Mar
6
After an 8 month furlough, I dug out my indoor soocer shoes and started playing again. The last time I had played was in GR, the night before Micah was born. His timing was brilliant. Rachel came to watch the last game of the season, and about 1 1/2 hours after we got home from the game she went into labor.
We knew it was likely my last game in GR due to our move. For years our team was known as Team X. From what I understand, the core of the gang is still together, but now playing on a house team. It was a bit disheartening today to see our team’s site (formerly teamxsoccer.com) no longer online, though it’s only appropriate. If you never got to see the site, it was a thing of beauty. That’s one of the perks of having Max on your team.
At some point after moving to VA, unbeknownst to me, Rachel began praying that I’d find a team on which I could play. A couple weeks after moving into our house, she called a locksmith out of the phone book to come change the locks (S.O.P. when moving into a new place). Within 5 minutes of him being at our house, he asked if we had found a church to attend yet. One thing led to another in the conversation, and he eventually said he enjoys being a locksmith, but he’s really passionate about bringing an indoor soccer facility to our city. Hmmm. Rachel explained that I played soccer, and that I was looking for a team. Fast forward a few weeks, and I’m now playing on his team. Answered prayers aren’t always that obvious.
Our team is called FC Stafford, and we play at a place called the Fredericksburg Fieldhouse. The first night I was scheduled to play, it was dark and raining. I had my “trusty” Google Maps print-off to show me the way. Well, it showed me all the way to a dead-end street in a trailer park a mile or so away from the Fieldhouse. A panicked phone call to Rachel back home, who quickly checked the correct directions elsewhere online, and I was good to go. (It’s not the first time since we’ve been here that she’s been my personal OnStar while I’ve been out driving around.) It was difficult showing up to play when I had never met a single person on the team. At the same time, once the game started, it was nice to get on the field and be able to instantly have something in common with everyone else (e.g., shortness of breath, sore muscles, memories of younger years … as well as a similar understanding of the game). It felt really good to get out and play some soccer again.
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4 Responses to “lacing up the boots”
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And you’re 3-0! Nice work!
You’re such a humble guy.
Well, there’s a reason I decided to post now, before we get to the heart of our schedule.
Rumor has it things are about to get a bit more competitive.
Awesome!
I was a little worried that you would not find your way back onto the field down there. It is good to know that somewhere in the world a keeper is still getting soccerball shaped bruises courtesy of the bcp special.
Heh. If you’re implying my shots all go straight to the keeper, then yeah, I’m slowly getting my shot back.
Fortunately there are two guys on our team that have shots like I haven’t seen in a while … and their shots generally make it past the keeper to the back of the net.