Life Lessons with Mr. Matsuoka :)

It was 3-1, Red Hats. Victory was within our grasp, we just needed to hold our ground for a bit longer. It was a gorgeous day for soccer. Thy sky was as blue as ever and a refreshing breeze generously graced the field. Mr. Matsuoka and I had been leisurely playing offense for the past 20 min with the kids of Shimanaka Elementary School.

We Red Hats were just about to end the slaughtering of the White Hats when suddenly, things took an unexpected turn. Enter Yoshiki and Ayana, the 3rd grade powerhouse duo. In a flash, the score had transformed: 4-7, White Hats. The boys on our team were getting a taste of defeat and they did not like it one bit. How silly, I thought to myself as I watched a kid on my team kick up some dirt. I was then reminded of my own elementary school basketball games and the gutt-wrenching pain of defeat I had once endured. This wasn't just a leisure lunch recess soccer game, it was a war.

The White Hats were throwing in goals left and right. Each time a goal was scored, the boys on my team would begin grumbling and complaining, motioning for a trade in team members. "Give us Shinji for Toshiya!" they'd call out, shamelessly sacrificing a team member. Step in Mr. Matsuoka. He huddles the kids together and passionately exclaims, "When you lose a point, you just gotta stand right back up and play that much harder!"

Doesn't that work on so many different levels? I paused for a moment to absorb what Mr. Matsuoka had said. When it came to kendo, work, my busy schedule, and anything and everything else buzzing around in my head at that particular moment, Mr. Matsuoka's words put me fully at ease.

Mr. Matsuoka and I decided to step up our game a bit to try and show the kids that their new efforts would not go to waste. Unfortunately, despite their age and height, Yoshiki and Ayana were just too strong a force and the White Hats won, 6-17. I'm not sure if those boys were able to fully appreciate the important life lesson given by Mr. Matsuoka that day, but I'm sure they will have plenty other opportunities to learn it. One thing's for sure: Tiff needs to get better at soccer.