Ben’s team played in a soccer tournament this weekend. It ended up being quite frustrating, with so many close shots that just didn’t bounce the boys way. Ben was disappointed at the weekend’s outcomes, of course, but took it in stride after some initial sulkiness.
In a weekend full of soccer, however, one event was quite astounding. I thought I’d seen it all in youth soccer games but that idea was put to rest in our first game on Saturday, when an opposing player punched our keeper in the chest! This team, CSL Junkyard Dawgs, was a good team that certainly didn’t have to resort to thuggery but apparently this boy was frustrated at a scrum in front of the net. Our keeper won the ball and sent it back upfield and while the ref’s back was turned (we only had a one man crew), one of the players from the orange team took a swing at the keeper. Hard to believe if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. I know things get heated on the pitch at times, but I didn’t expect to see such a poor display of sportsmanship at this young age.
I really struggled with the glare on the second day of the tournament and I have very few pictures from Sunday. I also took a bit of a break and watched most of the last game purely as a spectator!
