I was "schooled"

When I was a boy, growing up in Indiana, the options for sports were baseball,football and basketball. Soccer was nowhere to be found on the youth sports horizon in the old days. I can only recall attempting to play soccer in the front yard of my childhood buddy, Ricky Wambach. We had no idea what we were doing, but it was fun kicking the ball around. That's about all I can say about my soccer career.

During my years at SNU, I watched a lot of soccer, and began to gain an appreciation of the sport. It took years before I could understand why "off sides" is "off sides". Then, Kaylee played soccer at BHS for a couple of years, and watching the Lady Bronchos helped my understanding of the game.

This past Sunday, I entered a new world. I became a futbol player...at least for a day. After the a.m. church service, I was invited to play in the "game of the week" featuring teams from 2 churches. Remembering all of the "not so holy" moments in my church softball experience (others' "moments", not mine, of course) I hesitated as I pondered the passion with which Latin American players play the game. But, they insisted that I'd do okay, so I became goal keeper for the San Francisco (a barrio here in Quito) Church of the Nazarene. I wondered if my being placed at goal keeper was the equivalent of being placed in right field in baseball/softball as a kid. Time would tell, and it did.

The members of the other team seemed younger than my comrades. They all wore yellow jerseys, with "Pilsener" emblazoned on it. I don't believe that was the name of their church. They were thin and wiry. One of my teammates commented...."they look skinny, but they are tough." He was correct on both accounts.

I lasted at goal for awhile. I actually saved the first shot on goal that I faced. My teammates cheered. My dear wife smiled as she snapped a photo of her "man". Then, my fortunes changed. Before I knew it, two shots on goal had eluded my defense, and I was being moved out of my position and became a defender.

I actually did pretty well at defender, if I do say so myself. I thwarted several attempts to get around me. I actually kicked the ball with my left foot, and it went about 30 yards. Maybe it was more like 20-25 yards. At least I kicked it to a teammate!

Then, in the second half, I must have lost my concentration. Somehow, my guy got around me, and he scored....on two occasions. I'm not sure how it happened. I had him "marked" pretty well. The only problem was we had been tied with them, and those 2 goals put the game out of reach. None of my teammates mentioned anything to me about when the next game is scheduled. They did include me in the team photo at the conclusion of the contest. That was nice of them, allowing the gringo in the photo shoot.

So, I was "schooled", "taken to school" in futbol. It was humbling, but I"m hopeful, because I think they see potential in me. One of the seminary students told me he wanted to give me gift, a soccer jersey from his favorite team, Barcelona. I thought Barcelona was in Spain, because I visited a town by that name in 1998. Maybe they moved the city, because he tells me Barcelona is an Ecuadoran team. Well, I love the jersey, but haven't figured out when to wear it. In bold print on the front of the jersey it reads, "Pilsener", and above it, "Cerveza". Be that as it may, I think they believe I've "got game".