Soccer is such a beautiful sport. Pure and unadulterated running. Full-out, fast-as-you-can, go-get-’em chasing around the field.
The children remind me of colts. Lots of leg, singularly focussed (for about a minute at least) jockeying for position in the herd.
The pink shoes are the sole declaration of femininity. Any more would be brash — although a bandana came into play earlier in the season.
The Orange Team was pretty strong this year. Co-ed, there was no particular gender bias when it came to player strength and talent. That is to say, all the Really Good Players are not playing namby-pamby house league games. They’re on Serious Teams. Where the motto is, “It’s not how you play the game. It’s whether you win or lose.”
They most likely would not allow pink shoes or bandanas.
And none of this co-ed business either.
And thus the Orange Team did not win the tournament. They actually placed near the bottom had a lot of fun.
‘Cause it ain’t whether you win or lose…
The Country Mice 
Great shots Lois.
And you are so right. Win . Lose . Whatever.
However talk to Hannah sometime about the pure rush of being on a team which came to be called the great red machine. Or something like that. They just rolled. Some strong strong players. But mostly amazing team work cultivated by an amazing coach.
There is great joy too in playing really well. Improving. Making the passes. When they finally won (well actually not finally) – but the cup game. The joy on those girl’s faces as they ran the length of the field past their parents and fans. All 11 to 13. Strong runners. Never took it for granted for a second.
All this is good too.
But I am mighty partial to those sneakers.
Mary
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