First Futbol Games

It's officially started; soccer season. The teams practiced for two weeks back in November and have been at it again since we returned in February, but this week marked the first time both the girls and boys teams had match-ups against another academy here in Asuncion. Once the game was confirmed for Friday afternoon, Brandon's intensity went up a notch, as did the other coach's (Glen). Many of the students were nervous about their debut on the field, and other's were overly optimistic about their own skills.

Now, for a country whose national pastime is futbol, whose children kick soccer balls as soon as they can walk, and whose streets are dotted with mini-soccer fields (canchitas) bursting at the seams with patrons, their knowledge about the game is not what you would expect. They can kick around a soccer ball all day, and some have a tricky move or two up their sleeve, but ask them to open up for a pass, control the ball, or make a run down the side-line and they're lost. At least the kids at ACA kids, it seems. Brandon and Glen have been working with both the girls and the boys on putting together an organized system in which to play. They've done drills, worked on conditioning, and had walk-through's on the field, talking through plays and highlighting strengths and weaknesses.

When it came time to play on Friday, both the girls' and the boys' teams were anxious to see how all the extra training - and education about how to play - would pan out. After all, the last time the boys played Faith Christian School, they lost 14 - 2. They knew they had learned a lot and were confident that they would perform better.

And they did.

Friday was a scorching day, especially on the steps/bleachers that were in the full sun at 4 P.M. But students, parents and teachers all braved the heat to support their team.

The boys team took the field first and made a good showing. They even scored the first goal, and then held the score at 1-1 until the end of the first half. As exhaustion set in (and the referee refused to call off-sides), Faith scored three more goals in the second half, all unanswered. The final score for the boys: 4-1.

One thing you have to know about the girl's team is that only 3 of the 16 girls on the team have ever played soccer before. And 12 are in junior high. Two of the three best players are junior highers. The other team was made up of entirely high school students. BIG high school girls. So, as they took the field, they were all incredibly anxious as this was not only their first game playing together, but for most of them their first game EVER. Talk about pressure.

But, like the boys, they did well.

The final score was 4-0 and Faith walked away victorious over both the girls and boys at ACA, but our teams walked away hopeful, too. They played well as a team, saw the fruit of all their hard work and saw a glimpse of the teams that they CAN be if they continue on the path that they are on. Go Knights!

And, Bailey had this AMAZING shirt! I took an old polo, cut out the logo and sewed it on a onesie! And, voila! ACA's littlest (and cutest) little fan!