Sights & Sounds Around A Round Ball at Shoreline Stadium

Maisie the Super-Fan!
Photo by TCA

By TCA

Leaves are starting to turn, temperatures are dipping in the evening, lattes are infused with pumpkin spice - for a select group of parents and kids, it’s girl’s high-school soccer season again! 

And that entails weekly trips (either Tuesday or Thursday) to that familiar concrete edifice known as Shoreline Stadium, home turf for both Shorewood and Shorecrest. Leslie will cheerfully take your ticket, and wave you in. 

The scent of hotdogs, nachos, pretzels & popcorn wafts from Joe’s Snack Shack, anticipating that many would be tempted by a snack to assuage the slight hunger pangs, presaging a late post-match dinner. 

Even though these early non-conference matches don’t count for much, for the incoming JV players and the newly promoted Varsity players, it’s an exciting time, parents in tow, beaming with pride from the stands. 

The detailed match reports can wait till later, for conference and district titles, perhaps even State contests. 

For now the air is filled with anticipation, hope and promise, before the ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat. The cheerleaders cheer, the high-school friends loudly roar, and the parents hoot and clap for their respective players.

One particularly enthusiastic fan catches my ear – she holds a homemade sign that says: “Cheer For My Chica Mika #14” – I’m sure we’ll see her again! 

In another section, an animated bunch of yellow & black clad youngsters look on – these would be the GU12 Hillwood Dolphins, doubtless dreaming of the day when they too would inevitably play on this same field in the future. 

On the sidelines surrounding the field are two teams, one in light blue, and another in bright green, excited ball-wranglers for the ‘big’ girls on the field. These would be the GU9 Shorelake Dog Dashers, and the GU10 Shorelake Girl Power. 

Everyone has a part to play in this small slice of drama in the quiet suburb of Shoreline. The players run, kick, jump with all their might, until the clock ticks down, and the final whistle blows. One group of parents exult with the winners, the other group consoles the losers. It’s all right, it’s okay, there will be another two matches next week! 

Come one, come all, to witness athletes who play for the love of the game, before college or adulthood rudely intrudes. Savor every moment, enjoy every occasion, as these poignant times are fleeting, but fortuitously, when I was a lad, I didn’t know any better, but I’ll always have such memories to look back fondly upon.