A few weeks ago, my best and most enjoyable soccer season in years came to an end. It was so special that I just had to dust off the old finger pads and inject some life into my neglected blog.
I feel that I owe this to the man that really made it all happen, Georgios (no, not the model, the other Georgios). Of course, football is a team game, but it was George’s inspiration, motivation and tactical brains that led to our stellar year.
Let’s start with a few team accomplishments:
- 15 wins, 2 ties and 1 loss in the league
- Promotion into Division 1
- An unbeaten streak that lasted from September to February
Last year, we had a decent start, but then petered out. So what made this year so different? So much better? It’s not what made it better, it’s who.
The new gaffer
Last summer, a somewhat shocking email from Hugh landed in our inboxes:
George will take over as Manager. He has a ton of good ideas surrounding team culture/unity and is enthusiastic to take this on. So we’re lucky. Everybody welcome George and he’ll now be emailing even more.
It wasn’t surprising in the sense of, “Oh no!”, but more like, “Huh, change? With the Burnaby Wolves?” I’ve been around the team five years now and I tell ya, things have changed about as much as my wardrobe (If you know me well enough, then you've seen all my clothes).
Ok, back to George. He’s a newcomer who joined the team as a goalie last year and made an immediate positive impact. His friendly, engaging personality made him easy to talk during post-game sessions and he did not try to hide his passion for the game and the team.
Hugh’s comment about “emailing even more now” was spot on. He’d been sending comments and links to footy videos, but when he took over as manager, we began receiving a flood of communications. His pre-game emails were well thought out and inspiring and full of grammar errors (sorry, it’s in my blood to notice!). Sometimes a pre-pre-game email game a day earlier because he just couldn’t resist. His enthusiasm was infectious and it never wavered for a minute all year. His post-game recaps were always insightful and injected with humour.
He’s smart, too. He recruited new players but made sure that the long-time players knew they still had a place on the team if they wanted it. He's stated from the start that his priority is to keep the chemistry that makes this team so special. All anyone had to do to be a part of the team was show up consistently. We ended up with a deep squad, with more subs than any other team. And with no subbing restrictions for us old farts, George made sure to use our advantage in numbers, and it worked. We subbed frequently and had the freshest legs in the second half in pretty much every game we played. And we were less sore the day after a game!
What about me?
Last summer, I made a pact with myself that I would only continue playing unless I was really enjoying myself. If I was going to feel so sore and old after playing, it had to be worth it. Part of doing it for the love also meant that I had to stop being so hard on myself whenever I made mistakes during a game.
And I succeeded. The transformation of my attitude of putting too much pressure on myself to just being grateful to be out there playing decent soccer with a good bunch of guys began last summer. After all, the quality grass* that we play on during the summer is so nice that millions of players around the globe would give an arm to play on it (unless they were a goalie). The good vibes became ingrained in me over in the summer and carried over into the winter league. I ended up playing some of my best soccer, even scoring a few goals. I also made plenty of mistakes, too, but I didn’t harp on them like I used to. I joked around on the field and was really just happy to be out there playing - even in the cold and rain. That’s true love, right there.
One paragraph about the Wolves
We play in the “Masters” division (a polite way of saying “old farts”) of the VMSL. Many of the guys have been playing together for years, and years, and a few more years beyond those ones. What’s more, they’ve been playing the same two nights - Tuesday & Thursday - at the same spots, depending on the season, for just as long. Sure, a ton of players and characters have come and gone over the years, but a core group has remained unchanged and old faces are welcomed back every now and again. The camaraderie created on the pitch and afterwards during the post-game beer+ is what makes the B-Wolves so special. This winter, I happily spent hours outdoors, in winter, just hanging out and chatting after a good run.I'm lucky.
Though last week’s loss in the Cup to end the season was disappointing (In George’s words: “With a ref eager to see his long time friends to win the game.. couple terrible calls on the first half in a combination of the very good opponent and game went south. With 10 players for half of the game, Wolves played their best minutes when they were shorthanded”), we should be proud of what we accomplished this year!
It’s been a hell of a ride and I would like to thank George and all of the guys for not only great footy, but quality companionship, too. I’m grateful to be a member of the Burnaby Wolves pack - arooooooooooooo!
This blog is dedicated to Hans - the nicest Wolf of them all.
+ Special shout out to Jeff for never failing to bing a cooler full of cold beer for us week in, week out, all year-round.
* Special shout out to Brian for being there early every Tuesday & Thursday to ensure we've got our "usual" spot.
