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The Art of Soccer

Soccer; to some it's the greatest sport on the planet. To others, it's just a fun game played to pass the time. To me, soccer is more than just a way to keep in shape or have fun with a ball. Soccer is art. Not art as in painting or playing music, but a different kind of art. Not many people realize that sports are much more than a way to keep fit or make you feel good about yourself. Maybe it's just me, but I think sports have more meaning.

Sports, especially soccer in my opinion, is an active display of art. To play soccer, you need to be artistic. No, not an artist, but artistic, creative, imaginative. You’re not just kicking a ball into a net; you are graceful, delicate, a swan. You aren't booting the ball as hard as you can at your teammate; you are gentle, caring and careful, a spider spinning a web with precision play.

Art can be found in many forms and transformed into many creations or masterpieces. A dance, like soccer, requires skill and finesse. The players, graceful and delicate, battle for the ball and move with skill and accuracy. With quick feet and steady hearts, they fight the challenge like a dancer, elegant and agile on their toes, twirling, poised on the dance floor like eagles in the sky.

Maybe these analogies are all wrong, but this is what soccer means to me. The ball in the back of the net, with the goalie on the ground and the referee's whistle blown is music to my ears, gold in my hands.

And so the memory of 2009 BC provincials championships returns to mind. The image of the clock, with 30 seconds left, and the picture of the ball soaring through the air, over the outstretched arms of the goalie and into the mesh net brings tears of joy to my eyes. The picture of the trophy, shining brightly in the sunlight, is a memory I will cherish forever.

I couldn't live without sports. They make me feel confident about myself and about how I see things, my outlook on life and my personality. I am 13 years old and I can't go a week without exercising. I think I'm addicted. Hard breathing, sweat on my forehead; it makes me feel good, even happy. Feelings of success and maybe even a bit of guilt felt for the people who will never experience something that could make them feel so much joy.

Everyone is different, has different life styles and loves different things. Me? I love being happy with how I feel. I am happy after I've done something challenging, something to challenge my ability, and soccer does that for me. I hope that will never change.

Sarah Stewart Grantham

#18 Striker

U13 Crimson Crush

CVUSC and Guatemala

Dear CVUSC, 

This past season your soccer club kindly donated soccer jerseys and soccer balls for our trip to Guatemala.  Thanks to your contribution we made many schools, children, and adults very happy.  In the area we work in, the indigenous people don’t take much time for playing, but they do love their soccer.  These gifts were greatly appreciated.

We spend most of our time around the Lake Atitlan area, and focus on the little village of Chacaya.  We gave each of the two schools some soccer jerseys and balls.  There is also a men’s team who were very happy to receive adult jerseys.  The coach is named Jose Cali Xeche.  We were able to watch one of their soccer games.  They play on a dirt field and part of the field is actually the road into town.  So every so often they were playing as vehicles drove by. 

The schools of the area participate in a week long soccer and basketball tournament.  The jerseys and soccer balls arrived at just the right time to be used for this tournament.  We were lucky enough to be able to watch quite a few of the games.  We also brought down some used soccer cleats so a lot of the boys wore cleats, although I noticed the girl’s teams had only running shoes.  No green grass for a field here.  

We drove to another area of Guatemala called Mataquescuintla to the small villages of El Pajal and Colis.  We also gave some soccer jerseys and balls to these communities.  A lady by the name of Crista introduced us to the schools.  They were built by a social arm of a coffee company and she is in charge of ensuring the building is maintained and provide funds for a food program.  This is a poor coffee growing area, much like the area we work in Chacaya.  It is something when coffee producing areas are poor and people make in a day what it costs to buy a coffee at Star Bucks. 

Thank you again for your contribution and support to our time in Guatemala.

 Sincerely,

Greg and Brenda Vivian

Canada Day 2009

Thanks to all who participated in the Canada Day Parade this year. It was another great success! We will enter the nautical Days Parade on Monday August 3rd as well. Please e-mail Mattew at mjblecha@gmail.com if you want to join in.

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