Gooooooal!

Yesterday I did something I hadn't done in seventeen years . . . I played in an organized soccer game! . . . and scored a goal!!

Last year, in an effort to bring the English and Spanish speaking communities of the parish together we organized Sunday afternoon soccer matches out on our own field. The turn-out for these games was amazing; so good in fact, that we started holding pot-luck lunches for all the spectators that also attended.

Last year I was never able to play given scheduling conflicts  - but this winter, while browsing in the nearby Adidas outlet, I came across a pair of soccer cleats for ten dollars, and took it as a sign. So, I suited up for this year's first match yesterday and had a great time. I don't think I was ever a great soccer player, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well I was able to hold my own against life-long players.  (Note that neither of the people in this picture is me)

Later in the evening, sore though I was, I joined in our usual Sunday Night Holy Redeemer Hoops. Josh and Stacey Noem and I host a weekly pick-up basketball game for the adults and high school students of the parish. Besides being a great source of exercise and fun, it's a great way to interact with the young dads from the parish and school - people we might not otherwise have a chance to get involved. It's also been a wonderful way for the young men of the parish to see adults they know from Mass in a social setting and thus come to realize one can indeed be a faithful and fun-loving Catholic man.