Chasing (recreational) goals

Turns out soccer is harder than I thought. 

Alright, alright - I knew soccer was hard to begin with. Despite my preference for nearly every other major North American sport (baseball > football > hockey > soccer > basketball, by the way), I enjoy watching soccer. You’d have to be a robot (or not into sports I guess?) to find yourself disinterested during a World Cup or Euro game. 

Even on the more local side of things, Toronto FC games are hugely entertaining to watch live, with the supporters section chanting songs (the boooOOOOYS on the field!) and drumming rhythmically/frantically throughout the entire game. Add in smoke bombs and that never-gets-old Viking clap chant made popular by the Iceland national team, and you have a recipe for low-grade hooliganism and a high-grade Wednesday night. Oh, and that guy with the flag, swinging it madly for 90+ minutes. I bet he never skips arm day.

I can thank (or blame, TBD) my friend Kevin for getting me more into soccer. He works on the medical staff for the TFC and routinely scores me and my friends tickets to games. I think at one point, I went to six or seven games in one season. That’s pretty impressive for the fourth-ranked sport on my personal leaderboard.

All of this recent soccer-specific content culminated in me recently signing up for a recreational soccer league with a team of work friends. The reasoning behind this was three-fold: learn more about soccer, tire myself out during the winter months by running around indoors, and of course, hang with friends and make some new ones. 

The last time I played soccer on a bonafide team, I think I was 8 years old playing for an Investors Group-sponsored team. Other than the odd pickup game (less than five in total I think), I hadn’t played real soccer in 25 years. 

All my life I’ve known that soccer was difficult. Every sport is obviously challenging in its own way, but I do think some fit into the “easy to learn, impossible to master” bucket a bit more than others. I figured soccer would be like this. I didn’t expect to be curving balls into top corners, but I figured I may be able to handle a few shots and move the ball up the pitch with some ease. 

Oof, I was wrong. 

Flailing and failling

Now, I’m not the most well-balanced, limber dude in the world. The expertise of my hand-eye coordination lies more in the video game realm than the physical one. I figured that, because I can run for a long time without getting tired, I’ll be at minimum replacement-level proficent at this sport. I can get in the way of people, catch up to players down the field, and not be hindered by tired legs after 45 minutes of jogging. 

But man, during my first game out there, I felt like Piggy in Lord of the Flies: lost and surrounded by leaner, more confident people. I managed to play a bit of solid defense by just getting in the way of opposite players, but for the most part, they blew right by me, leaving me metaphorically (and once, literally) biting the turf.

Let’s not even get started about kicking the ball. I can barely put a shot on target, let alone with power. Passing is just okay, but there’s an incredible art to accurate passes that I cannot comprehend. It’s a touch of strength mixed with foresight, accuracy, and sheer confidence in your team. 

That idea of unlocking the “art” of a game by playing it is a really fun one to consider. Looking around at other teammates (and the competition too), it really opened my eyes to the skill and intricacies of the game. Normally, as soon as I get the ball on my feet, I have the urge to dump it down the field and get rid of it like I’m playing hot potato. Not only am I hesitant to carry up the field, I’m downright scared. 

The more I learn and absorb though, the more I realize soccer is an incredibly physical game highlighted with flashes of finesse. It’s about getting in people’s spaces, forcing them to make a move, and trying to blow past them and shift control up the pitch.

For my own growth, I’m cautiously gaining confidence in holding the ball and making decisive, non-rushed passes. Slowly but surely, I won’t kick the ball as soon as it lands in front of my feet. 

“Recreational”

Now that my lack of aptitude has been outlined, let me reiterate: I did not expect to be skilled at all. But so far, this has been an eye-opening experience. The best thing about it, though? It’s still incredibly fun. My team is full of experienced players who offer insight surrounding the strategy of moving the ball around and the different positions on the field, and everyone cheers for one another when any positive play is made. There’s an air of comradery that I guarantee is envied by every other team we play - people on this side of the pitch actually like each other and are excited to show up each week, even to ridiculous 11pm start times. 

One thing I have to address that has been a common gripe for me is the term “recreational.” This league we are enrolled in is deemed recreational. Hardly. There are legitimate athletic freaks out there man. The first game we played, there was a person on the other team so adept at ball control it seemed as if it was glued to his feet. 

Some of the people we play wouldn’t look out of place on a D2 college team. Every team not only has a ringer, but multiple studs. That may be hyperbole, as I am very new and these people have actual experience playing the sport, so the gap is appropriately wide, but this idea of “rec” Toronto sports has irked me a bit recently. 

A similar phenomenon is happening in my Ultimate Frsibee league, where recreational opponents are strategizing on the field and calling timeouts to plot plays mid game. Back in my day, rec leagues meant beers on the sideline, not drawing out Xs and Os on a fucking whiteboard. Maybe that’s just rec softball though.

Regardless, I guess I’m glad there is a level of competition that ensures we all hustle our asses off and conduct post mortems about how we can improve each game. I’m definitely getting my cardio in chasing these 23-year-olds up and down the field. And I’m humble enough to enjoy seeing really excellent players execute magic feet, even if it’s on the other team. 

Since getting more fit, I’ve played more team sports in the last two years than the previous 10 combined. Soccer is a new one, but it’s a fun one I want to stick with. I can only get better, and through five games, I am definitely seeing improvements. There’s something invigorating about picking up a new skill and toughing it out, despite knowing you’re going to be awful. The joy and humility of incremental gains. There’s also something inspiring about validating that feeling of being awful, especially as you try to kick a ball and fall flat on your ass. 

Getting out there and trying new things has been an important part of reinventing myself over the last two years, and soccer is one more piece of that puzzle. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm glad I’m learning it. And for anyone out there thinking about it - enroll in some team sports and go have the time of your life. It’s a real kick, man.