Last night was the Maple Dips (Zion and Jacoba’s soccer team that I coach) last regular season game. 

Our two leading scorers this year are Zion and another boy named Tiago.  If Zion isn’t scoring two goals in a game, then Tiago is and if one of the players are not at the game, the other usually tucks in three.  Because they are both very strong players I hadn’t put them on the same shift all year.

Until yesterday.

The game was close and we were down by one goal, 4-3.  For a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds having fun, for some, the score is important.  After the third quarter, I announced who would be on the field and in that line up Tiago and Zion would be on the same line for the last half of the fourth quarter.

Immediately both boys looked at eachother.  They smiled.  They nodded.  They knew what was going to happen.

Right at that moment, the look of two friendly yet competitive 6 year olds made me long for Marisa.  Marisa would have been proud of that look.

The look of the boys rang true.  The Maple Dips won 7-4.

MdH