Slow As Molasses

Please indulge my non-karate post.

My daughter has been playing soccer for three seasons. I was not sure that she really wanted to play this year but I signed her up at her request. The first practice was a disaster. She would not run or even kick the ball. I was certain that she would not make it to the first game. She cried on the way home from the first practice exclaiming that the only reason that she joined the team was because she wanted to get a goal. I explained to her that in order to get a goal she needed to practice and she needed to run.

A few weeks into practice, I noticed a change in her. She was no longer the last one finishing her laps around the field. She played more aggressively and tried hard during practice. The girls were starting to grow as a team. Four games into the season, the team had yet to win a game. This was about to change.

Sunday was perfect soccer weather. On the way to the field, I told my daughter that today felt like the day she would get a goal. The girls were on the field and they played their best game of the season. During the second half of the game, my daughter got her first goal. She stood in the middle of the field for a second and quite honestly looked shocked. Then it sunk in....her first goal. Her teammates, parents and coaches cheered. It was a great moment...pure joy.

I asked her to describe in detail her goal. She said "I was in a quarrel (my daughters soccer lingo) with the defender and I kicked the ball. The ball went between her legs and into the goal. I did not think I was going to get a goal. The ball was as slow as molasses but then it went in." I assured her the ball did not move as slow as she thought. Priceless.

Way to go!