Indoor soccer is over for this year. It is also over for grandpa unless I live to see great grandkids play. My grandson Mark is past the age now. This was the last season of eligibility for him. Oh, where did the time go ? Now it is on to outdoor soccer in the spring. Caroline County has formed a new spring program to help fill in a gap. It will overlap a bit with Baseball but it will work out. The baseball games are played during the week and the soccer will only be on Saturdays.
Yesterday was tournament day. My grandsons' team had gone undefeated the entire season. They entered that tournament with high hopes and expectations. There coach, my son Kevin, had high hopes as well. This was to be the year. The year he and his team finally win it all. Some of the kids on this team my son has coached since they were five. They have played together and achieved much but never the championship. Things were looking great for this year, the final year.
It all started well. The team won their first game handily 6-3. They were working together like a well oiled machine. The second game was the championship match. By virtue of their undefeated season they had received the bye. So, fresh off that win they entered the final game of the season and for most of them their final recreational soccer game. Moments before the half the opposition score a goal. It isn't scored in dramatic fashion but a little dribbler that just slips through the hands of the goaltender. Shortly after the start of the second half another goal is scored by the opposition. They are down 2-0 ! The pace of the game quickens and the kids are really battling it out. Then, our team strikes ! Goal ! It is only a one point difference with at least five minutes on the clock. You can feel the renewed determination, by both teams. A flurry of passing and striking at the goal, my team pressing the attack and the opposition defending. It's a real nail biter ! All the parents,grandparents,siblings and friends in the bleachers are on the edge of their seats. The crowd noise rises and falls with each shot and each block. Then it happened. The final whistle. The game, the season is over. My team has finished in second place. Rats ! I had so hoped for that championship for my son and his team but it just wasn't to be. There is nothing one can do but shake hands and smile. There had to be a winner and a loser. It is a hard pill to swallow. Lose one game in an entire season of play and it is the championship game !
Every year I said, there is always next year. I can't say that this time. I was pleased to see the kids display excellent sportsmanship during that game and following it. I have watched them grow over the years physically and mentally. There are kids on both teams that I have known all these years. Some on the opposition have played with the team that was defeated. They are all classmates after all. It has been a wonderful run with the kids. My son Kevin says his coaching career is over. I don't believe that but we'll see. Mark will try out for high school soccer next year and I expect I'll be going to those games. It will not be as intimate an experience as this recreational soccer was, but that is to be expected. The kids are becoming young men and must find their own way now. That is the nature of things. Call it bragging if you will but I believe my son has done a wonderful job with these kids. They have grown in their skills in soccer, and in life. My son played a role in all of that and that makes him the Champ !
I'm looking forward to going to the high school games with my son and family. We can all sit together and cheer. That'll be fun. Kevin has always been on the sidelines , it'll be fun to have him by my side in the bleachers ! As for Mark, I'm certain he will make the team. He is an excellent goaltender.
Yesterday was tournament day. My grandsons' team had gone undefeated the entire season. They entered that tournament with high hopes and expectations. There coach, my son Kevin, had high hopes as well. This was to be the year. The year he and his team finally win it all. Some of the kids on this team my son has coached since they were five. They have played together and achieved much but never the championship. Things were looking great for this year, the final year.
It all started well. The team won their first game handily 6-3. They were working together like a well oiled machine. The second game was the championship match. By virtue of their undefeated season they had received the bye. So, fresh off that win they entered the final game of the season and for most of them their final recreational soccer game. Moments before the half the opposition score a goal. It isn't scored in dramatic fashion but a little dribbler that just slips through the hands of the goaltender. Shortly after the start of the second half another goal is scored by the opposition. They are down 2-0 ! The pace of the game quickens and the kids are really battling it out. Then, our team strikes ! Goal ! It is only a one point difference with at least five minutes on the clock. You can feel the renewed determination, by both teams. A flurry of passing and striking at the goal, my team pressing the attack and the opposition defending. It's a real nail biter ! All the parents,grandparents,siblings and friends in the bleachers are on the edge of their seats. The crowd noise rises and falls with each shot and each block. Then it happened. The final whistle. The game, the season is over. My team has finished in second place. Rats ! I had so hoped for that championship for my son and his team but it just wasn't to be. There is nothing one can do but shake hands and smile. There had to be a winner and a loser. It is a hard pill to swallow. Lose one game in an entire season of play and it is the championship game !
Every year I said, there is always next year. I can't say that this time. I was pleased to see the kids display excellent sportsmanship during that game and following it. I have watched them grow over the years physically and mentally. There are kids on both teams that I have known all these years. Some on the opposition have played with the team that was defeated. They are all classmates after all. It has been a wonderful run with the kids. My son Kevin says his coaching career is over. I don't believe that but we'll see. Mark will try out for high school soccer next year and I expect I'll be going to those games. It will not be as intimate an experience as this recreational soccer was, but that is to be expected. The kids are becoming young men and must find their own way now. That is the nature of things. Call it bragging if you will but I believe my son has done a wonderful job with these kids. They have grown in their skills in soccer, and in life. My son played a role in all of that and that makes him the Champ !
I'm looking forward to going to the high school games with my son and family. We can all sit together and cheer. That'll be fun. Kevin has always been on the sidelines , it'll be fun to have him by my side in the bleachers ! As for Mark, I'm certain he will make the team. He is an excellent goaltender.
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