Walhalla 4; Danielle 1

The Growing Storm

As coach Estes and I sat at the northwest corner of "the beach" which seems to be balding in reverse (Why can't my hair do that?) as the warm temperatures return, we were glad that the storm, black and ominous in the western sky, seemed to be held back by some unseen force that apparently wanted to see a really good soccer match. We were also glad that our boys seemed to be gathering the energy of that storm as they warmed up on the sideline during the girls game, which they won in dramatic fashion to set the stage for what would be another great contest.

As we sat, basking in the new fragrances of spring, I was taken back to a poignant moment during a training session we had earlier in the year. As I was stretching the boys out on an unusually balmy day in February, we all saw Estocrates, our great sage leader walking towards us with a blindfold on, dodging flying soccer balls and adroitly side-stepping oncoming J.V. players frolicking and gambolling about the pitch (as J.V. players are want to do), as if he had full vision. At one point in his stride, as a ball was about to hit him in the back, he spun smoothly, received it with his chest, brought the ball down and caught it on his laces and then gracefully flicked it back to his dumbfounded son Thad, who stood with mouth agape, as if he was asking himself, "who is this man who calls himself my father?" As he came into our circle, young Eli Cothran, who just could contain himself no longer jumped up and addressed him. This is what ensued:

Young Cothran: How did you do that coach? You cannot see.

Estocrates: You think I cannot see?

YC: Why do you choose to blindfold yourself? Of all things, to live in darkness must be worst.

E: Fear is the only darkness. Take that ball and try to beat me 1 v. 1.

E: (after stopping him repeatedly) Ha, ha, never assume because a man has no eyes he cannot see. Close your eyes. What do you hear?

YC: I hear young boys playing. I hear the birds.

E: Do you hear your own heartbeat?

YC: No.

E: Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?

YC: [looking down and seeing the insect] Master, how is it that you hear these things?

E: Young man, how is it that you do not?

Then, Coach Estes proceeded to explain to a captive audience that in order to actually be the best team in the state, and to reach Nirvana and find the key to all that exists in the process, that they would have to hone all five of their senses - and that complete oneness with one's own faculties and with those of every other team member was paramount to the achievement of this noble and lofty quest. Then we sat together as a family for the next two hours in complete silence, with blindfolds on, as the sounds of practicing and playing youth faded into the sunset. When we instinctively knew that everyone's heartbeat had been heard, we got up one by one, and left without a word.

Back to the game. After dispelling the mathematically impossible myth that a human could "give it 110%," created by the sadomasochistic Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay packers in order to see if he could steal his player's essence by making them give him something they didn't have, Coach Estes demanded 100% effort from the team before we left the locker room and headed out onto the pitch. His assessment at half-time, at which we were down 1- 0, after consulting our mathematical genius and team statistician, Juan Olvera, who has for his thesis developed a mathematical model for calculating percent effort given during a specific event which takes into consideration like 17 different variables, was that our boys, despite playing an extremely good half, only gave it 85.32 percent. That would change as soon as the second half whistle blew.

Our first goal came about 10 minutes into the second half when crafty freshman, Chris Tueso, torched his man at the left corner of the 18 yard box and was then summarily hacked from behind resulting in a P.K. which Johnny Martinez made short work of. 1 - 1. Then, if I remember correctly (Forgive me. I momentarily lost consciousness after Soloman "the flying tostada" accidentally kicked a ball way up in the air which landed precisely on the little hard button atop my baseball cap before the game started. The details from here on out could be slightly hazy.) Napoleonito did the splits on about the 6 as he made an incredible turn after receiving a ball from Eli Cothran and put another one in the old onion bag. 2 - 1. Our third goal came when Tueso magically spun past a defender on the right wing and crossed a perfect ball onto Richard who faced it into the back of the net. 3-1. And then the icing on the cake came when Alex Cruz skinned 2 defenders and slammed one home to leave no question who the best team in the state is. The last three goals came in the last 10 minutes of the game, a testament to how far we've come.

Man of the match actually goes to two players, neither of whom scored a goal. Alex Flores was a human vacuum in the midfield winning every head ball in his vicinity and completely neutralizing one of the best players in the state, while providing the main link in Walhalla's ability to have 75% of the possession in the game. Ishmael Martinez played a flawless game at sweeper with precision distribution and stellar defending and leadership throughout the match. He and Alex are both seniors who are maturing into two of the best players in 2A in my opinion at their respective positions. Great job Razorbacks.

This weekend Walhalla will be travelling to Mauldin for the Mauldin Cup. Wish us luck.

j