Douglas Soccer Team

Casa Hogar Douglas officially has a soccer team and they are led by Douglas' coordinator of sports and activities - a Hope Program graduate named Cheko (in red).  The tiny guy in front is my kid.

Their first game was a little crazy because it rains cats and dogs for the entire first half which then destroyed the field and they couldn't move the ball through the mud and it was more like water polo instead of soccer.  Every player just kept falling in the mud.  Most of the guys took their massive mud clogged cleats off and just tried to play barefoot.  Everyone laughed and had a good time which was a nice distraction from the score which by the end of the game was something like 10 to 1 - Douglas lost. To add to the craziness, the power went out as a result of the intense storm.  So we had no water, no power, no lights and no one could bathe and they were COVERED in mud - like something out of a movie.  About 2 hours after the game, we took all the boys to Back2Back and threw everyone in the pool.  Thank God for the pool because the power was out all evening.

They have now played 2 games and are currently 0 - 2. However, the score at the end of the first half of both of those games was 1 to 0 in favor of the other team.  They seem to fall apart in the 2nd half but I have hopes that they'll improve.

But here is the bottom line - we are SO THANKFUL that the boys have a coach who cares about them and who trains with them throughout the week.  I am SO GRATEFUL that my little tiny soccer star is allowed to not only train with the big boys but he gets to play and develop his athletic abilities.  These boys are learning discipline, to follow instructions, to cooperate with one another, to work hard, and to get back up when you fall down as well as work off some steam and frustration each night in a positive manor.  

Pray for our soccer team to work better as a team, to move the ball better, to play selflessly, for their coach Cheko to challenge them and build them up along the way, for opportunities to play against other children's homes in the area, for the possibility to enter into a league.  Pray that the boys would grow, develop and mature through soccer and through sport and teamwork.  Pray for funding for league fees and/or uniforms.  And pray that they'd win a game or at least hang in there a little closer to their opponents.