Out of the Box
Most of you loyal friends who follow me on our blogs know that I occasionally go out of the fly-fishing box so to speak and touch on photography or other subjects. Along with fly fishing, I have always been a passionate photographer and although most of my focus has been on fly fishing or nature-oriented subjects, sports has never been my forte. Then my two grandsons Bridger and Colter began playing soccer and I found a new subject to photograph so whenever I’m off the road I try to shoot their games.
I live in a cabin in the woods in a fairly rural area. Our high school will probably graduate less than thirty-five students this year. Our small town does not have a redlight, just a few stop signs. It reminds me of Jason Aldean’s song about small towns. Do we have rednecks here? Absolutely!, and that’s one of the reasons I live here. These are hard working people, foundry workers, farmers, mechanics, a grocery store, drug store, hardware store and even two gas stations. Oh, and of course a few restaurants.
So when our boys play soccer they usually play teams from much larger school districts that have real stadiums often with astro-turf, bleachers, lights, even music sometimes. But when you come to our town, you find a mowed lawn field, two nets, an old score board, and don’t forget your lawn chair. I’ve come to know the twenty boys that make up our soccer team and I am a better person for it. Last season they won against all odds in their division championship and it was truly amazing to watch.
This season they’re off to another winning season led by team caption Max Kocher who is amazing in his own right. But this is not just a group of kids, watch one game and you realize that they are a true band of brothers. They play their hearts out which will quickly capture yours. When they win, it’s because of a solid team effort backed by three volunteer coaches. This is not about one hero, although Max Kocher just scored his 100th goal. Indeed every member on this team is a hero in their own right. They have one thing in mind- to work together and put the ball in the net. In the time I’ve spent with them I never hear any bad language, they all know good manners and thank you is a common word within the group. So when one of our favorite pools on Fishing Creek got damaged in a recent flood, it was the soccer team who helped fix the problem. They worked hard recreated a pool that trout can live in, ate thirteen pies of pizza, then played volleyball till dark. Got up the next morning and beat a rival team. They take it all in stride but that’s what we do in our small town.
On another note when you read this I will be in Northern Italy on an exploratory trip for Frontiers to check out the fishing there. I’ll post images and give you an update on what I find.
Thanks for checking in, Barry
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