Tonight Meg and I went with our friends Gabby and Paula to the soccer sectional match in Plymouth. Paula's daughter, Alex, is a freshmen varsity starter. The girls had drawn Warsaw as their first game. Although they had beaten us earlier in the season, the team was enthusiastic about the game and hopeful about their chance of winning. They had played them tough during the season and have been practicing very well this week.
As the game carried on, it was obvious that this wasn't meant to be their night. They played well, but couldn't overcome Warsaw's attacking offense and lost 5-0. I enjoyed sitting at the game with Paula. I tease her about being my "cheerleader friend." Paula was a cheerleader all four of our high school years together and she is still a supportive fan of the Wawasee teams today. As Meg told her, "you are the only person I know who could yell out "You suck!" and it would still sound positive." I totally agree with Meg.
After the game, one of the older parents said to Paula, "This has been a long season." Paula looked at her funny and said, "No, it's been great. The girls have really improved and tonight they were attacking on offense and communicating. They couldn't do that in August." Paula is totally right and I hear this from Doug as well. Thus, if there ever was a coach or a team mom to have on an 0-17 soccer team, then they would be the two to have. They can find the positive in any situation. It makes it so much easier to be around them and helps the girls learn a very valuable lesson in life - Sometimes in life you will lose and it won't be fun. It is how you handle those loses that make all of the difference.
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