Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

30 - Soccer Surprises

30

Soccer Surprises

Monday, February 6

After the tennis victory, Kevin felt more optimistic. He was looking to the future. The hazy blue sky seemed to echo those feelings. There was a little smog, as there was a small problem in Kevin's life named Monica. But everything seemed more reasonable. One step at a time.

Kevin grabbed his sandwich from his desk and headed to the field. He returned to get his clipboard. Could I just go one day without forgetting something? But he was smiling at himself. He often dreamed ahead about one thing while doing another. Just being Kevin. Isn't absent-mindedness a sign of genius?

Today, the girls' first game was at home versus Creekside. Angela was already standing with Robert, near the Valle Grande goal. Kevin waved to them, then walked over to have his team warm up by doing a few passing, dribbling, and shooting exercises during the five minutes they had before their opponents arrived.

Creekside was outclassed. Valle Grande's girls didn't have better skills but were faster, so they kept the pressure on and won 3-0. Graciela, Erin, and Valerie each scored a goal, but more importantly, he saw everyone on the team acknowledge each other's passes, interceptions, and more. A full team effort. They cheered the other team, then walked off happy. Five more minutes till the bell, but Robert remained listening to Angela.

"So Robert, what did you learn today?"

"Well, I found out that Mrs. Reyes-Miller is even smarter than I knew at choir." Kevin chuckled. "She talked about positioning myself, mostly. Sometimes we stood behind the goal, watching the other team. As they came downfield, our fullback forced Creekside left or right. The goalie moved to give them a less open angle. The other thing was to look for tendencies, meaning which foot the other player favored. Mrs. Reyes-Miller says that at this level, most shoot with only their strong foot, so if you figure out which one that is, you know more about when they'll shoot, and where. It doesn't always work, but it helps the goalie's chances."

"Excellent," said Kevin. "You'll get to use that tomorrow. And if you see one player who is good from a particular side, tell John to have him force that guy to his weak side. I'll do the same." Robert nodded and left.

"Robert listens," said Angela.

"He knows when to do so," said Kevin. "Thanks. I mean that."

Angela nodded and smiled as their eyes met.

Tuesday, February 7

Kevin had pointed Angela out to his girls' goalie, Yolanda, the day before. She was eager to learn and delighted that a lady knew so much about soccer! Kevin walked toward the field whose chalk outlines had been refreshed since yesterday. Yolanda and Angela stood near the Valle Grande goal as Kevin approached.

Another sunny day. Before he reached the team, Kevin gazed at Angela as she chatted with his player. There wasn't much of a breeze, so her long dark hair flowed loosely more than halfway down her back. She wore a white sleeveless dress, hanging down just to her knees, with wide straps that showed off her neck. It was modest, yet she looked stunning. Her dark brown skin needed no sunscreen. Her sunglasses added style, and a white headband kept the long hair away from her face. Now there is a woman who looks good in anything. Or in nothing? As Miguel would say, she'd look better in less. Hmmm. I'd better concentrate on the game.

Kevin met with his team briefly and organized warmups. When the game began, Kevin could see that it wouldn't be easy. Creekside had some kids with speed and skills. One, in particular, was dangerously fast. In the first half, the ball went back and forth. Valle Grande passed better and had two shots on goal, but both were caught by the other goalie. Creekside had three shots, all breakaways. Their speedster moved in on John, who forced him right, but that was to his strength. The first two times, Robert dove and blocked his shots out of bounds, so the defense had time to retreat and help. But the third time, even though Robert gave him little room, Creekside's best player threaded it past him into the corner. At halftime, Valle Grande was down one-zero.