Facing the giants

“HALA! Sure na mapildi ta ani!”
“Kusgan man na sila nga team!”
“Di nko mo tanaw kay mao ra gihapon mapildi na sila.”
“Unsa man na sila oi… Way klaro.”

I’ve been hearing these lines from people, especially the soccer parents during the Division Meet where five teams compete against each other. Some were overthinking things that had not happened yet and thinking negatively about their team or spewing words towards other teams to voice out their frustrations and got overwhelmed. There is one team though, they may be small and with little experience but their high and indomitable spirited is something that no one has ever seen coming, especially for first-timers.

February 22 was the opening of Division Meet 2024 for the football team. Five teams from different schools with skills, sprinted and astonishing players. Every player’s dream of be the number one team and score more points to win. This is not about winning. Yes, winning is good but this is more than that.

Sportsmanship is not all about winning, it’s about accepting winning or defeat and having fun.

One team from the other division where the majority of them are first timers. Like they’ve been practicing only for a few months and competing against the giants.

Three, however, have already experience in the field of football. While I was watching, I noticed parents cheering for their children as moral support to boost their conference as they played against other teams on the field. It was like the survival of the fittest game where they give their best to be the number one. These players were grade schoolers from a different school. It was a different experience they had when they walked onto the field like was the first time to saw and felt what was like being on a wide-open field, with players from different divisions with polished skills like we used to watch professional players playing in a World Cup or an Olympics.

Things like running in the mind of a first-time player facing well-known players in the city. When they were about to play their first game, they were excited but a little nervous as they were facing giants, not giants, but well-known and skillful ones in a prestigious school. It’s not going to be easy at first but they tried their best to survive the first game.

They do what they have to do until the end of the game. They were disappointed but they refused to back up and try again. For the second game, it used its might to get a score from the goal as they are trying as they could to score, soccer parents were cheering and rooting for their children to give their best and boost their confidence, they shouting as if there was no tomorrow so their kids can hear them and letting them know they are rooting for them.

When they went home, they knew the kids were tired and their muscles were sore. Parents make sure they are taken care of for tomorrow’s games. Some even feed them with a nice warm soup to ease them up and give them a massage to lessen the tension in their muscles and let them sleep early, while parents wash their jerseys and make sure they get dry before the morning, preparing their clothes, soccer shoes, and necessities for the tomorrow’s game.

Before my parents went to bed. They prayed and asked God to give them strength for tomorrow’s games, one has said, “Win or lose, at least they tried and didn’t give up.”

It was finally the second day of the Division Meet. The team was energized for the third game. Parents are strengthening themselves as they watch their children play in the field against another contender from another school. As parents observed, there is an improvement in the third game, a little better than before.

It seems the players from the team have been leveling based on yesterday’s experiences with the two schools. Parents were in-depth exploring the details and observing their children in the field.

Parents still cheer for them as one claimed, “It’s like making your voice high in a life and death situation.” Even though her voice is hoarse, she continues to cheer whatever it takes. Even though they lost the third game, the players were not affected by it, instead, they smiled like they were confident despite their bodies being exhausted.

It was the final game as they faced the team, as several parents described, as one of the top teams in our city. As I mentioned earlier about overthinking, it still occurs to some of the parents like it is like preparing for a war.

So it is A versus B. We all knew what was going to happen, but some of what the parents thought had swept away. Those kids did the unimaginable. The way they played in the field, if you compare it to previous games, somehow they showed their A game.

Their defense gave team B a hard time aiming the ball to the goal. The Team B players were getting on their nerves as they were trying their best to aim but Team A’s defense was stronger than before as their defense was a little shaken.

At the end of the game, the other team won but team A gave an experience that team B would never forget. Parents approached their kids and gave them hugs as they were so proud of them.

Soccer parents talking about their experiences with this event was memorable, somehow tense, and at the same time, seeing their kids smile and enjoy the game. “Honestly, kapoy kaayo ni nga duha ka adlaw,” one parent said, “pero nalipay ko kay naka dula akong anak. Lahi ra gyud ang supporta sa mga ginikanan pag abot sa mga anak.”

Team A demonstrates how sportsmanship is they showed fairness, determination, courage, and persistence when they faced the giants and at the same time, win or lose, they were happy without any guilt of losing. This experience encouraged them to be better and level up to be at their best in the future.

As Ashlyn Harris says, “There’s no better feeling than stepping out on the field and stunning them all by doing what none of them thought you could do.”

As for me, as a soccer parent, I am so proud of my kid. I also want to thank the coach and soccer parents for being supportive and being the rock of the team.

Rain or Shine, win or lose as long as they did not give up. That is sportsmanship.