Soccer in Session

Intramural soccer started Thursday. Lots of preparation, but the season is finally here. Paper work, charts, sign ups, phone calls, teams, coaches, trips to the store, equipment, field prep, and wow I am exhausted. Our first practice lasted for an hour after school. Forty- six students in all, first through sixth grade. I was impressed with how many kids signed up. Soccer, or should I say “Football”, is a very popular sport here. My goal during this first practice was to teach basic drills and avoid what I call the “bee hive” during our scrimmage. All students like flock around the ball. Positions are hard to maintain for younger players, so I found out. I can honestly say we all tried our best. Good times!

Immediately following practice, it was off to the activity bus for yet another adventure. Being the adult in charge, I felt responsible to make sure, on the first day that everyone got off at the right stops. So… I hopped on the bus and we set off for home. It brought back memories of my elementary bus days, the only difference being the roads. The paved roads here are not exactly what you would call level. Kids bounced around like crazy. They actually have to wear seat belts here, this being one of the reasons. The good news we didn’t loose anyone.

Two days later we scored through our first games. In the end, I would call it a success, but I was holding my breath through the beginning. After fifteen minuets of warm-up, kids were ready to play, but I only had a little over half my players and two of my nine coaches. What to do? I grabbed parents from the sidelines, gave them a whistle, some rules, and off they went. I should have known better to factor in Kenyan time (show up later than planned). Despite our rough start, we all had a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day to be outside.