First Game

"We do not want to be beginners.  But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners, all our life!" - Thomas Merton

I had a dream last night where my team showed up without their uniforms. Then after the kickoff, they all just stood still and the other team ran the ball down the field and scored. I was horrified that they didn’t know what to do, since I was the one who was supposed to have taught them.


But…


Today was our first game and everyone showed up in uniform and ready to go. Apparently green is a popular color this year for soccer teams in my town, so we weren’t the only “green” team there. Luckily we were playing a “blue” team for our first game!


Oh, how confusing it will be when we play another green team!


But for today at least, we were able to tell who was who.


We won the coin toss and kicked off first and it was only minutes into our first game when we successfully scored our first goal. When the ball went out of bounds, the kids threw it in over their heads with both feet on the ground, just like we’d practiced. Now, keeping it in bounds is another story, but let me revel when I can!


All in all, the game is a total blur, but I think we made 4 or 5 goals, depending on whether or not you “count” one made for us by the other team. I don’t know how many times the other team scored, but I know they did. At this age (6 and under), the teams don’t keep score and the coach gets to run around like a chicken with their head cut off chasing the children down and trying to tell them what they think they should do.


We had very little snot, and even fewer tears and no band-aids were needed, so I felt like the game was a complete success!

*Note to self: Must bring band-aids for next game, just in case.


I hope my little team left the field today feeling like complete champions. I hope they had a good time and enjoyed their sugary snacks from the concession stand after the game. I hope their parents had nothing but praise for them on their way home. And I hope all our games go just like this one!


Maybe being the coach isn’t such a bad gig after all!


Now if everyone would just stop calling me that, I’d be okay.