The Kids Are Alright
They’re a ridiculously young team.
Sometimes, it’s tempting to forget that. Because they’re flashy, and talented, and can pass really well and when it all clicks they score pretty goals.
So it’s easy to forget how young they are - that their defense has never played together, or that this is the first time the offense has really felt the burden of responsibility, or that their goalkeeper had to come in from the cold.
It’s easy to forget that.
Sometimes they make mistakes and you’re reminded of how young they are. Growing pains are horrible to watch for a team you’ve grown somewhat fond of, but sometimes, just sometimes, they’re necessary.
Because the advantage of such a young team? They’re still going to be around next year.
And next year - they will already know what it’s like to be in pressure situations. They will know how to handle it because they have that year of experience behind that. They will have been there before, and they will have learnt from that, and those kind of life lessons aren’t taught on the training field.
No, they’re the type of lessons you learn during a double over-time loss to your rival, or what happens when your attention slips midgame and you let something get away. They’re the type of lessons you learn when you have to play in the middle of a snowstorm, or when the rain is falling so hard you’re relying on instinct to get across the field.
They’ll go home, now, and lick their wounds for bit because that trophy had been theirs for years and now it belongs to someone else.
But in the spring, when training resumes, when the sun is shining again…
They’ll remember the rain and cold and - we have learnt from this.
The kids will have grown up.
Sometimes, it’s tempting to forget that. Because they’re flashy, and talented, and can pass really well and when it all clicks they score pretty goals.
So it’s easy to forget how young they are - that their defense has never played together, or that this is the first time the offense has really felt the burden of responsibility, or that their goalkeeper had to come in from the cold.
It’s easy to forget that.
Sometimes they make mistakes and you’re reminded of how young they are. Growing pains are horrible to watch for a team you’ve grown somewhat fond of, but sometimes, just sometimes, they’re necessary.
Because the advantage of such a young team? They’re still going to be around next year.
And next year - they will already know what it’s like to be in pressure situations. They will know how to handle it because they have that year of experience behind that. They will have been there before, and they will have learnt from that, and those kind of life lessons aren’t taught on the training field.
No, they’re the type of lessons you learn during a double over-time loss to your rival, or what happens when your attention slips midgame and you let something get away. They’re the type of lessons you learn when you have to play in the middle of a snowstorm, or when the rain is falling so hard you’re relying on instinct to get across the field.
They’ll go home, now, and lick their wounds for bit because that trophy had been theirs for years and now it belongs to someone else.
But in the spring, when training resumes, when the sun is shining again…
They’ll remember the rain and cold and - we have learnt from this.
The kids will have grown up.