Students vs. Teachers

Over a hundred students gathered in the gym near the high school. I, along with five other teachers, ate lunch quickly to be ready for the match. Five on five indoor soccer, one substitute per side, teachers vs. students. Our team consisted of two humanities teachers, a PE teacher, a guidance counselor, the other English assistant (from Manchester, England), and me.

The audience of students loved to cheer for us. When one of the other players, the only boy on their team, pushed me as we both went for the ball, the students all yelled at him. When one of the teachers had been out for a while as a sub, they started to chant his name so he’d come back in. At the end of the game I heard one student describe the overall experience as “euphoric.”

We gave up a goal early in the match, and didn’t score our own until about halfway through the game. Then it was close calls and missed opportunities until the end of regulation. We played two overtime periods, but neither team scored. So it went to a shootout. Their first shooter made it, and so did ours. Then they missed, but we did too. Their third shooter scored. My teammates told me to shoot: I kept my eyes down, kicked hard, and looked up to see the ball bounce off the side post. Damn French. We should have played real football.