Sundays With Ingrid: Soccer
Coach Ringer, the last of the original founders of the Mid-State League—going back to when bears roamed free in Echo Falls—was a short round guy with a droopy mustache and a drippy nose on cold windy days, like this one. He always wore a black-and-gold hooded sweatshirt that said TOWNE HARDWARE on the back, SCREWS FOR YOUSE SINCE 1937, the dumbest slogan Ingrid had ever seen. Assistant Coach Trimble was tall and lean, wore running tights and a UConn soccer jacket, looked like she could do something amazing, like outrun a deer or kick the ball right through you.
Coach Ringer liked to gather the team around him in a tight circle for a pregame pep talk, of which there were two kinds, a long rambling one if they’d been losing and a short confusing one if they were on a roll, like they were now, winners of three in a row.
“Hey,” said Coach Ringer. “Listen up.”
They all stopped talking, or at least talking loudly.
“Today,” said Coach Ringer, “I want you to remember one”—he searched for the right word; when Coach Ringer searched for the right word, his jaw came jutting out like he was going take a swing at somebody—“thing,” he went on, finding the word. “Remember one thing and one thing only, and this is it, so listen up. That means everybody. The thing to remember is this. Listen up. We’re gonna make them play the way we want them to play.” That was it? Oh, no—was he going to say it twice? For a moment, Ingrid thought maybe not. But then, raising his voice this time and spacing out the words: “We’re gonna make them play the way we want them to play. Got it?”
The girls all nodded, ponytails sticking out sideways in the wind. Ingrid said, “I vote they play with their shoelaces tied together.”
A pause, followed by muffled laughter. Coach Ringer turned red. “Twenty-two,” he said, calling her by her number, “on the bench.”
Ingrid sat on the bench, steaming. She felt Dad’s eyes on her from the stands across the field.
Coach Ringer concluded his pep talk the way he always did. “Anything you wanna add, Coach Trimble?” In the kind of tone that invited a no.
Coach Trimble had been assisting with the As for two years now, and many parents couldn’t wait for Coach Ringer to retire to Florida. She said what she always said: “Play hard and play to win.”
It sounded like one of those meaningless sports clichés. But at that moment, sitting angrily on the bench at soccer field number one up the road from the hospital, the wind blowing and the temperature falling, winter just around the corner, Ingrid realized she’d never actually heard it except from Coach Trimble, so it couldn’t be a cliché. She glanced up, met Coach Trimble’s gaze. Coach Trimble didn’t have friendly eyes. Not that they were unfriendly, either, just impossible to see behind, at least for Ingrid. And all of a sudden, Ingrid got what Coach Trimble was trying to tell her: playing hard wasn’t the same as playing to win. Playing to win was something else entirely, a whole new way of seeing the game. A revelation: Ingrid’s mind started buzzing.
Tags: Echo Falls Series
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 at 9:04 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
4:54 am on June 27th, 2010
I want to be Ingrid when I go into my second childhood.
Of course, OTAS and YSAS think I have gone into my second childhood.
They keep talking about finding me a good home.
I don't think they're going to buy me one.
Hmmm, I will ponder on how to embarrass my children.
Luckily, being me? That isn't difficult.
5:01 am on June 27th, 2010
Today I'm playing hard and playing to win against the weeds in the garden.
5:06 am on June 27th, 2010
I remember Coach Trimble.
5:06 am on June 27th, 2010
Melanie: Your boys have developed your sense of humor. You always give me a chuckle.
5:07 am on June 27th, 2010
B.Stover: How're your snuffles this morning?
5:09 am on June 27th, 2010
Good morning Melanie and Dawson. Ingrid is a hero isn't she. We're going to have thunderstorms so no gardening for me.
5:17 am on June 27th, 2010
Thank you Dawson. They are getting better. Yesterday someone asked what part of the thumb my mother was from. Sebewaing, home of Pioneer Sugar and suger beets.
5:48 am on June 27th, 2010
We need to get busy with our outdoor stuff. B. is sending her thunderstorms our way.
Just a quick comment on nifty cameras that take videos – good resolution makes a nice full screen picture. Nice.
6:29 am on June 27th, 2010
Ingrid!…We just read this soccer part not too long ago…snort!… Ingrid plays the best game of her life so far…grunt!… I love how the Charming Mr. Abrahams can bring every character to life so vividly… sneeze!… What amazing talent he has.
