A Moment in Soccer - Selection #3

Conserve Yourself

We were somewhere in Illinois. The U11 girls were playing in the tournament final in a few hours. A few other coaches and I were kicking a ball around when several of the girls joined in and an impromptu pick-up game began. Everyone was enjoying themselves when a dad grabbed his daughter by the arm, announcing “You’ve got a final coming up, you need to conserve your energy.” As he dragged her off, he said to me, “If we lose, you know whose fault it is.”

I didn’t respond, nor did I react. No need for two people to act like ass-heads.

Despite the energy-sucking pick-up game, our girls won the game.

The “conserve your energy” dad approached me afterward. “Heck of a game coach. What a great win. That’s really going to help our National Ranking.”

“I’m not sure about that,” I responded.

“What do you mean? That team is ranked first in our region.”

“No, they’re not, that was their B-Team.”

“Really, wow. Really?”

“Yeah, their A team is much better,” I shrugged my shoulders. He nodded his head and shuffled away while muttering something to himself.

Another coach overheard our conversation and asked, “Was that really their B Team?”

“No, it was their A team.”