a goal. Maybe. In two years of Little League, I got exactly one base hit (and came within a hair of immediately being picked off first). I like sports, I like playing them and I'm perfectly awful at them. Barbara's athletic record is better than mine, but not by much. Chances are Max and Sam will not be champion athletes.

That's okay. We're not holding our breath waiting for an athletic college scholarship or professional sports glory. I'm not a big believer in the concept of "sports as character building," but I think you do learn a few things about yourself and others when you play.

Like, you know, chase the ball when it's in play. Every once in a while, even adults need to be reminded to do just that.

Jon Worley's one base hit dribbled past second base and stopped before any fielder could reach it.