Not Just A Game

By Josiah Blacklock

I remember the games, the intensity with which we lunged for the ball and beat back the offense assaulting our line. I remember the triumph in our voices as we screamed to the sky after scoring a winning goal. I remember the joy on the faces of the people who we served the second day of that soccer tournament. But the thing I remember the most were the stories that come from the exploration of a new country, the inside jokes that spawned from random catchphrases, and the new connections that I formed not just with my teammates but between different teams and even locals. 

I got the opportunity to attend ACSC in Taiwan last week and play soccer against seven other teams. I had originally signed up for soccer because I’d grown up playing soccer and had played it last year. I wasn’t in it to forge new connections or broaden my cultural palate, but fortunately, that’s exactly what happened. 

The trip started with our team meeting in front of Harbor Hall and setting off for Taiwan via a couple of buses and a plane. The random assignment of the plane tickets served to bring my teammates in contact with people they wouldn’t normally interact with and so served to reinforce the unity of the team. But the bonding didn’t stop there.

Throughout the week, our team got nothing but bonding with each other since we were all stuck in the same hotel and went everywhere with each other. We toured Taiwan together via the metro on Tuesday, served a local community of disabled people on Wednesday, went to the Night Market on Thursday, and sat together eating lunch and dinner every day. By the time I got home Sunday night, it felt weird to not be surrounded by my teammates.

There’s something that happens on these trips, something that can’t be replicated by purely hanging out with someone or seeing them at school. Jaden Lee (10) commented that “playing with each other brought a strong bond as we all had the same goal in mind.” 

The constant exposure to my teammates built relationships that were unique and, at least for me, unforeseen. I expected to play soccer and yes, maybe learn a few names and facts about my teammates. But I didn’t expect to deeply bond with and get to know each of my teammates’ personalities and quirks. But as we experienced life together, our relationships grew, and by the time the closing ceremony rolled around, I already felt a pang at the realization that life would go back to normal that week. 

Mr. Brendan van Rensburg, our coach, summed it my thoughts best on the last day of the tournament: “It’s not just about soccer, but about your teammates and about relationships.”