Under Dramatic Skies, On the Road With My Youngest

This afternoon and tonight, I cheered heartily for Julia and her team, Athena White, in the first sports tournament she has ever played in. This one is taking place in Morgan Hill, south of San Jose. I could not be prouder, as she played brilliant defense in two games on a badly injured ankle. When she was on the pitch her team outplayed their opponents, 3-0. When she was off, they were outscored, 0-2.

Of course, what happens in team sports is always much more complicated that what any one person does. But on this particular day, Julia did her part at right fullback, and then some.

She told me afterward what the difference is. She is no longer afraid of being hit by the ball. A great soccer coach once told me this is the key point in any player's development, and they all get there at different ages. She has gotten there at age 16.

What I noticed was when the ball came to her high, she backed up, let it drop to about knee level, and then drove it up the pitch with a long, accurate kick to one of her midfielders or strikers.

This brought back memories of her nickname when she was a much younger competitor -- Thunderfoot. And also how her brother and former coach, Aidan, played the same position before he moved to center back.

Her club team is competing for a place in the championship round tomorrow. As we cut the tape off of her swollen ankle tonight, thanks to a pair of scissors I borrowed from the front desk of our hotel, and after she took her Ibuprofen and while she held a bag of ice on her left leg, we had a surprise:
The girl at the front desk sent up a free gift -- some ice cream and a spoon for my warrior daughter.

Go Julia! Go girl athletes! Go hotel workers who care about their guests!

Life never, ever gets better than this.

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