edrocha1961

When I am asked why I moved to the United States, I typically throw in some absurd explanation, before I give the real answer.

My favorite one is to explain that in Brazil the vast majority of the people like to play soccer and I am a horrible soccer player. To play with my friends I had to bring the ball and accept being the goalie, since no one liked that position.

It got so bad that one day I was expelled from the country and I had to look for asylum somewhere else.

So, I was accepted in the U.S. as a Sports Refugee (like the Political Refugees, just for a different reason).

Well, the expelling part is a little exaggeration, but the rest is real. It is as if I have two left feet.

But, as they say: those that can’t do, teach, so I coached my son’s team for a season with fantastic results: 10 victories and 2 ties.

My secret: mid-fielders.

Yeah. The other coaches didn’t understand the basics of the game, so they would divide the team in “offense” and “defense”, as if it was American Football (the one you don’t use a ball, and rarely the feet).

To have the connection between the defensive players and the offensive ones, we had a few guys in between, to pass the ball. That simple.

Once we were observing a player from the other team carrying the ball near the side line. As the ball crossed the mid-field line, the boy stopped, toes on the line, and watched the ball roll away. Looked like he was in front of a cliff. The parents near by screamed “keep going”, but the boy responded “the coach said I am not supposed to cross this line”.

I guess in soccer, like in most anything else, you need to understand the basics, the foundation, to be able to accomplish positive results.

It’s the same in our spiritual life. One needs to understand the basics.

It takes time to study the big manual that brings all the information you need for the game of life, but it’s rewarding.

Go ahead, dust off your old Bible, dive in, and be ready for some strategies that will bring you victory.