Fall Sports

I moonlight keeping stats for most of Western's athletic teams. Fall is especially busy with Volleyball and both men's and women's soccer. They usually play Thursdays and Saturdays and it is rare for all of them to be on the road at the same time. So I am seldom home to take Lucas to his soccer practice. This is a shame since it was my hope to make soccer a father-son outing. I may have mentioned this before, forgive me.

Yesterday WWU had an open Thursday and I was able to take him to his practice. Hallelujah. We even took Jack along to mollify him and give Kim a chance to grade some tests. I can say with some pride that I did not interfere with practice. Though I did want to buttonhole that kid a couple of times and remind him that it wasn't wrestling practice. Nor was I abusive with Jack, though he was begging, I mean begging, for some sort of mis-treatment. Remember, he demanded on coming along. Live and learn.

Practice was pretty much what you'd expect. It had rained all day so only seven of the twelve kids were there. Of those, a couple paid attention. Not mine, of course. The coach put them through a few drills, one of which was kicking the ball back and forth with a teammate. Passing, a useful skill. Lucas was teamed with his friend Isaac. Isaac is good. They were spaced maybe ten yards apart and Lucas would back up about another fifteen yards then come running for all he was worth, strike the ball and send it about four yards. The best part of this drill was when Isaac sent one in the air. It glanced of Lucas' head and I mentioned that they weren't allowed to do headers for a couple more years. It's in the rules, we even had to sign a waiver recognizing the danger of concussions.

After the drills they scrimmaged. Four on three. The two good kids and Lucas versus the rest. Lucas and Isaac were thrilled because they finally got to play together. They killed the other team, by the way. I don't know the score but Lucas did his part, staying out of the way while the other two ran circles around the other goofballs.

I talked to Isaac's mom afterwards and she told me how happy Isaac was to be on Lucas' team. On actual game days they have never been paired. At this age they play three-on-three. Each team is divided into two groups and Lucas has always been separated from his buddy. Kim thought this was by chance, but perhaps not. Isaac's mom has noticed that her son, the other good one (what'shisname) and the coaches son always end up together. Conspiracy! The coach is aiming for wins I say!