The following is Selection #1 from Awful Moments in Soccer , a continuing series in Ponderings. The title is, Dreams and Dreamers. Enjoy or, for this section, don’t enjoy.

“Hey Don Vito, I don’t know what member of the five families you’re representing here, but your team stinks.”

Occasionally in Ponderings I’ll publish a vignette, (that’s not a salad dressing), or an extremely short story under the
following titles, Great Moments in Soccer, Awful Moments in Soccer or A Moment in Soccer. The first selection is titled, How’s Bobby Doing?

Despite coaching soccer my entire adult life, this event threw me for a loop. What do I do? How do I approach it? I felt nervous.

When Jake was nicknamed The Creature his transformation from character playing soccer for Drake University to caricature playing soccer for Drake University was complete.

I was one of the lucky college coaches. … I recruited kids who had their driver’s license.

A couple of years into my coaching career I thought it would be cool to have Dad on my bench for some of my games.

This is a love story. A tragic love story about a boy and his Jersey.