Keep It A Game

Does anyone remember “Do a down and out at the Buick?” “Anything left of the oak tree is foul?” Knocking the cover off of a baseball, wrapping it up with electrical tape and using it until it got lost in the woods? Cracking your best wooden bat, taping it up with that same multipurpose electrical tape and using that same bat another year or two? Asking Bubber to play football because he had a “real” NFL ball? Tackle football without equipment (hey, no one said we were smart!)?

I’ve been involved in one sport or another for more years than my body cares to remember. The mind went a while ago. I’ve played, coached, ump’d, ref’d, watched and cheered pre-schoolers on up.


Athletic involvement is a terrific way to make friends, push your limits, learn your limitations, get some fresh air and just feel good about yourself. Win or lose. Someone may have said this before, but just do it. So what if your socks don’t match your jersey which matches your sweatband which matches your tote bag which matches your wind-breaker which is color coordinated with the team minivan? It just doesn’t matter. What matters is the love of the game, the spirit of competition, falling down and getting dirty.

We’ve got to get kids interested in the game for the game itself. Kids have got to know and feel it doesn’t take parental supervision on a lined field with flags to enjoy a game. Soccer is soccer whether it’s played on freshly cut Bermuda or on dirt with a few rock obstacles. The game is what’s in your head and in your heart, not what’s on your back or on your feet. We’ve all scored the winning goal on a bicycle kick. Hit a 3-2 fastball into the upper deck in the bottom of the ninth. Sank a 35 footer at the buzzer. I have. And some day hope to do them all for real.

For those with the resources by all means go for it. The ones who need more of our attention are the ones who have the desire but not the means. We’re beginning to price soccer out of the reach of too many. What if we worked with our respective city’s parks departments to set up times that soccer fields or park areas were “open” for games? Or what if we just said “Come play soccer from 1-5. Nothing required.” We’d probably only need an adult or two around for those nagging administrative type things. Will the kids learn all the moves and tactics? Probably not, though some will.

And Bubber can bring his ball and I’ll bring the electrical tape.