Well folks, there’s no mystery here, is there? My daughter’s team did not win on Sunday. The team had to play a team they had already beaten in the first round. Yeah, I know…not fair. But, as we all know, life doesn’t appear to be fair sometimes. I guess it just depends on your perspective. I’m sure the other team is sitting at home right now declaring the sweet justice of it.
I’m feeling very philosophical right now.
First, I need to give you the details of the game. And you’re not gonna believe it.
Let it first be said that we were considered “The” team to beat. This team won State Cup last year, although it’s a very different team from last year. Many of the girls only joined the team this season, including my daughter. Because we had already beaten the other team, we suspected that they would be out for revenge. We guessed correctly, just like the day before.
The other team came out strong, but we scored first. The score went back and forth, with each team scoring, tying the game, and then taking the lead.
The game ended in a tie, so we went to overtime. At the end of the first overtime, the score was still tied, so they went into a second overtime.
Yep…the game was still tied after the second overtime.
PK time (penalty kicks). After the first five kickers, the score remained tied.
Why, oh why, can’t there just be a Final Five. Let both teams through…give them a break and let the girls rest.
Of course, that just would’t be right. Even I know that.
So, they went to sudden death PKs. Five different girls from the teams lined up for their chance to win the game.
After the first two kickers, we were still tied.
The third kicker on the other team shot. It went in. Our third kicker shot, and their goalie blocked it.
Game over. They won.
Sadness…
Little Ms. Auburnchickadee was not in a good mood on the way home. I couldn’t blame her. She’s never won a state cup title. Many of the other girls have. She wanted it. Badly.
Life goes on.
This morning, as I drove her to school, I asked her how she was feeling. “Sore,” she answered. She said that everytime she moved last night, she hurt.
This is where I get philosophical.
As I watched my baby get out of the car, I sat in amazement at what she’d done. How can kids step out on the field time after time, knowing that they are putting their bodies on the line? I’ve watched Little Ms do this since she was six years old. Please don’t think I’m a pushy soccer mom. She does it because she loves it. I have never made her play. She has played with a 103 temperature, bronchitis, and this weekend, a head cold that nobody but us knew about. She was hacking up loogies each morning, but she didn’t dare tell her teammates or her coach. No excuses. Play on.
To fully appreciate Little Ms Auburnchickadee’s accomplishments, however, one must go back even further…to February ’07, when she had surgery to repair a torn ACL that had happened the previous December during a high school game.
She had been playing at the top of her game. She was strong, so to be sidelined with that kind of injury was absolutely devastating. I cried when I saw her in ICU after surgery. She looked so vulnerable. Little Ms. Auburnchickadee will never let you see that side of her on purpose. She hurt so badly physically but even more emotionally…believing that her soccer career would never be the same.
For a while, it was easy to understand her fears. To watch my baby need help with the most basic routines of life…getting out of bed, using the bathroom, taking a shower. It reduced us all to tears. Her physical therapists thought she wouldn’t come back after the first session, when they had to force her leg into a straight position. I’ve never hurt so badly for another human as I did that day.
But, she worked hard. Her current coach chose to put her on the team despite her being unable to “try out” physically. He took her based on the words of others who had played with her or seen her play. He had faith in her. That upped the ante for her. She worked like nobody’s business to get back in shape. And she did.
Only five months after surgery, she stepped back on the field, leg protected by a custom fitted brace. Her play wasn’t pretty, I can tell you that right now. But the smile on her face was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.
She got stronger and stronger, running faster with that brace on than most people. And when she took it off for good, one year after surgery, she got even faster.
Her hard work paid off this weekend. She didn’t get subbed once during the game on Sunday, and she took some hard licks and gave right back. But she never gave up. She played her heart out and left everything on the field.
So, while a State Cup title would have been nice, it would have been, for us, icing on the cake. The real prize has already been obtained. Having Little Ms back on the field, doing what she loves, stronger than ever.
Sometimes, it’s not about winning. It’s about where you were before you started the journey and where you wind up. Little Ms Auburnchickadee has nothing to be ashamed of. She was forced to travel a difficult road. She came out shining brighter than any medal.
Filed under: soccer | Tagged: acl, soccer, state cup, winning | Leave a comment »
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