Molly!… Someone here has been looking for her instruction booklet to her camera…snort!….She wants to learn the video part so she can make a movie of her sisters smelly gang… grunt!… I say why waste the effort on those bozo’s …growl!….But the really bad thing is, she just might figure it out … cough!
6:45 am on June 27th, 2010
Heh!… “SCREWS FOR YOUSE”…That cracks me up every time I read it… heh!
6:55 am on June 27th, 2010
I will try, sometime, to like soccer again, but never a game played in South Africa. I know they love those cheap plastic horns there, but, hopefully, they will stay in that country.
I really enjoyed, "Down the Rabbit Hole" and plan to read the next one in the series soon.
7:03 am on June 27th, 2010
Rio, I thought you destroyed the instruction book to the video camera. I have had second thoughts about my advice to eat the evidence, because you are a lot smaller than I am.
Yippie!! It is an afternoon game today. Those night games from the west coast are sleep killers.
I'm glad you are feeling better, Stover.
7:08 am on June 27th, 2010
Booklet!… I did try to destroy it… snort!… She is trying to tape it back together right now… grunt!… If only I had teeth that came together I could have really ripped it up… crap!
7:39 am on June 27th, 2010
The difficulties of being a Pug.
Dan is from the mitten? palm? part of Micigan. Flint.
B. Stover, can you breathe yet?
We are having off and on showers. Mostly on, as far as I can tell.
7:49 am on June 27th, 2010
That's okay about the instruction book, Rio…next time we will know to use explosives.
7:51 am on June 27th, 2010
Rio – You may be sorry that you didn't get that booklet all wet and then hold it down with your paw and rip at it.
7:51 am on June 27th, 2010
We had oddles of rain last night, but it is sunny now. Maybe it will dry out enough to work outside. If we didn't have raised garden beds, the tomatoes would be water-logged, and that wrecks them. Causes some sort of mineral deficiency.
We read all 3 Ingrid books, but they were so good we could read them again.
Melanie, did the test come back? We are anxious.
Barb tried to make a Bob, but failed. What do you do besides a ;() ?
7:52 am on June 27th, 2010
Change the semicolon to a colon and try it.
7:56 am on June 27th, 2010
Speaking of second childhood. . . need help.
Does anyone know what Robin, in Men In Tights, stabs in the last sword fight scene? It's something that a camera man is holding. YSAS says it's a hot dog, I say it's a bagel. Any one know for sure?
No test yet, but she is on the meds she would have to take if she does have it. Even before those meds though, she started doing better, and NOW? She is eating and feeding and eating and feeding and between all that, she's happy.
Whew.
8:10 am on June 27th, 2010
I'm so glad Grace is better. I'm better also, thank you. I was in the garden and could sort of smell the basil and the lavender.
8:13 am on June 27th, 2010
and another WHEW…We are glad Gracie is doing so much better!!
8:15 am on June 27th, 2010
Explosives!…. Now there’s an idea! …snort!
8:51 am on June 27th, 2010
Woo hoo for everyone feeling better – B. and Gracie!
9:26 am on June 27th, 2010
It's a good day, sunny for now, and all that good news on the blog. ; () :()
9:29 am on June 27th, 2010
Hey, we sort of did it. : (
9:29 am on June 27th, 2010
Not that time!
9:49 am on June 27th, 2010
~BStover, Sebewaing, MI. Huh, I had to google it. Harbor Beach is on the outside of the thumb. Sebewaing is on the inside. Guess we probably wouldn't have met your mother then. We didn't have a car so we pretty much stayed right in town and walked wherever we had to go.
That was many years ago. Fifty! Half a century!
OMG it is hard to believe it is that long.
~Dawson, Check your email.
Staff
10:07 am on June 27th, 2010
Staff: I don't think I ever went to Harbor Beach. When we visited we usually went to Caseville. That's actually the place that is having Ribstock weekend. I have a friend who lives there. I always enjoyed going there but after a while I got tired of all the corn fields and sugar beet fields! My grand parents retired to Pigeon (same area) which has a brilliant library for a "village."
10:12 am on June 27th, 2010
Lunch!…We took all the food over to her moms….heh!… Her mom said she wanted to have some of the Case Noodle before “the hogs” got to it….grunt!… That about sums it up in describing her sisters guys…sneeze!….She will have to leave later to go say, “Hi”….Not me! I’m staying home…wheeze!
