Back on the soccer field!

I played soccer this weekend - it was so great!



My co-worker Jenny plays on a casual team - it's basically 14-15 friends that get together and play 6 or 7 a side on Saturdays. It's super casual - the two team captains serve as refs, there are no lines on the field and penalties are called very rarely as everyone appears to be too polite for their own good... some of the other rules are that you can't tackle someone smaller than you (to protect the girls - a pet peeve of mine, to be honest) and goals that are shot over the keeper's head don't count. I personally think those rules are a bit ridiculous, but it's not my league, so I played along...

We played three 15 minute periods, and that was a good thing - 15 minutes was about what I could handle after being out of action for so long. (No pun intended!) :) It's definitely not Schmuck soccer - but it's always weird playing with a new set of people... it always takes a little while to figure everyone out and where you fit in. There was nothing epic in my playing, although I did have a beautiful assist - a graceful arcing ball (if I do say so myself) that was actually headed in! I was stoked, but quickly informed that it didn't count, sonce it was over the keeper's head. What?! But, as I said, it's someone else's league, so no complaints from me. This 'leauge' plays for the Professor Ovington Cup - a commerative plate that one of them found in a second-hand store a couple of years ago. The plate is engraved as the Professor Ovington Award - no one actually knows who Professor Ovington is, or what he taught - it's just a cool trophy to play for.

This is definitely not soccer like I'm used to - every little bit of contact with a girl stops the ball as people apologize and see if you are all right. One of my pet peeves in soccer... the game is meant to have a little bit of contact, if you can't handle it, get off the field! In the last period i was playing defense, my favorite, and ran into a guy and hit the ground, and everyone gasped and asked if I was okay. I was fine... it's not really a soccer game to me unless I hit the ground at some point. (Right Lee?) Anyway... it'll just take some getting used to I figure.

The people were really cool, and there were definitely more guys than girls (as usual on the soccer field), so I'm looking forward to getting to know the group. And as long as I get to run around a little bit I can't really be too fussed about silly rules. I may try to find another league to play in as well, now that I"ve played again, I can't get enough!

And - my knee didn't hurt. YAY!