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Soccer Dad
Soccer Dad is the story of a soccer-ignorant, sports-ambivalent writer who saw his daughter through the kiddie leagues to the travel-sports gauntlet to a coveted Division I scholarship. And then realized his work had only begun.
David Murray’s daughter, Scout, loved soccer from toddlerhood. Her drive and skill pulled the Murray family into the world of youth sports—one as culturally obsessive as it is economically exclusive, where each new achievement presents more challenges.
Youth sports is fun, but it isn’t simple—especially for parents determined to raise a rounded human being.
In Soccer Dad, David tries (and sometimes fails) to keep his perspective on the frenzied soccer sidelines; in post-tournament hotel happy hours; on the road to college “showcases;” and during soul-searching calls and late-night text sessions with Scout as she navigates the intense pressure of elite college sports.
On that journey, David contends with some of the essential questions facing parents of talented children: How do you guide without steering, motivate without pushing, and protect without smothering? And how do you learn from other parents—their good instincts, and their bad?
With humor and wisdom and love, Soccer Dad helps soccer parents, sports parents, all parents—to feel less alone, make more conscious choices, and savor our time on the sidelines of our children’s great adventures.
David Murray’s daughter, Scout, loved soccer from toddlerhood. Her drive and skill pulled the Murray family into the world of youth sports—one as culturally obsessive as it is economically exclusive, where each new achievement presents more challenges.
Youth sports is fun, but it isn’t simple—especially for parents determined to raise a rounded human being.
In Soccer Dad, David tries (and sometimes fails) to keep his perspective on the frenzied soccer sidelines; in post-tournament hotel happy hours; on the road to college “showcases;” and during soul-searching calls and late-night text sessions with Scout as she navigates the intense pressure of elite college sports.
On that journey, David contends with some of the essential questions facing parents of talented children: How do you guide without steering, motivate without pushing, and protect without smothering? And how do you learn from other parents—their good instincts, and their bad?
With humor and wisdom and love, Soccer Dad helps soccer parents, sports parents, all parents—to feel less alone, make more conscious choices, and savor our time on the sidelines of our children’s great adventures.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 14, 2026
About the author
David Murray
243 books11 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 25, 2026
I raced through Soccer Dad – it’s engaging, exciting, and endearing. It’s also important. It carves deep below the surface of one of the most widely shared experiences in America today – youth sports – and offers insights that can make us wiser and our experience better.
No two soccer dads, or moms, or players, or coaches can read this book and not be forced into a more honest conversation about what’s going on – and do a better job limiting the risks and reaping the rewards of the opportunities offered when kids play ball.
David Murray – with generous and courageous support from his daughter Scout – shares excruciatingly personal conversations the two of them had during Scout’s growth as a soccer player. David’s narrative, filled with insights borne of self-awareness and self-criticism, offers an unflinching review of the hazards of youth sports: self-worth reduced to an athletic performance, social belonging determined by game results, joy and pain dependent on whether a ball goes in or sails over the goal, and young people’s emotional health affected by coaches - still in the minor leagues of managing their own emotions – who yell at their players in public.
Scout stands this old habit on its head in what is the line of the book for me: Leaving the field at the end of an excruciating loss, she tells her coaches in front of her teammates: “I’m never going to be the player you want me to be, who can get yelled at constantly and play well.”
There are endless lessons in this book about how not just to improve performance but how to enhance relationships, which as Soccer Dad attests – is the one way sports can make all of us rich.
I hope some bold parents will give this book to some wise coaches – who will read it and pass it on to their players and their parents – and maybe even post Scout’s line about performance on the locker room wall.
No two soccer dads, or moms, or players, or coaches can read this book and not be forced into a more honest conversation about what’s going on – and do a better job limiting the risks and reaping the rewards of the opportunities offered when kids play ball.
David Murray – with generous and courageous support from his daughter Scout – shares excruciatingly personal conversations the two of them had during Scout’s growth as a soccer player. David’s narrative, filled with insights borne of self-awareness and self-criticism, offers an unflinching review of the hazards of youth sports: self-worth reduced to an athletic performance, social belonging determined by game results, joy and pain dependent on whether a ball goes in or sails over the goal, and young people’s emotional health affected by coaches - still in the minor leagues of managing their own emotions – who yell at their players in public.
Scout stands this old habit on its head in what is the line of the book for me: Leaving the field at the end of an excruciating loss, she tells her coaches in front of her teammates: “I’m never going to be the player you want me to be, who can get yelled at constantly and play well.”
There are endless lessons in this book about how not just to improve performance but how to enhance relationships, which as Soccer Dad attests – is the one way sports can make all of us rich.
I hope some bold parents will give this book to some wise coaches – who will read it and pass it on to their players and their parents – and maybe even post Scout’s line about performance on the locker room wall.
May 23, 2026
“Soccer Dad is a heartfelt, sharply observant, and emotionally intelligent memoir that explores the complicated world of youth sports through the lens of one father’s love for his daughter and the unpredictable journey of raising a talented athlete. David Murray blends humor, vulnerability, and honest self-reflection into a story that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable for parents navigating ambition, competition, identity, and family life. What begins as a reluctant father’s immersion into youth soccer gradually evolves into something far richer a meditation on parenting itself.”
