Kanyama Stars Defeat ZEHRP United
Athletes come out of retirement all the time. To feel the thrill of game day...to hear the roar of the crowd...or just to prove they still got game. Not many return as unceremoniously as I did this past Saturday though. I thought my soccer cleats were hung up for good back in 1984. We won the Kankakee YMCA 7-8 year old division with a landslide victory, 13-4. I can remember thinking to myself..."I've got nothing left to prove". But it happened and the game called me back.
ZEHRP United consists mostly of project employees and close friends. This past weekend we took on the Kanyama Stars, a group of young adults that have lost one or both parents to AIDS. ZEHRP needed a 3 tool player (someone with speed, an accurate foot, and the authority to drive the project car) such as myself to take the 11 spot on the field. Sure, I started and just like at the Y someone told me exactly where to stand. I had a hard time adjusting to the uneven surface and ankle-high grass that was only on my half of the field. I played for 5 minutes...completed one pass...had two headers...and was feeling a little winded. I called to the bench for a sub and grabbed some water. Then realized that once you leave the game, you can't go back in. I felt a little like "Moonlight Graham" in Field of Dreams. I watched the rest of the game from the sidelines. We lost 2-3 after one of our defensive players scored a goal for the other team. No one else had a problem playing the full 90 minutes. Shows you what a 22 year hiatus will do.
Masauso works with me on the Admin team at ZEHRP. He played a good game and had a header that appeared to go in from my vantage point, but just missed. He left with a signifant tear in the back of his shorts. Michelle and I had a conversation about where to stand while taking pictures. :) Yeah, that's a mustache.
Here are the Kanyama Stars warming up before the match...actually, its a group of kids that played next to the pitch we were on. It only takes a few flip flops and a couple bricks to set up the goals. Most kids make their own soccer balls with plastic bags that they wrap tightly together. Everyone in our game has played consistently since this age. It showed. Michelle's favorite moment...the ball is flying towards this guy, he leans forward and throws his leg backwards and kicks the ball pretty hard the other way with his heel. Make sense?
ZEHRP United consists mostly of project employees and close friends. This past weekend we took on the Kanyama Stars, a group of young adults that have lost one or both parents to AIDS. ZEHRP needed a 3 tool player (someone with speed, an accurate foot, and the authority to drive the project car) such as myself to take the 11 spot on the field. Sure, I started and just like at the Y someone told me exactly where to stand. I had a hard time adjusting to the uneven surface and ankle-high grass that was only on my half of the field. I played for 5 minutes...completed one pass...had two headers...and was feeling a little winded. I called to the bench for a sub and grabbed some water. Then realized that once you leave the game, you can't go back in. I felt a little like "Moonlight Graham" in Field of Dreams. I watched the rest of the game from the sidelines. We lost 2-3 after one of our defensive players scored a goal for the other team. No one else had a problem playing the full 90 minutes. Shows you what a 22 year hiatus will do.
Masauso works with me on the Admin team at ZEHRP. He played a good game and had a header that appeared to go in from my vantage point, but just missed. He left with a signifant tear in the back of his shorts. Michelle and I had a conversation about where to stand while taking pictures. :) Yeah, that's a mustache.
Here are the Kanyama Stars warming up before the match...actually, its a group of kids that played next to the pitch we were on. It only takes a few flip flops and a couple bricks to set up the goals. Most kids make their own soccer balls with plastic bags that they wrap tightly together. Everyone in our game has played consistently since this age. It showed. Michelle's favorite moment...the ball is flying towards this guy, he leans forward and throws his leg backwards and kicks the ball pretty hard the other way with his heel. Make sense?
posted by Michelle and Bob - Zambia @ 4:01 PM
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