Trares
Nothing but green grass stood in front of the goal.
This is it, I thought to myself.
Anthony kicked off his second-grade soccer season last weekend, the start of something he’d been waiting impatiently for over the past few months. After endless afternoons of kicking the soccer ball around the backyard, finally we had come to the fun part — actual, real-life games.
He got his first taste of competition a few days earlier, with his inaugural practice of the year. Anthony is on the Boston team, and for an hour, he had a chance to dribble, pass, shoot and defend with his new teammates. They got to know each other, and at the same time, gave the coaches (including myself) a chance to see who we’d be working with.
It’s a good crew this year, a collection of kids of all different sizes and abilities. Some you can tell have been playing for a long time. Others were new to organized soccer. There were outgoing, aggressive kids who just wanted to score, while other more tentative ones hung back, a little more hesitant to get in the scrum.
But even with just a single practice, one thing was evident — they all were enthusiastic about playing and having fun. So as a coach, that’s what I was going to ensure.
Anthony, in particular, seemed ready to show off his skills. He had been working hard on practicing, both in the backyard and playing with his friends at recess. He had gotten much better at controlling the ball, finding open teammates to pass to, and whomping shots toward the goal.
On Saturday, he was determined to put it all together.
After handling a whole host of first-game necessities — helping the players with their uniforms, tying errant shoelaces, explaining why some players needed to sit out and would be subbed in — we were ready to start.
The energy among the team was fierce. Anthony’s teammates fired passes while everyone else sprinted towards the goal, and it wasn’t long before Boston had scored the first goal. The game settled down a little bit from then, with the opposing team settling in on defense. Both sides traded shots up and down the field, each scoring a few more goals.
Then, serendipity struck. As Anthony ran toward a mass of players fighting for possession, the ball squirted free and bounced toward Boston’s goal. Anthony was the only one back there; he corralled it and started kicking toward the net.
My heart jumped — he’s going to score his first goal, I thought.
Things didn’t play out that way. As Anthony kicked it forward, another of his teammates caught up and booted the ball for a goal. His first score would have to wait, even though he got an assist on the play.
I thought he’d be disappointed. But Anthony didn’t mind at all. He celebrated with his teammates, then excitedly ran up to check that I saw him. There were a bevy of high-fives before play started again.
The rest of the game didn’t feature any more scoring opportunities for him. When the final whistle blew, he was out of breath and trudging toward Gatorade and snacks provided for a postgame treat.
Still, I could see on his face that he had fun.
After all, that’s the goal.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
