What a great day for the Seagate Soccer team to have their first spring soccer tournament!
It was a warm day out, but there still was a slight breeze with a smell of fresh cut grass in the air. There were newly placed lines on the field, too.
Everyone was excited for the soccer season to be finally underway, and you could see people taking in deep breaths of the fresh, crisp air as they shed their jackets.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker could be seen socializing on the sidelines with the other parents as Charlie and his friends warmed up out on the grassy field with its shiny diamonds of dew glinting in the sun.
“Hey guys, let’s pass the balls while we run down the field,” George yelled over to Charlie, Emilia, Ava, and tiny Benny,” who all in return nodded and started running side-by-side, kicking balls back and forth.
“I love this sport,” Ava said while running and skipping a couple of times.
“That was a great pass,” Charlie remarked, as George swiftly kicked the black-and-white soccer ball to him.
“Ready, Emilia, here it comes,” Charlie said, as he kicked the ball towards her, but he had kicked it a little too hard, and it went past her to Ava.
“Sorry, Em,” Charlie said, apologizing for his high-energy kick.
“No problem, Charlie. You must have eaten oatmeal this morning,” Emilia said laughing.
“Thanks for the long kick my way,” Ava said, while laughing with Emilia.
“No problem, I actually did have oatmeal today,” Charlie remarked while chuckling.
They were now halfway down the field, and it was tiny Benny’s turn to receive a ball.
“Here it comes, Benny, and when you’ve gotten it, let’s try and get Emilia the ball again,” Ava said.
Tiny Benny swiftly took the ball passed by Ava, and bunted it back to Emilia, raising his fist in the air at his achievement.
“Nice one,” everyone said to him, as Emilia had received the ball with ease.
Emilia then stopped at the end of the field with everyone else, “We are about to start our game and we want to win today as a team. If we work as a team and share the ball and keep this positive energy up, we are sure to succeed.” She then called over the other players on their team.
Everyone gathered around her and put their hands in a circle, “Go Sea Gaters go, chomp, chomp, chomp,” they all said while lifting their hands into the air and closing them numerous times as if they were alligators. They all then dispersed to their field positions.
Then the whistle blew, and the game began.
George received the ball against his opponent at the centre line and then passed it to Charlie, and the sidelines started to cheer. Charlie passed the ball up to Emilia who was running as fast as she could, anticipating Charlie’s high-energy kick. She dodged a player on the other team and saw tiny Benny by the goalie and net. She then received Charlie’s ball and faked a pass to tiny Benny. She then passed the ball instead to Ava who was on her left, and then Ava passed the ball to tiny Benny as the crowd cheered in anticipation.
“I’ve got it,” tiny Benny yelled out and he swiftly kicked the ball into the open spot in the net.
Everyone on the Sea Gaters team cheered and high fived while moving to their field starting positions again.
As the day wore on, the other team did score a couple of points, but it was the Sea Gaters who managed to work together to make the tie-breaking point. The final score was a close 3-2 for the Sea Gaters. Their teamwork and constant, positive self-talk had made the difference.
As their game ended, everyone on both of the teams shook hands and thanked each other for coming out.
Charlie who was in the line remarked to one of the other players on the opposing team, “You made some amazing passes, and we were really lucky to win today. I think we all will really look forward to playing with you this coming season.”
And so it was, soccer not only gave little Charlie Tucker and his friends a way to become fit, but it also taught them to work as a team, practice good sportsmanship, and share responsibility out on the field.
© 2011 Crystal Buchan
