New Sport

My favorite sport in which to participate is, without doubt, basketball. Basketball always has been, and always will be, my favorite sport to play (at least until I’m so old that the only thing I can do is swing a golf club and drive a cart).

I started playing when I was 5 and, especially when mathematical extrapolations told me I was going to be 6’6, had my eye on a pro career for quite some time. However, it looks like I’m topping out short of 6’ and I don’t have the physical abilities usually associated with being really good at basketball (speed, coordination, ups, etc.). Oh, well. I’d still pick b-ball as my sport of choice if I had to pick one thing to commit to play every day for hours a day. Football is sweet, golf is up there for me, and tennis and baseball are certainly decent options.

As you can tell, I’m into classic American sports, the ones that have been popular here for decades. This attraction, I think, interacted somewhat with my pride for my country and, combined with the fact that I came up a few years before soccer had taken much hold in Arkansas, resulted in my not seeing just how this sport engenders such affection.

That, however, has changed.

Monday is the day that LIFE goes to a center called La Farrerre and plays soccer with the boys there. The goal is usually to get as many male volunteers there as possible, and since I decided a few weeks ago to give the sport a shot, I made myself available. Let me tell you, I see why people like this sport, especially in a truncated court on which we were playing. There’s constant movement, there’s nuance of motion, physicality, and the constant opportunity to go mano a mano with an opponent. Also, these kids, generally aged 10-14 or so, were good. So why am I telling you all this?

Well, not only did playing help me appreciate the sport academically, though. I actually LIKE PLAYING SOCCER.

I don’t want to miss any more Monday soccer excursions. I want to find games that will take clumsy, out of shape Americans. I want to find a way to play when I get back to the States. Taking in a match if there are any still going on has become a priority for my time here, as has scoring a goal.*

I got out of the office for a few hours, saw a new part of town, got to familiarize myself a bit with the place and kids I’ll be coordinating (more to come later), and might have started picking up a new sport. Not bad for a Monday. While I still won't choose an afternoon of soccer** over one of basketball (like a certain lame close college friend of mine who knows who he is), it's great to have a new game.

*Yeah, they’re kids, but they’re kids who can play.

**Don't worry, while it's fútbol in Spanish, when I'm speaking English it's still "soccer."