Belated post #2 - futbol

A year and a half ago, when Tom and I moved down to Sunnyvale, I decided it was time for me to strap on the old shinguards and cleats and start playing soccer again. I found a women's outdoor team with one of Tom's co-workers and started playing every Sunday. Adult soccer out here in California is a little crazy - believe it or not there are SEVEN divisions of women's soccer on the peninsula, which means there is something for everyone.

My first team was in division 6 (second from the bottom), so it wasn't terribly competitive, but there were a lot of nice people on it. One of them, the owner of a local Cuban restaurant, sponsored a co-ed indoor team, as well, which I joined. That team couldn't have been more different from my outdoor team. The men on the team, in particular, were quite spectacular soccer players. I sure was glad I didn't play goalie - their shots were so hard you could practically feel the floor vibrate.

Last season I heard about an opportunity to join a newly formed division 2 team with a couple people I had met. I decided to take the plunge, although I was a little intimidated to be moving up four divisions. It turned out great - all the players on my team are very comparable in ability to me, and we get along great. People really focused on having fun - no one blames anyone else when we do badly and we all are happy together when we do well. Despite having low expectations for our first season together, we ended up coming in second in our division! It was actually a relief not to win it, as the first-place team gets automatically bumped up to division 1 (home of the recent college players and hardcore soccer junkies).


Our team has some super fans, too. Tom is nice enough to come to almost all of our games, and there are a number of other parents, spouses, and significant others who come all the time, as well. One woman's husband always brings coolers full of water and gatorade, a "mist tent" for us in hot weather, and margaritas for anyone who scores a goal.

Since that season has ended, I've joined a fun new women's indoor team, and have signed up to play in a couple of weekend-long tournaments with these same women this summer.


Anyway, I don't have many pictures, but I'll put a few up, just for fun. Hope everyone else is having as much fun getting outside and playing as I am!