"He was so obsessed with moving up in soccer that he, without my wife's or my knowledge, bulled his way onto a local club team (one a level or two above the club team he was already on) by contacting the coach and showing up to team practices without an official roster spot. Impressed by his display of [Dan Campbell voice] grit, the coach gave him one."
"This league didn't fuck around. Its matches had all of the competitive accoutrements: real jerseys (with real price tags to go with), real refs, real standings, real coaches who yelled real loud. You wouldn't mistake these matches for some local pickup action. Except if you went looking for a scoreboard, because there wasn't one. In all my time as a soccer dad, I never had the luxury of a scoreboard to glance at. I drove countless hours, filmed countless games on th"
A boy spent nearly his entire life playing soccer, from preschool camps to intense club competition. He became obsessed with advancing and secured a spot on a higher-level club by contacting the coach and attending practices without an official roster place. He started most matches at left back amid teammates who were equally competitive. The league featured adult-style trappings: expensive jerseys, referees, standings, and loud coaches. Despite the seriousness and investment from families, many games lacked visible scoreboards, and a parent regularly traveled long distances and filmed numerous matches.
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