This past weekend was my tryout for the Portland Timbers. As mentioned before, there were a few things that were standing in the way of my potential run for glory — mostly my age: 40.
The two-day trial started Saturday morning and as I checked in, I noticed that I was clearly the oldest one there. Fortunately, I had a wool hat on so it was difficult to see my grey mane.
The first round were 8-man short-side matches. We were all getting our legs under us and the first match yielded some decent soccer, but the best was clearly yet to come. In the second match, I had what I am now calling the second-best goal in my life. Near the end of the match, a ball arced high over my head about 15 yards out. I had only one choice — and that was to shoot.
The ball dropped over my right shoulder, and I waited to tee it up. What happened next could either be classified as superior soccer skill (not likely) or pure luck (more likely). I caught the ball square and fired a rocket into the right side of the net. The goalie got a hand on it, but I managed to sneak it through. My celebration, though entertaining, was muted — a little twirl of the hand complimented by a “I can’t believe I just did that” giggle. My teammates laughed along because I think we all knew that this was my moment of glory and it would be fleeting.
At the break, Coach Amos Magee noticed I was on my iPhone. He winked and said, “don’t forget to tell them about the goal.”
I am really glad I decided to do this. Not only did I meet some very nice people, but I got a chance to get out and knock a soccer ball around. I also saw the Timbers organization a little bit from the inside. I can say, without question, that the Timbers are A+. It was 100% cool, 100% class the entire weekend. Portland is very lucky to have this team here and I hope that you all get a chance to support them as much as you can this and every year.
Over time, I can guarantee that the legend of this goal will grow. In a few years, the shot will have been from 50 yards out with 4 defenders and the cast of Snow Falling On Cedars draping me in a 60 mile-an-hour headwind. But even if the story changes, the result will be same: I had one goal in an open tryout for a professional soccer team — at age 40. On Sunday, as I hung it up early, Coach Magee said they were still talking about that goal.
And I couldn’t be more proud to have given it a go.
(If you’d like to see proof that I was there, check out the Timbers Facebook Fan Page. I am #56.)
{ 1 trackback }
{ 1 comment }
Bravo! I could just picture the goal based on your description. With great risk comes great reward.
Comments on this entry are closed.