Penni,
Joey, who is 8, is being introduced to organized sports for the first time - until now it's always been snorkeling, swimming, hiking, kayaking, nothing with teams and balls. Now he's started in an "international school", with all the trimmings, students of 26 different nationalities, a student/faculty ratio of 6:1, etc., with appropriate price tag. They are playing soccer now; Joey's very attached to it (he's seen me play, and we've messed around with it a bit), and is learning fast, but he never passes the ball. I asked him why, and he replied that he can never figure out who is on his team. Guess it would be a bit of a challenge.
The frustrating thing is that the school insists on an American schedule for sports, meaning soccer from September to November, then basketball, etc. Unfortunately this is our rainy season, which makes soccer complicated - a typhoon just went by, and they haven't actually been able to play for over a week. In December, when the weather will be perfect, they will go inside and play basketball. In my innocence I asked why it couldn't be reversed, and got a long and incomprehensible answer about needing to synchronize the schedule for competition against other schools. As the other schools they compete against are all subject to the same conditions, it didn't seem to make much sense, but school administrations rarely do. Not to mention that with a total student body of 160 from nursery to grade 12 they aren't exactly going to be putting together a full soccer team.
So it goes. I suppose the answer is to get a rubber ball and play in the rain. Or play in the house, which we do, driving the wife nuts.
Understand about the bluegrass. I spent many years in the distant past trying to sound like Doc Watson, until I got a Strat and started trying to sound like Mark Knopfler. Long ago realized I would never sound like either, but I still enjoy a session under a big old tree, especially if alcohol is involved.
Steve |