10:29 am on June 27th, 2010
Barb and Maggie: Nice Bob! I knew if I could do it, you could too.
Harbour Beach Memories: I remember almost drowning in Lake Huron. When we got to the Beach I ran in the water with my inner tube (a real one) and floated around…into the deep water where I fell out of the tube and swallowed a bunch of water and started sinking. Some young man rescued me.
10:32 am on June 27th, 2010
Wow!…Dawson! You have a drowning story just like the Charming Mr. Abrahams…snort!…Although, we’ve never heard his story, have we??…grunt! …Oooer! The game is just about to start!…wooo!
10:33 am on June 27th, 2010
Sammie!…Do you know if there is a Clapping emoticon?….snort!… I could really use one…sneeze!
10:35 am on June 27th, 2010
Rio: I was just gonna ask if you would be able to watch the game what with all the hogs milling around in your neighborhood.
Staff: The Twins are losing again 🙂 and 🙁 .
10:48 am on June 27th, 2010
Dawson, the Tigers are ahead by 4 runs in the sixth inning.
10:56 am on June 27th, 2010
Admin!… I see that the Red Sox will be playing the Giants today… snort!… I want you to know I am rooting for Bean Town during this series …..grunt!…Those Giants need to be knocked down a couple knotches….wheeze!
10:58 am on June 27th, 2010
Rio, here's sort of clapping, well not really, but the best I can do for now.
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277668684-laughing1.gif[/img]
10:59 am on June 27th, 2010
Now the Tigers are ahead by 6 runs.
11:03 am on June 27th, 2010
Sammie!…That one will work for some good old fashioned taunting…heh!
11:41 am on June 27th, 2010
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277671251-clap2.gif[/img]
11:41 am on June 27th, 2010
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277671284-happydance.gif[/img]
11:50 am on June 27th, 2010
I'm laughing. Those are cute!
11:57 am on June 27th, 2010
Molly should be doing these; they're too much work for little Princessy me.
12:11 pm on June 27th, 2010
Riö, Bess is so pleased that you are rooting for the RS!
and in Men in Tights, it's definitely not a bagel. Finally found the clip of youtube.
I think I will have to bow to the YSAS's memory of a hot dog. It's just a bit low in pixels to make sure.
12:19 pm on June 27th, 2010
Sammie!…. These two are perfect!!… snort!…thanks a lot! …Love the Clapper!…heh!
12:27 pm on June 27th, 2010
Yeah!…Boston is up 4-1 against those Giants!…snort!… Alas, the Rockies are down 2 – 5….crap!
Melanie!…Is Bess watching the game today?…grunt!
12:47 pm on June 27th, 2010
B. – Wow! When you send a storm, you really send one. It's like being underneath Niagara Falls.
12:49 pm on June 27th, 2010
Of course, Bess is watching the game. cough, cough.
12:52 pm on June 27th, 2010
How about this?
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277675538-jump.gif[/img]
12:59 pm on June 27th, 2010
Mollypop: Sorry about the storm. We've been having them on and off all day. At one point there was a tornado warning. Such weird weather.
1:03 pm on June 27th, 2010
Sammy!…Wow, these are going to come in very handy during the rest of the baseball season!…snort!…And especially during the World Series…heh!…Super-duper cool!
1:07 pm on June 27th, 2010
Sammie!…Ask your Auntie Molly how hard it would be to set up the Avatars on this here blog!….snort!…I keep waiting for Mike Baker to‘get around’ to it….grunt!…But apparently it is on the bottom of his list of cool things to do…crap!
1:20 pm on June 27th, 2010
Lexi!…Where’s my Lil Lexi today?…. sneeze!… I almost sort-of miss her…grunt!…I hope she hasn’t drowned in the pool…snort!… or has her lips stuck together with mint gum… wheeze!….
Sammie!… Sorry! I think you said Molly was your cousin, not your Auntie… cough!…She seems like an Auntie to me for some reason…heh!
SiberH!…You are being very quiet today….sniff!sniff!… Were you able to get that wayward Husky to a shelter?… snort!…What happened anyway?
1:23 pm on June 27th, 2010
OMG!… 🙁 🙁 🙁 ….another Grand Slam for the Angels…crap! … It is an over-whelming 10 – 3 Angels bottom of the 8th … grunt! [img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277677369-Angry.gif[/img]
1:41 pm on June 27th, 2010
I'm here, Rio…I'm gritting my teeth through this game, and half falling asleep. It was a late night. It was just a matter of picking up a husky from a NM rural humane society and delivering the guy to Husky Rescue. The rural shelters in this state do not have good luck with finding forever homes for huskies, so we usually take them in and adopt them out.
