Rob Lasso: Episode 5

“I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad. And that is being alone and being sad. Ain’t no one in this room alone.” -- Ted Lasso

Ted Lasso is really just a device in this serial, but there was a video making the rounds this week that was so good that I have to include it as the amuse bouche for this week's episode.

ITV News reporter Chris Skudder was doing man on the street interviews after Leicester City's 1-0 FA Cup Final victory over Chelsea when he came across several cast members from the show. Unaware of who they were, he proceeded to ask them their views on the match. And they played a wee prank, which was glorious.  

When we left our heroes, they'd earned a 2-1 win that should've been more comfortable, and Ab was sad to have not played a single minute. There are a lot of kids who would've pouted about it, and blamed the coach. Ab? Well, she set out to change the coach's mind.

During practice this week, she was the hardest worker on the field. She scored a pair of excellent goals in a scrimmage at the end of practice on Wednesday, the day before this week's game. Coach said to me on the way off the field, "I've got to find a way to get Ab in the game tomorrow."

Our opponent has had a rough season. The school was founded in 1976, and athletic luminaries like Billy King, Allen Pinkett, and Jeff Lageman graduated during its athletic heyday. But two new schools opened nearby in the late 90s and early 2000s, which meant that the school's enrollment was concentrated in mostly economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The school's athletic department isn't well-funded or well-supported. They've lost three games this season by double-digits, which is...not great.

So we were a bit frustrated to be in a scoreless tie with them mid-way through the first half, despite dominating the action, when Coach told Ab to warm up. Before she could get into the game, Kenny scored on a volley from a corner kick taken by freshman Lexi, who made her first-ever high school start to give us a lead.

Ab entered the game, closely followed by Dutch, who missed the first part of the game because she was taking an AP Exam. (Fucking Jurgen Klopp doesn't have to deal with that kind of shit, I'm sure.)

Dutch took possession of the ball near midfield, and slotted a perfect diagonal ball into Ab's run, slipping her behind the defense. Ab took three touches, and calmly flicked the ball with the outside of her right foot past the onrushing keeper and into the bottom right corner of the net. It was an immensely popular goal on our sideline.

That was our only other goal of the first half, and Coach wasn't happy. He does a good job of expressing his frustration in colorful terms to the rest of the coaching staff before calmly addressing the team. He's a pretty serious dude, but he's not a yeller, and he's good at diagnosing issues. In this case, we were stubbornly trying to play direct balls into straight runs, a recipe for lots of running with little to show for it. And we were extremely right-handed, as if we'd forgotten that the field also has a left side. Jennie was alone in acres of space, and we never really even looked for her. Despite scoring, Kenny was pissed at herself for playing down to the opponents' level. So it wasn't the happiest team talk.

As for me, in my increasingly solidified role as the supplier of positive energy, I told them to "play free, express yourselves", as I saw them thinking way too much when they had the talent to break the game open.

And 90 seconds into the second half, Kenny opened her body, switched the ball from the right to the left, and found Jennie streaking down the wing. Jennie got behind her defender and blasted one into the goal. Five minutes later, she did the same thing. 

Before the game, I'd told Jennie that her word for the game was "attack", because she has speed and skill, but sometimes plays a bit passively. So I patted myself on the back a bit mentally after those two tallies.

At 4-0, we began to clear the bench, but Kenny took advantage of the limited minutes she had left to score on a brilliant header off another corner, rising above her defender to find the net. Two minutes later, she stepped into one from 25 yards out and ripped it far post into the side of the net to complete her hat trick. Of note, her final goal was assisted by Aliana, a kid who's new to our school this year, and if we're being honest, is probably our most limited player in terms of experience. She tries hard, and she's learning, so it was very cool to see her contribute.

Our opponent got one back on a ferocious left-footed drive by their best player. Ollie had entered the game a few minutes earlier in relief of Ellie, but no keeper was stopping that one.

We rounded out our scoring with two feel-good moments, one of which hits close to home (home being the Gheorghieverse, in this case). Freshman midfielder Niecy (so named because she's the niece of FOGTB Cliffy) made a terrific first touch to get past a defender, then drove a low ball under the keeper and into the net for her first high school tally. She's a well-liked kid, and Ab picked her up off the ground as the team celebrated her.

Then, Little Ab held off a defender and slotted home to cap the scoring. I was happy to sit it, because she's a junior who transferred to our school this year, and she hasn't gotten a ton of game time. 

Careful readers will notice that Sid didn't get on the scoresheet, and it ate at her. She had several chances, and the agony on her face after each close call was evident. She was the only player other than Jennie that I gave a word before the game. Her's was "free". As in, let it go, man - just play. And she played really well, but I don't think she believes that. I had an exchange with her on the bench late in the game that might (maybe? hopefully?) be a crack that's letting the light in:

She said, "Niecy scored, Little Ab scored, but I can't score!"

To which I responded: "You know why that's a good thing?"

Her awareness dawning, she replied: "Because we're winning?"

Me, knowingly, "Because we're winning."

At this point Ellie jumped in to say: "You're such a dad."

And I said: "Guilty as charged."

But the important coda was Sid's, as she said: "But he's right."

Attagirl, Sid.

We're now 3-3, 2-1 in our district with a shot at the second seed in the district tournament. To get that shot, we'll have to beat the undefeated first-place team, then avenge our second loss, so there's a hill to climb. But we're a lot more confident team today than we were two weeks ago, and that's fun to see.