GRS Girlz

I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but somehow I convinced 8 GRS female coaches to come play soccer with me today. This was quite a feat because very few of the female coaches (maybe four out of twenty-something) actually play soccer. Usually when I invite them to come play with me they just start talking really quickly in their native tongue (either Setswana or Afrikaans), laughing raucously and making wild gestures. But I talked Clifford into setting up a game between the GRS Girlz and his Under-20 team (the team I played with last weekend) and Cheese Boy and Nthabi assured me that we’d have enough players for a team.

The game was scheduled for 2:00 and I left my apartment at 12:45 to go pick up Krista (who is quickly becoming one of my best friends) Cheese Boy and Nthabi. I had no clue that I was actually going to pick up the entire team. After getting the first three, I began just blindly driving around the zigzagging streets of Galeshewe in order to pick up the other coaches. This drive was hilarious! Because I was following South African directions – which means they tell you to turn once you have practically passed the turn – there was a lot swerving, driving on curbs and U-turns (I’m making this sound crazy, which it was, but I promise I was driving safely, Mom and Dad). And every time I made a sweet/ crazy driving maneuver half the car would shout out as if their lives were in danger and the other half would cheer me on. But, by the time I had picked up all the coaches for the game, it was 2:00…

Me and the GRS female coaches. Aka, the GRS Girlz team.

I was worried about being late. I really shouldn’t have been. When we finally got to the field out in Roodepan, Clifford and his team were nowhere to be seen. Now I was really confused – and a bit frustrated. But I found a ball, began dribbling and juggling by myself and after about an hour I heard someone shout my name. It was one of Clifford’s players, Annalisa, who I had played with last week and after I waved to her she came running up to me and gave me a big hug. This might have been the highlight of my time in Kimberley so far. After Annalisa showed up, Clifford and his team slowly began to trickle in and kick off finally happened around 3:30.

There are really no words to describe the game. It was just that ridiculous. Except for Coach Necy, Cheese Boy, Denise and myself, no one on the GRS team had a clue what she was doing. If I hadn’t been playing I’m sure I would’ve been highly amused by the fact that a bunch of women over 21 were running around after a soccer ball looking very much like 5-year-olds in the U.S. But after the other team scored a goal, I quickly lost sight of the humor in the situation.

After half time, I took matters into my own hands. In the first five minutes I won a ball in the middle of the field, dribbled around three players and took a shot just outside the 18 (with my left foot). It was a pretty sick shot if I may say so myself! Call me a jerk for schooling a bunch of 14/15-year-olds, but I really don’t like losing. After we scored this first goal, my team finally began to look like we knew what we were doing. It wasn’t easy and it sure wasn’t pretty, but the GRS Girlz coaches ended up winning the game 4-1 (I scored two goals, Denise scored one and the last goal was an own goal).

After the game, everyone chipped in for some food and we went to Boettie B’s house (Boettie B is one of the guy coaches that lives in Roodepan who came to watch our game). Nthabi cooked up a delicious dish. I’m not really sure what it was, but I know it had spicy sausage (or some sort of meet), tomatoes and carrots in it, and it had a great kick to it. We all just sat on Boettie B’s driveway, relaxed and talked about the game. Well, by talking I mean that coaches took turns making fun of how bad other coaches played or re-enacting funny moments on the field, but everyone played and laughed along and seemed to be having a good time. I can conclude by saying that today was a good day; it was filled with good people, good food, good fun and something that sort of looked like soccer. 

The team enjoying good food and good friends after our first ever win!