Playing the Game

Last night I had my second last soccer game of the season. We were playing a team that hadn't won a game all year, and we decided to balance out all that is wrong in the world by allowing them to beat us. I expect the karma currents to flow heatedly my way any minute now.

This is not to say we did not put on a good show. We looked every inch of a team that actually knew what they were doing; rather, I will fall back on the (wink, wink) excuse of saying we only had 11 players and lost 2 when one put out her knee and the other had to drive her to the hospitable. But really, these are quibbles. The biggest problem is that no one wants to play goal. That is because most people who come to soccer later in life, don't understand how important a position it is. They think all the glory is in playing out. Plus, they are afraid of the ball. Tsk, tsk.

This has meant that I have had to play goal for most of the season. I will not say I am completely dismal, but at 5'1 I don't take up much of the net, if you know what I mean. Last night for the first time, I got to play out half the game and I was on fire, I nearly scored twice, one miss trickled a half an inch by the goal post. Unlike how frustrated I usually feel at the end of a game, where I have been lit up like a pinball machine for most of it, I actually felt like I had contributed something.

So for all you tall people out there, if you are considering playing soccer, please remember that playing goal is both respectable and admirable, besides being the most important position on the field. If you have a coach who has soccer experience they can teach you the skills you need to be a really good goalie. As for being afraid of the ball remember: glory last forever, and men dig scars.

Picture from Flickr