October 15, 2011
The Tuesday after the October holiday, the twins told me they wanted to play in a soccer 
tournament that weekend. "Don't you need to be part of an organized team?" I asked. Sydney informed me that she, Sarah and their friends had been playing together at lunchtime. "Besides, the P.E. teacher said we needed more girls' teams," she added. "Oh, and we need cleats and shin guards, too." Of course.
tournament that weekend. "Don't you need to be part of an organized team?" I asked. Sydney informed me that she, Sarah and their friends had been playing together at lunchtime. "Besides, the P.E. teacher said we needed more girls' teams," she added. "Oh, and we need cleats and shin guards, too." Of course.A frazzled trip to Decathalon, then Auchen in search of said items proved once again that nothing is as easy as it should be here. The sporting goods store had only one pair of little shin guards. When I couldn't find them right away in Auchen, I attempted to ask for 
help. He brought me over to the athletic supporters and cups. No, not quite what I was looking for, but at least in the general ballpark.
help. He brought me over to the athletic supporters and cups. No, not quite what I was looking for, but at least in the general ballpark. Donning their brand-spanking new gear (eventually, I found the shin guards behind a row of mouth guards), Sarah and Sydney were ready to play. They were teamed up with six more of their Year Four buddies. None of whom were actually on an organized team before this day. There were three other teams in their age group; another from DCSZ, one from Dulwich College Shanghai, who I believe were actually on steroids as none appeared to be under five feet tall, and one from Eton House. Guess who they had to play first? The steroid team. In between the cartwheel turning and hair flipping, the other 
team scored non-stop and they got creamed 5-0. It looked like it was going to be a long day. The coach made some changes and gave them a bit of pep talk. Sarah was put in goal, and Sydney moved to the front line. They played the other DCSZ team to a 0-0 tie. Hmmm, not bad. Eton House was next. Sarah stayed in goal as she'd made several impressive saves. Syd stayed in the striker position. It was a nail biter and I immediately became one of those moms on the sidelines. It was all I could do to contain myself when Sarah made a great save, and I hollared like a banshee when Sydney scored the only goal of the game. Holy crow, these little girls were actually playing 
together as a team...kind of. They still tended to swarm the ball like bees to a flower, but they won 1-0. This win put them in the semi-finals, where they ended up playing Eton House again. The girls played hard and it looked like it was going to end in a tie until one of the opposing players made a break. She was on her way down the field and kicked the ball towards one of her teammates really hard. Sydney cut in to block it and kicked it with gusto. Unfortunately, she kicked it right at Sarah, who try as she might, couldn't stop it from going into the goal. They lost 1-0. Talk about heartwrenching. It happened so fast, I pretended like I didn't know what happened. Sydney 'fessed up, though, on the way home.
All in all, I was so proud of those girls. They'd never practiced together as a team, but ended up finishing with a better record than the other DCSZ team. Sarah made well over twenty saves, and even though one of them was against her sister, Syd scored the only goals of the day.
team scored non-stop and they got creamed 5-0. It looked like it was going to be a long day. The coach made some changes and gave them a bit of pep talk. Sarah was put in goal, and Sydney moved to the front line. They played the other DCSZ team to a 0-0 tie. Hmmm, not bad. Eton House was next. Sarah stayed in goal as she'd made several impressive saves. Syd stayed in the striker position. It was a nail biter and I immediately became one of those moms on the sidelines. It was all I could do to contain myself when Sarah made a great save, and I hollared like a banshee when Sydney scored the only goal of the game. Holy crow, these little girls were actually playing 
together as a team...kind of. They still tended to swarm the ball like bees to a flower, but they won 1-0. This win put them in the semi-finals, where they ended up playing Eton House again. The girls played hard and it looked like it was going to end in a tie until one of the opposing players made a break. She was on her way down the field and kicked the ball towards one of her teammates really hard. Sydney cut in to block it and kicked it with gusto. Unfortunately, she kicked it right at Sarah, who try as she might, couldn't stop it from going into the goal. They lost 1-0. Talk about heartwrenching. It happened so fast, I pretended like I didn't know what happened. Sydney 'fessed up, though, on the way home.All in all, I was so proud of those girls. They'd never practiced together as a team, but ended up finishing with a better record than the other DCSZ team. Sarah made well over twenty saves, and even though one of them was against her sister, Syd scored the only goals of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment