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Published: November 21st 2006
Hi everyone
I've been out here in California for a few days and I've already crammed a lot in. I am staying in the city of Redlands, San Bernardino County, which is around 90 minutes' drive from Los Angeles. Redlands is a small city (pop around 60,000) that used to be an important hub for fruit growers. It now serves more as a commuter base for people working in LA. It's a pleasant town with lots of palm trees. The Big Bear mountains in the background provide a picturesque setting.
I am staying out here with an old friend, Lee. He went to school with my brother and I went to school with his brother. Lee has been out here around 8 years as a soccer (yes, it has to be called soccer if you want to be understood) coach. He coaches various junior teams in the area. Saturdays and Sundays are game days so I thought I would venture down to the field to see how Lee's teams were doing. He sprung an early suprise on me by naming me as the man of the match adjudicator. I spent time chatting to the players' parents and explaining about my round the world trip, which interested a few of them.
Once the match kicked off, I was highly amused by the comments shouted by the parents. Literally, within seconds of the kick-off, one voice boomed "Come on guys, dominate them". Remember, this is the under 12 level we are talking about here. Another shout came out "come on, get it in the cage". I decided not to enquire what that actually meant. At the end of the Saturday games, Lee called me over and I gave a short speech before awarding the man of the match award.
Lee must have been impressed by the short speech because the next day he made me his honourary assistant coach of the day. Me! Assistant coach of Los Gouchos under 12 boys and girls' soccer teams. Lee then sprung another suprise on me by telling his entire girls' team that I was a rugby coach back in England. Lots of interesting questions later, I then explained to the parents that my coaching days were a long time ago.
Then came the biggest honour of the weekend. The boys were playing their final game of the legaue season. They needed to win to be sure of second place in the league. I was invited into the dressing room and asked to give the final few words before they stepped out onto the pitch. From somewhere, I conjured up an inspirational team talk. For 60 seconds, I was Alec Ferguson, Alf Ramsay and John Madden all rolled into one. My final words were to ask the boys if they wanted second place. "Yes" came back the reply. "Not loud enough", I decided. So I repeated the question. "Yes", they cried a little louder. "One more time, do you want second place?" was my final salvo. "Yes", they roared. Coach Lee then said "Come on, let's get out there". The final score of the match? Need you ask? A fine 2-0 win for Los Gauchos and although part of it was down to their good play, I reckon I can claim 1% of the credit - and that's enough for me.
Everyone at the soccer was very friendly. I have also met lots of Lee's friends - some from England, some from California. I have been made to feel very welcome. I had a big night out in Redlands on Friday night and an equally big session in Newport Beach on Saturday night.
It's been a good start. Keep sending those messages and there'll be another entry in the blog soon.
Joff
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anonymous
non-member comment
did you get into sharkey's???? did Les take you to stay at Ali Baba's??? did you meet barry chuckle in the dirty bird??? I demand answers