Oooooohhh, so close

A very brief post as I am innately drunk. A long day out was enjoyed with Luca today, culminating in his regular football training session.

New skills were taught to the younglings today, with much amusement as they proceeded to fall over in various Charlie Chaplin/Harold Lloyd esque poses as their still developing legs seemed unable to twist and bend in the necessary fashions to enable them to pull of the requisite moves. Luca did OK here, but can do so much more. His natural defeatist nature precludes him reaching anywhere near his current potential.

A full scale game was played at the sessions end as per usual and a surprisingly fit Luca (we'd already walked/ran several miles during various activities earlier in the day) showed greater physical dexterity than his peers, covering large swathes of the pitch as his teammates/opponents appeared rather more immobile. A surprisingly unselfish display was present as he constantly looked for teammates to pass to. Encouraging to see, as his peers appear unable to raise their heads sufficiently to spread play similarly.

His moment came in the games final seconds. A loose ball was played through and Luca reacted quickest to outpace the opposition to the spinning ball before knocking it in front of him seamlessly without breaking stride. That uniquely high elbowed sprint was witnessed as the defenders trailed in his wake, unable to keep stride. One more touch was taken as he approached the goal to switch the ball to his favoured left foot before BANG! His shot skimmed the outside of the opponents post. No goal, but so close. He should have hit the target, but no matter. He'd shown speed, willingness and dexterity to allow himself the opportunity. He knew it too as he spun around to catch my gaze and blew his cheeks out. A huge smile swept across his face.

Not only had he performed admirably, more importantly he'd enjoyed the experience greatly. Next up? His first official race. We've entered him an upcoming 600m run involving his comparable age group (5-7 years). With those little legs I suppose it's the equivalent of you or I competing in the 1500m. At that age you tend to run flat out or not at all, so it'll certainly be Interesting to see his coping strategies. I will, of course, record the races final 50m for posterity.

**Useless fact of the day - The first recorded running olympics were back in 776BCE**