#188 Connections

A few months ago I traveled 25 miles north to Frisco, TX to visit a good friend of mine and his two kids.  I call them the goofball brothers because they are both goofballs and they are both brothers.  A. is 10 years old.  C. is 7 years old.  10 and 7 are wonderful ages.  The boys are confident and aware.  They have developed senses of humor.  They love to play and they still ask plenty of questions.  I look forward to visiting these two because it gives me a chance to talk to the boys about my favorite sport.  Soccer.

A. did not take to soccer.  He prefers baseball and basketball.  C., however, loves soccer.  He recently got new cleats and a soccer ball, and he wants nothing more than to punt the ball as far as he can.  Each time the ball launches into the air, he lets out a giggle that is equal parts ecstasy and villainy.

When I arrived I promised one boy we'd play basketball and the other we'd play soccer.  I told them to round up some boys and we'd organize some games.  The boys led me to one yard on the street, the neighborhood sports field, and I taught them the basics of passing and trapping.  Any chance they got, they lifted the ball with their hands and punted the thing down the street.  I would shake my head and make them retrieve the ball.  They laughed the entire way.

I enjoy playing neighborhood sports on a field full of young boys and girls.  I like the balance of chaos and organization.  I like teaching.  I really like watching the children succeed.  But my favorite part happened several weeks later when, unbeknownst to me, C. played in his first ever "real" soccer game for a team he just joined.  He scored a goal and got an assist.  On his way home from the game he called me two times back to back because I didn't answer the first time.  He had to talk to me.  He had to tell me about his first game.

We go about our lives doing what we need to survive.  Occasionally we have time to do the things we love, and sometimes that allows us to connect with another person who shares a similar passion.  That connection is so important.  It's what makes life worthwhile.