“What stood out most was the emotional honesty behind David’s perspective as both an outsider to sports culture and a father trying to balance support, perspective, and emotional protection. The book captures the exhausting intensity of elite youth athletics the travel tournaments, showcases, sideline anxieties, social pressures, and college recruitment process while never losing sight of the emotional core of the story: the evolving relationship between parent and child. Scout emerges not simply as a talented athlete, but as a fully realized young person navigating expectation, independence, pressure, and self-discovery. The memoir’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to offer simplistic parenting answers. Instead, Murray thoughtfully explores the uncertainty and emotional complexity of trying to guide a child without controlling them. The humor throughout keeps the story warm and accessible, while the emotional insights surrounding family, identity, competition, and growing up give the book lasting resonance far beyond sports alone.”
“What stood out most was the emotional honesty behind David’s perspective as both an outsider to sports culture and a father trying to balance support, perspective, and emotional protection. The book captures the exhausting intensity of elite youth athletics the travel tournaments, showcases, sideline anxieties, social pressures, and college recruitment process while never losing sight of the emotional core of the story: the evolving relationship between parent and child. Scout emerges not simply as a talented athlete, but as a fully realized young person navigating expectation, independence, pressure, and self-discovery. The memoir’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to offer simplistic parenting answers. Instead, Murray thoughtfully explores the uncertainty and emotional complexity of trying to guide a child without controlling them. The humor throughout keeps the story warm and accessible, while the emotional insights surrounding family, identity, competition, and growing up give the book lasting resonance far beyond sports alone.”
April 30, 2026
This book won't be relevant to most of my friends and followers who read my reviews.
But to the few of you who share my interest in this topic (girls' travel sports, specifically soccer), this book is a wonderful reassurance that the feelings you have about the system are valid.
David Murray is -- or knows -- every one of us on the sidelines... the non-sporty mom, the shoulda-woulda-coulda dad, the ones who know the rules, and the ones who scream offsides and handball at everything. All in the name of (what they think is) supporting their young player.
I chuckled out loud several times. His dad jokey nicknames for teammates through the years, like "Give 'Em-Hell-inor," tickled me.
But mostly I bit my lip and read on, in one night I might add, to see how his daughter, Scout, navigated the very real pressures of a sport my daughters seem to love despite my repeated queries about other ones I myself played. "You'd be a great first baseman in softball with your height!"
That his daughter went on to play at my alma mater, Ohio University, as a D1 forward was just icing on the cake.
Parts of this book took me down memory lane in Athens.
But mostly it forced me to look ahead, at the path my own kids are on, and how invested I want to be in the complex inner workings of a system I know they'll need to navigate if they stay on it.
But to the few of you who share my interest in this topic (girls' travel sports, specifically soccer), this book is a wonderful reassurance that the feelings you have about the system are valid.
David Murray is -- or knows -- every one of us on the sidelines... the non-sporty mom, the shoulda-woulda-coulda dad, the ones who know the rules, and the ones who scream offsides and handball at everything. All in the name of (what they think is) supporting their young player.
I chuckled out loud several times. His dad jokey nicknames for teammates through the years, like "Give 'Em-Hell-inor," tickled me.
But mostly I bit my lip and read on, in one night I might add, to see how his daughter, Scout, navigated the very real pressures of a sport my daughters seem to love despite my repeated queries about other ones I myself played. "You'd be a great first baseman in softball with your height!"
That his daughter went on to play at my alma mater, Ohio University, as a D1 forward was just icing on the cake.
Parts of this book took me down memory lane in Athens.
But mostly it forced me to look ahead, at the path my own kids are on, and how invested I want to be in the complex inner workings of a system I know they'll need to navigate if they stay on it.
April 17, 2026
For those of us who raised (or our raising) non-athletes this is an eye-opening look into just what it takes to support a child who has dreams of athletic stardom. I knew of travel team athletics, but knew nothing about them before this. Any parent headed in this direction with a child should read this book in self-defense. The road will be rough and rocky at times, even if ultimately rewarding. An enjoyable, engaging read.
April 17, 2026
I read this one cover to cover in one sitting, which is a testament to the writing and relatable content. There were numerous highlights and margin-scribbled takeaways that I’ll carry in my roles as a coach, program director, and (most importantly) soccer dad. Required reading for anyone navigating the rat race of increasingly professionalized youth sport - any sport.
April 16, 2026
Required Sports Parent Reading
David does a great job of distilling 2 decades of madness as a soccer dad into an entertaining and informative read. Extremely insightful without being preachy, I read it cover to cover in one go. Well done!
David does a great job of distilling 2 decades of madness as a soccer dad into an entertaining and informative read. Extremely insightful without being preachy, I read it cover to cover in one go. Well done!
May 5, 2026
Loved it! This is a book that would simultaneously be at home in both the self-help and the humor sections of a bookstore.
May 8, 2026
terrific, candid account of being a parent/family of a young athlete. can't thank this family enough for pouring their thoughts and feelings for all.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews