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Kick-Off Play

Trent Morris

Thursday, January 8th, 2015

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 When I manage in the day,
the boys devised a kick-off play,
a yard ahead, then five behind,
then lofted skyward down the line.
You see, we had this kid named Khoi
(if e’er there was a speedy boy . . . ),
could miss a tackle, go to ground,
then catch his man for one more round.
He ran the hundred: twelve point two,
and took off when the whistle blew,
so that, with service any worth,
was there before the ball touched earth.
Maybe I’m romanticizing,
but it’s still so tantalizing;
didn’t always win possession,
always made quite an impression;
told them we were in the hunt,
and we had two feet out in front.

© Trent Morris 2015

Notes

Scotia Olympics (Nova Scotia, Canada). These boys were thrashed by Salford Boys in a friendly tour 13- or 14-nil in 1988 and returned the next year to the Aberdeen International Football Festival and the Ian Rush Tournament in Aberystwyth, losing in the semi-finals in the former. In Wales, we watched mesmerized as a much younger Welsh boy, Arwel Edwards play seven-a-side like a young man twice his age. One of our boys, Graeme A., put seven straight penalties past a semi-professional goalkeeper to win a fun penalty competition, the highlight of our journey. Many from this side turn forty this year, by my estimates. I was reminded of the kick-off play watching EPL over the holidays when a commentator remarked how refreshing it was when the team kicking off went forward. Keep on the front foot. TM

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/kick-off-play/