~JcZw

Dear readers, please forgive me if this post is incoherently written. First, because I want to go back to maths, and second, because I'm suffering from slight concussion, which happily is fading out even now.

Today went back to St. John after school. And after St. John we played soccer. Long time we haven't played soccer with each other, due to a combination of a lack of balls (please think straight!), bad weather, lack of players, blarblarblar...

Hmmm... soccer... one of my favourite sports I suppose, but then again, one that I don't play very often. First played in primary school where I found out at that time that I hated it. For once the ball was heading straight for my face when I was sandwiched between two gigantic classmates (last time everyone was gigantic to me. Cos I was like a tiny kid. Strewth, in sec. 1 I was still 14-something cm okay!). The resulting impact sent my glasses flying across the field (because I didn't have the cow sense to shield my face properly) in a twisted mangled mess, and left me with bright flashes for about 5 sec. in my vision. From then on I hated playing soccer, and dodged away whenever the ball was struck. Which is stupid cos the ball is being struck all the time.

But in sec. 3 I came to a class where all the guys loved playing soccer. For me, it was sort of evolve-or-die kind of thing. So I played. And I decided curiously enough, that the safest place in the field to be was the goalkeeper. Why? Because I reasoned that I could use all four limbs to protect my face (I've been forever terrified that something would happen to my eyes). So I did... and I found that I liked it. Although it took me about 2 years to learn the various moves, punching the ball, catching with the W-formation of the hands, and the all important lateral dive, I improved slowly (until today I'm still highly inconsistent!). Especially during st. john, where you played while not under pressure. For one year I was the number 3 'keeper in my class, behind xiao quan and wei chao, and the number 1 'keeper for St. John.

There is something unique about being the goalkeeper. Because although you're in a team sport and must organize your defence blahblah, you also possess skills which are unique to you only. So you are kind of set apart from the rest. Just recalling a few memorable games we played in the past year:

St. John vs BB (Lost 7-2. Sorry lor, I was like inexperienced)
St. John vs NCC/Scouts combined (Won 11-2)

During farewell 2004, the NCOs even gave me a pair of goalkeeper gloves to use... Haha... they didn't fit all that well, but I've used them, and they're seriously not bad =)

So today we played again, against BB. Wei Lun, me, Xuan Ming and his team. Don't ask me how the match went. But today was a nasty reminder about a goalkeeper's occupational hazards. I HATE the boys' brigade's long range fast balls. The game started well enough. Within the first 5 minute they already breached our defence and fired a shot that happily was badly kicked, so I managed to secure it just as it rolled past. The next came when one of the opponents lashed a fierce shot from the centre line of the the street soccer court. Fully extending in a lateral dive, i stopped the shot successfully, and whacked my pelvis into the floor at the same time. No wonder soccer is played on grass.

Lets say that their scoring was a matter of time. In a 2 to 1 attack on our goal, I got faked and a tap-in made the score 1-0. Then came the *ahem* best part of the game.

Two things happened within minutes of each other. The first was in a one to one situation. I came off my line n tackled the attacker, kicking the ball from under his feet while keeping my body in my semicircle. So he fell on top of me sort of, and hit my elbow very violently. Which is actually not bad. I recall in one of the first games I played, an attacker marked by a defender was running towards my goal. I tackled my own teammate by mistake, who fell on top of me leaving us all very dazed, while the attacker had all the time in the world to gently roll in his shot.

The next was even better. A through ball from the other side placed an attacker right in front of my goal with no defenders to guard. So desperation for desperation, I dived at his feet even as he kicked at the ball. The result was that he missed (luckily he was barefooted) and I took the blow in the right mandible of the chin.

I don't mind telling you that my vision turned black and white, following which I took a short trip through the constellation and saw a lot of stars. Yeah. But I stopped the ball. In retropect that was extremely stupid, cos it is not worth it to get your spectacles stove into your eyes just to guard one ball. But honestly, I thought that the attacker would give up since he saw the goalkeeper with his body already wrapped around the ball.

Yeah... can't really remember the rest of the match, except that we missed a FABULOUS opportunity when xuan ming faked the opposing keeper into a dive that left his goal open. From 2m away from the goal Kok Keng proceeded to send the ball whizzing over the goal post. Boy, all the seniors immediately started threatening to demote him... haha.... no lar... we were only joking...

Yeah.... anyway today's match was satisfying. For once all the goals I conceded were not my fault in any way. Although it has left some aftermath. Which include a bruise on my left thigh, an aching right thumb, and a concussed brain.

But it was fun! Hope that we can do it again soon. Minus the injuries, of course.