Yesterday my grandsons' soccer team played in the finals. It has been quite the season. The teams are formed from the children of Greensboro and the surrounding towns of northern Caroline county. As it turned out the two teams facing each other in that final match were both from Greensboro. Opponents and classmates. The rivalry was an intense one to be sure.
Parents and Grandparents huddled on the sideline. There was a slight breeze and quite cold. Real cold to some of us senior observers ! We had to play a qualifying match first. It was a must win situation to advance up the bracket. We won that game in the last thirty seconds in a real nail biter. Both teams playing exemplary ball. And so we geared up for the final challenge. The team we now faced has remained unbeaten the entire season. We have played them in the past and battled them to a tie. We played scrimmage games against them too. We knew it was going to be an uphill climb.
The game was a defensive battle. Back and forth with no scoring. Finally, the opposition, Generations, score a goal. They managed to just sneak it into the corner of the goal. The battled continued and time was running short. The situation looked grim. But at the last second we score ! The excitement is overwhelming. Parents and Grandparents jumping up and down. Then that moment of sobering realization. There can be no tie in this game. The dreaded shootout ! My stomach began to churn. My grandson is the goalie. He will have to stand in there and block those shots ! I can feel the pressure that he must be feeling. It's all on you Buddy !
If you are not familiar with this shootout format, let me explain. Each team selects five shooters. Taking alternating turns they get a free shot at the goal. Just the kicker versus the goalie. The team with the most points win. It gets quiet and you can hear words of encouragement. You got this, you can do it. Then that first shot flies toward the goal. He blocked it ! A sigh of relief. It continues until all five have taken a shot. It is down to the last shot for our team. We are down by one. I'm holding by breath and calling upon my God and bam, it goes in !!! A tie. The relief and excitement combine. Then a few moments of confusion. What do we do now ? Not being fully versed in the rules of soccer, I am at a loss. Seems no one on the sideline knows either. After a few anxious minutes we get the low down. Sudden death shootout !
Standing,cheering, and suffering through this agony I can do nothing but watch. Players shooting, goal tenders blocking and it continues for several rounds. In the end we lost by one point. We took second place in the tournament. By it was the most exciting soccer contest I have ever witnessed. An epic struggle. A game of legend.
I couldn't be prouder of my Grandson. He stood in there and played his heart out. There has to be a winner and one ball slipped by him. My only comment to him was, " no shame in that game ! " All the kids played so well.
Parents and Grandparents huddled on the sideline. There was a slight breeze and quite cold. Real cold to some of us senior observers ! We had to play a qualifying match first. It was a must win situation to advance up the bracket. We won that game in the last thirty seconds in a real nail biter. Both teams playing exemplary ball. And so we geared up for the final challenge. The team we now faced has remained unbeaten the entire season. We have played them in the past and battled them to a tie. We played scrimmage games against them too. We knew it was going to be an uphill climb.
The game was a defensive battle. Back and forth with no scoring. Finally, the opposition, Generations, score a goal. They managed to just sneak it into the corner of the goal. The battled continued and time was running short. The situation looked grim. But at the last second we score ! The excitement is overwhelming. Parents and Grandparents jumping up and down. Then that moment of sobering realization. There can be no tie in this game. The dreaded shootout ! My stomach began to churn. My grandson is the goalie. He will have to stand in there and block those shots ! I can feel the pressure that he must be feeling. It's all on you Buddy !
If you are not familiar with this shootout format, let me explain. Each team selects five shooters. Taking alternating turns they get a free shot at the goal. Just the kicker versus the goalie. The team with the most points win. It gets quiet and you can hear words of encouragement. You got this, you can do it. Then that first shot flies toward the goal. He blocked it ! A sigh of relief. It continues until all five have taken a shot. It is down to the last shot for our team. We are down by one. I'm holding by breath and calling upon my God and bam, it goes in !!! A tie. The relief and excitement combine. Then a few moments of confusion. What do we do now ? Not being fully versed in the rules of soccer, I am at a loss. Seems no one on the sideline knows either. After a few anxious minutes we get the low down. Sudden death shootout !
Standing,cheering, and suffering through this agony I can do nothing but watch. Players shooting, goal tenders blocking and it continues for several rounds. In the end we lost by one point. We took second place in the tournament. By it was the most exciting soccer contest I have ever witnessed. An epic struggle. A game of legend.
I couldn't be prouder of my Grandson. He stood in there and played his heart out. There has to be a winner and one ball slipped by him. My only comment to him was, " no shame in that game ! " All the kids played so well.
 |
| Batted to the outside ! |
No comments:
Post a Comment