Question Of The Week

Name an important event in your life?

Watching the Americans win the gold metal in soccer for women was a great experience in my life. It was the first time women’s soccer was introduced as a sport at the Olympics in 1996. As a suburban child living in a lower to middle class neighborhood my family was far from tennis courts and golf courses. It seemed the most popular sport offered to girls at the local rec center was softball in which I was awful. My hand-eye coordination would always be limited and my height, or lack thereof, made me a bad candidate for basketball as well. My love had always been running and that led me to soccer. At that time there were no teams for girls but my friend’s father coached an all boys team and asked me to join. After the first practice I cried all the way home and begged to quit because I felt so isolated and I had let the teasing of some of the boys get to me. After my mom shut the engine off in the driveway she took my face in her hands and told me this “I don’t mind of you quit because you don’t like it, but don’t quit because it’s hard.” I went back the next day and the rest as they say is history. Soon I made friends with the other boys and they accepted me as an equal teammate. It was actually harder to get a few of the parents to accept a girl in the league. There were a few parents who did not want me to play with their sons so they would cite a league rule that clearly stated that all players had to wear an athletic cup. They had me there because I didn’t have one but my coach always took my defense and sorted it out so I could play. I played several more years on all boy teams until teams for girls were finally formed.

It wasn’t just watching the American women win the gold that moved me. It was sitting in the stands with thousands and thousands of largely little girls all screaming at the excitement. One little girl sat next to me and had cards of all of her favorite players. She knew them all by name and could recount their stats. She had something wonderful. She had positive role models and she had gotten the same thing I had out of playing soccer that had nothing to do with women’s lib at all. I had learned the spirit of social interaction through cooperation, teamwork and friendship. Experts say that sports help kids think critically and solve problems, build self-discipline, trust, respect for others, leadership and coping skills, all of which form the foundation of character building. The last time I saw my friend’s father several years ago I let him know how much he impacted my life by being my coach. It’s amazing how we all impact each other without even knowing it but I supposed that’s the beauty and undercurrent of life.

The picture above is one I took of Carla Overbeck after the team won the gold. She rushed to the side line in tears to hug her husband and I happen to be standing there.

Please feel free to share your great events!