A friendly game of soccer works off more fat and builds up more muscle than jogging, new research shows. Danish scientists, who conducted their research on 37 men, also found the soccer players felt less tired after exercising than the joggers because they were having more fun.

This is good to know as my high school daughters have played varsity and junior varsity soccer, and 15 of my other kids have been deeply involved with our parks and recreation soccer program.

We spent all day today on the field, from 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning until after 2 p.m.

These were just practices and we have games during the week, this Tuesday night I have three games in a row.

For my formerly traumatized, severely neglected, un-parented children this feels wonderful to them. Now they feel like regular kids who get to play sports. Most of them are pretty darn good about funneling and focusing their negative anger into positive energy on the field. They mean business, they aim to win and they take this seriously.

Academics aren’t always our strong point here in the older child adoption world, what with the gaps in the school attendance and many moves. Some of my kids have slight learning disabilities but the real issue stems from their traumatized pasts. It’s just difficult to concentrate for them.

I build them up at home like a coach, positively extolling their strong points in sports, hyping them all up with a winning attitude and a can do spirit. They hit the fields hard, ready to rumble, and each victory means more to them than it does to kids who take normal family life for granted. They don’t lose very much but when they do, they’re pretty good about examining where they feel they blew it and deciding what they’ll do better next game.

Having siblings with them on their teams strengthens and empowers them, one team has six of my children on it with a coach who’s had them many times before and knows their strengths.

My older grown kids are good about showing their support and coming to games. Even today two grown kids were there just to watch the practices and I double dawg guarantee that my kids play even better when they want to impress their older brothers and sisters who cheer them on in a very big way.

And active, busy kids are happy kids.