The team closed out last season fairly strong despite finishing in the middle of the table. Among other things, we beat the team that was in top place and thereby gave the title to the team that had been in second. I finally scored for the first time in the spring half of the season, hitting a rocket that went from the top of the box to the upper corner and gave the keeper no chance to save it. Not a top ten all-time goal, but definitely in the top 25. More importantly, since scoring isn’t my primary job anymore, I picked up three assists in the last game and the season-ending league tournament; the family showed up strong in the latter, as we literally contributed all of the team’s goals except three, and we had assists on those three.
My objective for the season was to run more and help out the attack more in addition to my primary responsibility for protecting our weakest defender. I mostly managed to do that all season, and even managed to close it out injury-free for the first time in four years. I started every game but one, but I played a bit less in the second half than before, so my minutes being down a bit may have helped me stay healthy.
I don’t know why our captain decided to get an early start this summer, as it’s usually late August when we start practicing for the new season. Perhaps he was inspired by the Euros and was itching to get back to action, I don’t know. In any event, we had our first practice tonight in a blistering heat, and although everyone’s touch was a bit off, I was pleased to discover that I’m definitely not done yet. My team won 9-3 and I contributed three of the goals, although I did put one mid-range shot wide and lazily lost my man once in a way that cost us a goal.
At my age, every new season and every new return from injury raises the question: can I still do this? After all, I’m 27 years older than my youngest teammate and one of the three oldest players in the league. So, it’s very satisfying to know that this season, at least, won’t be a problem. One thing I like about soccer is that it’s very binary. You can either do it or you can’t, and everyone knows it. You don’t have to be the star, but you do have to do your job or the team will suffer.
One thing that was kind of funny was that right before the last game, the captain told me to spread the ball around more, because the previous two games I’d tended to pass almost exclusively to our star striker. Which was fair criticism; I usually look to give either the one striker or the Magician the ball, and the Magician had missed both games. So, the game starts, I get the ball almost immediately, go down the right side, and send in a cross to the striker, who heads it emphatically home. 1-0, and I turn to the captain and spread my hands in a “hey, what was I supposed to do” gesture. He just shook his head and laughed.