My First Futbol Experience

I played soccer for the first time in my life tonight, and it was a very humbling experience. When I was coaching basketball in Georgia, we were always amazed at the kids who had never played a game of basketball before and then would come and try out for a varsity team at a large high school. I felt sorry for them because their lack of skills were glaringly obvious when they were on the court with other players who were pretty good.

Well, tonight I was that kid. First, they put me at goalie, I guess because they figured my long arms would help defend the goal. After I gave up three goals in the first five minutes or so, they moved me away from the goal, where I did even worse. After it became obvious that I couldn't overcome my instincts to always reach for the ball with my hands, they put me back at goalie for the rest of the night. I'm glad we weren't keeping any score because I lost count after I gave up 15 goals or so. One guy scored on me about 10 times all by himself.

I think one of our biggest challenges in ministry here is going to be connecting with these older guys... if they like connecting with gringos who are amazingly lacking any soccer skills- I'm their guy.