After lunch yesterday we started to set up the field! This
included lining the field with cones, finding 4 large tree branches for goal
posts and then digging the post holes. You might ask, in dry rocky ground, how
did we manage to dig goal posts? Easy… we just get some of the youth players from the
farming communities- they can do it no problem. What would take us 30 minutes
per hole took these guys 5 minutes. Very impressive, and with nothing but
basically a metal rod!
Once the field was prepared I had about an hour before lunch
to get a work out in. For all of my Premier players who are reading this- yes,
I did my 10- 200yd shuttles here (all in under 40)! If I can make it work here,
I hope you guys are keeping up with your workouts at home!
A workout is exactly what I needed to loosen up and get
ready for the long and tough afternoon of reffing 12 games in a row!
On my way to the field I held out the yellow and red cards
and asked Luis which one he preferred and he said, "neither, I'll take the
green one"!
Once the tournament started it was one game after the next of
fun competition. We had a few yellow cards mostly from the players being silly
with intentional hand balls or horsing around on the field with their friends.
Other than that, it was great competition! Awesome footwork and passing,
teamwork, and a lot of fun being had by all. Enmanuel did step in and referee a
couple of games to give me a second off my feet, thank goodness- but one of the
games he landed reffing his brother's team and ended up red carding him out of
the game. Goodness gracious! (from what I understand, the red card was
warranted) 
We also had 2 of the female church pastors participate in
the girls division of the tournament! It's definitely fun watching the kids get
competitive, but its even more fun watching the pastors running around on the
field!
All and all, the first day was a huge success and everyone
had a ton of fun! After dinner and the movie, "the Lorax" (in
spanish) it was time for "Talent Night". Everyone is required to do a
talent and its amazing how fun and goofy everyone can be and how supportive
everyone is of those who are nervous. It creates such a fun community vibe and
a great environment to cultivate awesome friendships. If you ever travel here,
you will undoubtedly leave feeling like you are part of this community forever.
They still ask me about my sister, Phil Sheehey, Danny Shaifer, Caitlin
Willard, Cara Chisholm and other volunteers that have traveled down here with
me in the past.
A late night tonight and an early morning tomorrow so I'm
signing off for the evening! Good night everyone! Thank you all for your
support and following the blog!
(It's morning now as I am finally posting this entry and I
can already hint at a major drama in the soccer camp that is really going to
affect the tournament today and everyone in it. I will try to post it up
tonight, internet cooperating, and you can read about what happened yesterday
that hasn't been revealed yet, how the camp leadership responded and how it
will affect the rest of the tournament!!!)
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