It all started with a scramble of bodies. It was in front of our goal. All the guys on my team were aiming to get a nice, clean deck. Then, all of a sudden I heard a huge grunt and a thud coming from one of the St. C’ kids hitting the ground.
Following the thud there was a shriek of pain. The kid from St. C was lying on the ground rolling around screaming. What had happened?
The St. C kid, #4, was completed annihilated by Joel, a goalie from my very own team. Joel hit the player square in the chest and sent him flying backwards into a somersault. His leg got caught in a divot in the ground and his body went the opposite direction. Joel hit him with a force of a full speed, semi-truck. I’ve never seen a hit like that in all the four years I have been playing.
As he was on the ground, I was laughing because it was…well, it was awesome! Hey, I’m not that mean! I wasn’t laughing at the kid hurt on the ground as much as I was laughing in amazement of the beautiful, fully legal, hit. One rarely sees a goalie get a big hit like that, even in the pros.
My laughter ended quite soon after, when everyone was around him because we realized the seriousness of the situation. My teammates and I huddled around the kid while his coach ran out, responding to his screams. The coaches were trying to figure out what was wrong. The rest of us just stood there, as the game had stopped. He was screaming like a baby, and, hey, I don’t blame him.
Eventually, the coach and a teammate helped the kid off the field by carrying him. When they were carrying him you could see how his knee looked twisted and not normal. He was unable to walk and he was still screaming. “It’s gonna be ok son, just breath” the coach kept whispering to the boy. While #4 was still screaming and screaming away. It can take seconds to ruin a nice, perfect Sunday.