Jump For Joy!

This weekend started on Thursday for me, and over three days I have watched a total of 5 soccer games!  A few years ago I couldn't have told you much about soccer, and had never really watched an entire game.  The low scoring seemed to indicate to me that it couldn't be very interesting.  To the contrary, soccer is fast and furious!

I have come to love soccer because I have two grandsons who play.  Eric, the eldest will be 16 this year and I have watched him grow into a wonderful young man.  Hard to believe he will be off to college in just two years.  CJ, who is only 9 is also a soccer player.  It is great fun to watch these two boys develop as athletes.  Many of the boys who now play on the High School teams have been playing Club Soccer since they were just four and five years old.  Although they play together on the Club teams, they are frequently opponents on the school teams. This makes for some interesting soccer since they are already familiar with the play of the opposing player.

Needless to say, it was an exciting weekend.  I learned that one of the most outstanding players on the school team will not be playing soccer when he goes to college.  I found that surprising because he is such an excellent player.  It made me wonder if he was only playing in high school because his father is a soccer coach and he is playing to please his Dad.  Nothing wrong with that, but it made me feel some sorrow that he might not be playing with the joy of the game.  He is a really terrific player who is cool and collected and makes great plays, and maybe that is why he is a good player, he THINKS the game.  He isn't as emotional.  Others on his team play with heart.  Their moves may not always be as smart, but because of the effort and joy exerted, they still make winning moves.  Some of the boys who played last year have already gotten scholarships to great Colleges.  For some of the kids this is their ticket to higher education.  So, I began to wonder exactly what are the reasons the boys play soccer.

I venture to say that for some, it is the pure JOY of the game.  You can see it in the way they move, and their concentration.  You can see it is the way they in spite of being knocked to the ground during a play, they jump up and take off without hesitation and even when they are hurting they will continue to "play through it."    Some of the players are playing because of the encouragement of their parents and their desire to live up to their parents expectations.  They don't play quite as hard....the drive and joy are not at the level of those who play for the love of the game.  Then there are those who are playing for scholarships.  These kids study like crazy to get the grades necessary to get them into a good College, and then put in endless hours of play and practice to achieve the quality of play which will assure them scholarships to big name schools.

A friend of mine has a basketball playing son who just became the Big East Player of the Year!  What an accomplishment.  This young man has worked hard to earn this honor, and really deserves it.  When you watch him play basketball, you see his love of the game and his great enthusiasm in every move.  He thinks about it and plays smart.  His Dad was a professional ball player, and has been a mentor along the way, helping to develop his raw talent.  But when it comes right down to it, the young man developed his own style and work ethic to get where he is.  He jumps for joy!

It is quite expensive to play for the Club/Travel Teams.  There is a cost to join and the travel expenses for the out of town games is quite high.  Not all families can afford this kind of expense.  Then there is ODP, the Olympic Development Program.  The boys have to "qualify" for this program at tryouts, but there is also an expense to this program as well as more travel.  It requires a lot of commitment on the part of the players as well as the parents. 

I love watching the boys play soccer.  I love seeing their joy when they score a point or block one.  I love to watch them jump for joy.  So many times in these times we see people play sports for the money, and I guess the money may be their joy.  But on occasion you see a player who plays for the pure JOY of the game.  Whether it be soccer, basketball or American football, you can tell by the attitude and demeanor of the player which ones actually love the game.  They play for the pure joy of it.  The exhilaration of kicking the perfect goal, the joy of a new move, the cheers of the crowd all feed their ability.  I like seeing them jump for joy!

So, if you are a parent and you have a child who loves athletics, find the one they love.  Let them play for the pure joy of it.  If something more comes of it great, but if it is just the pure pleasure of the game, more the better!

Soccer, Referees and Safety Issues

We are having fantastic FALL weather here in Georgia today, so it was time to go and watch CGSA Soccer in Warner Robins.

It is great weather for watching sports, but what happened today on the field was not just exciting, it was frightening. The officials for today's game were sorry to say the least. It wasn't that they were favoring one team or another with their calls. It was simply that they were not making ANY calls on either team.

The problem with officials not making calls is quite serious. This is not the first time I have witnessed this problem. What happens is quite simply that the boys "play to the whistle" and this causes the game to get rougher and rougher as it progresses. We spoke up to the field marshall several times about the problem. Soccer can be a rough game and times, and today as the game progressed we all feared one of the boys would suffer serious injury. One of the boys on our team was kicked in the face early in the game and went down hard. Face kicks are illegal by the way! The officials not only didn't call a foul or give a card, but they didn't even TALK to the young man who delivered the illegal kick. Fortunately, our player was not seriously injured, however, and returned to the game.

Unfortunately a player from the opposing team was not so lucky. After numerous illegal tackles one of the boys on the visiting team committed an "illegal" tackle which backfired when he knocked our player off his feet and our player fell onto the boy who had committed the tackle. This fall resulted in the fallen visitor breaking a bone and having to be transported by ambulance to a local hospital. This was a completely unnecessary injury, and a foreseeable outcome of the poor officiating.

We all hoped that the injury, holdup of game and ambulance ride for the player would make the officials snap to it in their officiating jobs. It did not! Both teams managed to finish the game but not without 6 injuries and not a single "card" was handed out on any of them! This is unheard of! The game ended in a tie, and several layers will have great difficult trying to play tomorrow, if indeed they can play at all.

We were shut down when we complained about the officiating. I am sure however, that there will be several e-mails going out today to the CGSA regarding this poor show of officiating and the resulting injuries.

As parents and grandparents we are trusting the well being of our children and grandchildren to these officials, and they need to be doing a better job protecting these young athletes. I was also disturbed by the fact that there were no medical personnel available and we waited more than 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. I have concerns that if the injury had been more than a broken limb,the child involved could have suffered grievious permanent injury due to lack of proper medical care.

These officials are paid to perform at these games, and I believe they should be held accountable when their lack of adequate oversight results in serious injury to a player.

I am going to attend another game tomorrow, and I certainly hope that the officiating proves to be better than it was today. If you know of situations like this, please make your voice heard. Sports activities are great for our children, but unnecessary injury is not. Speak up now and make yourselves heard. It is IMPORTANT for the well being and safety of our children and grandchildren.

FUN FALL RECIPE OF THE DAY

(Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine)

Italian Sausage Minestrone

1 pound Italian sausage
2 large carrots, sliced
2 large celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves (optional)
3 TBSP olive oil
7 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP basil
1 TBSP Italian Seasoning

1 cup of small pasta

Shredded or shaved Parmesan Cheese

1. In large pan, cook sausage over medium heat until done, and drain off
excess fat
2. In the same pan, saute the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in oil until
tender, stir in beans and broth
3. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, and sausage and bring to
a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add Pasta and cook
until tender if serving immediately, or see #6 below....
4. Serve immediately with bread or rolls.
5. Soup may be cooled, and transferred to freezer containers and kept for
up to three months.
6. To reheat frozen soup...thaw in refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a
large pan and return to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered for 6-8
minutes or until pasta is tender..serve with cheese.

Enjoy this hearty soup soon!