Soccer League

The wind blows across the open field cutting into the watching parents. This is the price for being a parent in the fall league. After you get home it takes a while to heat back up. We are watching the under 12 Praise Baptist Church Leviathons play.

Earlier in the day we watched the Pee Wee's, Sienna's league. By the end the cold had them moving in slow motion, and everyone was ready to go. We got to go home, have lunch and make it back for Shelby's game. That is, we retured right after we stopped shivering from the earlier game.

Unlike the Pee Wee's, where you laugh as much as you cheer, the older kids are starting to show some talent. Today we are playing the green team, we are abut equally matched with them, so it is a good game. The wind plays havoc with any airborne ball, but the kids do a good job of running it up and down the field.

I call to most of the kids, but like any father, I'm most interested in how Shelby is doing. I should note that she is nine, so could be playing in a younger league, but she wants to compete with the big kids. The older players can outrun her and out maneuver her right now, but she fights and makes some plays.

The ball is at the opponents end, between the wind and our play it has been down there a good share of this half. Shelby is playing forward. The ball is to the right of the goal, several of the players are fighting over it. Shelby gets Away from where the balls is being battled over and positions herself in front of the goal. This is a good set up for us. Shelby hasn't scored a goal, yet, so this a good set up for her too.

Thne it happens. The ball bursts from the kicking kids, angling slightly away, but in front of the goal. Shelby wheels with the ball and gives it a kick toward the net. Airborne it spins, quick in the moment, but slow in my mind now. It's moving toward the opposite side, which is good. I think it's going into the corner. What a kick!

Then it hits the post.

This happens all the time. Shots like that produce goals. I'm still very proud. I can't tell you,though, how much I wanted that goal to go in. Probably more than Shelby did.

When the game was over I told her what a good job she did. How she played that just about right (follow through would have converted that to a goal). How she's getting really good. She's tired of hearing it. Everyone has been telling her that, she says. I get the feeling that while I really want her to score a goal, she doesn't care.