First Competitive Match

A few weeks ago, Highbury Wolves, who you've trained with in Barnard Park for a year, asked if you wanted to play for the U10 team as goalkeeper. You'd been musing leaving them to train with Bloomsbury because a few of your classmates train and play there, but this offer changed your mind. You did "umm" and "err" a bit because you feared it might take away from your chess, but we were told that we didn't have to commit to every game and so we agreed, paid our money, and today was your first match. I bought you new gloves a week or so ago and you were ready (though I was nervous and feared howlers - not because you're not good in goal (you are) but because I'm naturally inclined to worry what a setback might mean). I needn't have worried. You were a substitute and didn't play in the first half. Highbury Wolves were losing 1-0 at half time to AC Utd, who looked better, generally. You came on at half-time and didn't have to make a real save in the whole match. What you did, you did well: told defenders what to do, kept your position pretty well and passed to team mates from the couple of goal kicks. It would obviously have been a better debut if you had had to make a save and had done so well. But I was proud to see you out there beginning to take control of the area.