Sam's Bobs are helping to keep me awake. That red one is so funny.
1:48 pm on June 27th, 2010
SiberH!… Was this rural shelter like the one Chet was at in ‘Dog On It’? …snort!…. I was so worried about Chet during that whole thing… sniff!… Were there any Pugs in that rural shelter?….sneeze!…You would save a Pug too, right?… snort!
Oh!…And SiberH, thank you so much for doing what you do…sniff!… You guys are the BEST!…Yip!Yip!Hooray!… You are Heroes in fact!…Wooo!
2:01 pm on June 27th, 2010
Oh no, Riö can do Bobs.
Siber-H, you and your friend are the best!
2:07 pm on June 27th, 2010
Isn't the red Bob perfect for Rio?
2:15 pm on June 27th, 2010
Thanks, Rio. No, the shelter was not like the one Chet was in. I was in one like Chet was in, only they used the gas chamber there instead of the fatal injection. The ones like the one Chet and I were in, my mom still calls them dog pounds. This was a true shelter, a humane society, this husky was in. He had been there since May and hadn't been adopted. My mom thinks that Husky Rescue will adopt him out pretty quickly. He's a charmer, and full of kissy face affection. Most Siberians are not overly affectionate.
Yes, of course, we would rescue a pug. Everytime we see a pug, we think of you, Rio. We have a really great rescue group for small dogs in this state. They call themselves "NM Lap Dog Rescue" They would find a homeless pug a really good home, and they are very particular. The good news is that mom has never seen a pug up for adoption at all the adoption events she has worked at.
Most, but not all, of the dogs in pounds and shelters in this state are pit-bulls and pit-bull mixes.
2:31 pm on June 27th, 2010
Stover!…That Red Bob was made especially for me!…snort!… He is the epitome of how I feel sometimes…heh! …I wish he could talk for me too!
SiberH!… My friend who does not usually get involved with this here blog wants me to give you a message…snort!… She says, “I love SiberH and his Mom so much for all the hard work you guys do rescuing good dogs.”…. wheeze!
Snuff!…. Pit-Bullies get such a bad rap, but I have met some really nice Pit-Bullies myself…snort!…I think it is the humans that own the Pit-Bullies who need to be put in cages and be on death row instead of the dogs… grump!
2:58 pm on June 27th, 2010
Yes!… The Boston Red Sox beat the Giants!…Woooo!…. This is good news for our team… yippee!! … If we can’t win then other teams need to lose and that’s what the Sox did for us today!…heh!
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1277683085-happydance.gif[/img]
3:01 pm on June 27th, 2010
Alan Cumming will be hosting Masterpiece Mysteries tonight. It's another Miss Marple but one I don't remember: The Blue Geranium.
3:07 pm on June 27th, 2010
I couldn't agree more, Rio, about the humans needing to be put in the cages and on death row. It is not the pit-bulls' fault…It is the humans.
At this last adoption event, Husky Rescue was right next to pit-bull rescue. Next Sat. there are going to be demonstrations all over the counry against the chaining of dogs…putting dogs on chains for their entire lives. Pit-bull rescue is the one that is sponsoring it in this city.
Mom just got a phone call…her dad cut his hand and needs to have stitches so she is off the the ER. It is nothing serious. See you guys tomorrow.
3:11 pm on June 27th, 2010
Hmmm!…Smelly guys from Iowa have not shown up yet!… sniff!…Good news for me, but my friend is wondering Why?…snort!… Maybe they are too busy gulping down her food to even give her a call…grunt!… I don’t know and I don’t care!…heh!
Oh!… We love Miss Marple, but not as much as we love Hercule Poirot…snort!… We will try really hard to stay up for that…snort!…At least the part where Alan introduces it…yippee!… Now my friend is hoping they, the smelly Iowans, get in late and she does not have to go over there and say “Hi”…heh.
Twelve!…When she was just 12 she started reading and collecting Hercule Poirotmysteries…sniff!…She has them all…snort!…And she has a really, really old collection of Sherlock Holmes books…grunt!…We need to take a look at that again for the dates ..sniffle.
