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| 40 SPORTS | The Whitehorse STAR, Friday, April 1, 2005 | |
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Photo by Lenore Morris
Shea Newnham and Tim Shoniker chase the action at a Whitehorse Co-ed Soccer League drop-in game, March 29, 2005 (This is not the actual photo that appeared in the newspaper. It's unavailable.)
Co-ed soccer offers more than exercise |
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By GREGORY BRYCE "No goal! You hit the post!"
It feels like 1958 again. We're 10-year-olds out on the street playing road hockey, old Johnny Bower in goal for the Leafs, Tim Horton on defense by himself, Hull or Beliveau or Howe aiming tennis balls between two boots propped against the curb. No one's keeping score. No one has a whistle. "Good pass. Oooh, almost! Nice stop, Bob." Everyone's in a good mood. In fact, we're not NHL heroes of yesteryear, but men and women from 18 to late 50s playing indoor soccer in a Whitehorse school gym. Tonight's game starts off without proper nets, as the guy with the |
storage room key hasn't arrived yet. Giant plastic garbage bins do the trick for
the time being. They're noisy.
We make up a couple of rules. Goals have to be below knee-height to count, and shooters have to be within a certain line. Other than that, the rules are the same as they have been since the season started in mid-October. Have fun. Take turns. Pass the ball. Help beginners. Drink water. Avoid collisions. More players arrive for the second game and we switch from playing cross-court to the full length of the high school gym. What a difference. Long passes. Huge distances to run. I am amazed by the gazelle-like acceleration of the young players and some well over 40 – of course, |
they're all slimmer than me – and impressed by the dancing footwork of the better players.
After two hours of running, I'm bagged, but the good-mood endorphins keep rushing through my system. Yes, my old knees may not want to spring up the office stairs tomorrow, but tonight my heart feels strong, and in minutes I'll fall into deep, untroubled sleep. Free drop-in adult co-ed soccer games continue for three more weeks, till April 19, at
Selkirk Elementary School, on Sundays at 6:00 and 7:30 and Tuesdays at 7:00 and 8:30.
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