SiberH!…I hope her dad is okay…sniff!….Dads are special, and we sure miss ours…sneeze!
4:16 pm on June 27th, 2010
Hey!… Some one finally called my friend and said they had arrived. Of course, after they had already had sandwiches and stuff for supper… grump!…So after learning this, she said she was busy getting ready for work tomorrow…snort!…Which is true …sniff!…She said we will see them tomorrow night after work…growl!…Whatever… sniff!…I have tried over and over to tell her the truth about these guys, I think she has finally had it UP TO HERE like Grampy!…heh!
Sniff!…Where is everybody tonight??…snort!
4:32 pm on June 27th, 2010
I'm watching Blue Geranium. I've never seen it before and I don't remember reading it. I'll have to see if it goes by another title. It's typical English country murder which is refreshing after so much science fiction.
4:33 pm on June 27th, 2010
That storm that B. sent us was a dandy. We have a creek that was down to a trickle. In 20 minutes of rain it was overflowing and even had rapids. Mom got the camera and a raincoat to cover the camera and went out on the balcony to get pictures. Then came the thunder and lightning – I'm not used to that at this higher elevation in ski country.
It's finally over and I can relax. Whew!
5:20 pm on June 27th, 2010
SiberH, Thank you and your Mom for all the good rescue efforts. We need more like you.
Rio, Hope you and your friend make it thru the Iowa visitor fiasco.
Still dry here, but there are some scarey clouds out there….again.
5:27 pm on June 27th, 2010
The next Masterpiece Mystery will be Murder on the Orient Express.
5:36 pm on June 27th, 2010
Hey Rio,
I am checking in occasionally. We had to clean up the bedroom and remove the old bed because we are getting a new mattress tomorrow morning. YAY. The old one is way older than 20 years (we can't remember how old) and has these mushy hollows in it. I can't wait for the new one!
Gosh they cost way more than they did years ago.
We are sleeping in the spare bedroom tonight. And I can hardly get into the quilt room as it has all the extra chairs and night stands in it.
~Twins lost also Rio. Makes me feel like snorting too. Sort of glad you didn't have to see the Iowans tonight. If you grow up in Minnesota they tell Iowa jokes. (Sort of like Polish jokes if you remember them. I am part Polish so I do)
~BStover is smelling things! That is good news.
~SiberH, you are really busy these last few days. Even the Kats are glad you are helping the nation within the nation. Good Job!
I think I will play games on the computer for a while.
>^..^<
5:54 pm on June 27th, 2010
Rio. We are watching Miss Marple too, although my mom thought that the first Miss Marple, Joan Hickson, was the best by far. She is also a major Agatha Christie fan, we have all her books too. And all of the Poirot videos and Sherlock Holmes videos too.
SiberH. Good show, you and mom both. Rescue is so important. Hope her dad is okay. Wookie
6:00 pm on June 27th, 2010
I think you might be hogging all the rain! It was 102 here and getting hotter every day!
Anyway, night all.
6:01 pm on June 27th, 2010
PS I love all the Bobs!!
6:42 pm on June 27th, 2010
Mom got home…she says it may be the fastest anyone ever got in and out of an ER. It was just a stroke of good luck that it went so quick. Her dad is fine, with stitches and a huge bandage, which didn't really need to be that big. Thank all of you for your nice comments.
See you guys sometime tomorrow.
Wolfie and I need some of the rain you guys are getting.
6:43 pm on June 27th, 2010
Goodnight All!! Good night PUPPIES!
7:07 pm on June 27th, 2010
Gah!…Goodnight all!…snort!…We fell asleep somewhere and missed the whole Miss Marple show…damn!…grump!….Those late night baseball nights are killing our murder mystery life….snort!
1:21 pm on July 1st, 2010
Rio..I have been reading all your posts, and I must say, you do not seem at all evil to me. Maybe a little congested, but not evil. Evil is like the "people" who put me out on the street when I turned up pregnant. Like it was my fault! Do they think I could just show up at the vet's and say "I am the 8:30 appointment for spaying"! Lucky for me Dad showed up at the city shelter and decided I would be just right for Mom. They did not even know that I was "with puppies", but when they found out, they were tickled pink. Mom made me a nice little birthing suite and we were snug as could be. The pups are teenagers now, and the one who lives with us, Annie, keeps trying to eat my head. Kids! Oh, and even Princesses like baseball, but we woof for the Texas Rangers.