Sporting Archetypes
Sioux Falls has a massive soccer park I can see when I'm on the freeway, driving to and from the apartment. Each Saturday, hundreds of people get together and participate in local soccer leagues that range from kindergarten to teenage groupings. It was probably the memory of my own participation in a similar league in Portland, Oregon when I was probably 7 or so that stirred enough curiosity in me to go and watch the kids play yesterday morning.
As I was watching the little screaming pre-adolescents, it occured to me that we almost imperceptibly become ourselves at such a young age, and we play out the archetypes of life that will follow us into adulthood and old age. After a half hour I could see in the players people I'd known since I was that scrawny 7 year old running around a soccer pitch for the Glisan Street Hurricanes.
The first to become obvious was The Goon, the kid who'd probably been held back either for mental slowness or an ambitious father who judged that little Goon would stand out if he was a couple of years older than the other kids playing a sport. The Goon tries to physically impose himself on the other kids with his extraordinary size (the one I saw was a literal head and shoulder above most other players). His physical advantages breed a weakness in skill - a compensating strength that will ultimately undo him1 when everyone else hits their growth spurt and becomes as big and fast as he is. Goons make perfect fraternity pledges - eager followers in a world of bruttish, mindless heirarchies.
There was also Little Napoleon - the undersized player who strives to prove himself, over and over, in a world that is slightly larger. The one I observed tried so hard, and every ball that escaped his reach elicited a scream of anger. Little Napoleon is aggressive and fearless. Tackling bigger players is done cleats first and every time he is knocked down, his angry Little screams get more ferocious. The admirable thing about him is that he tries so hard, but the sad thing is that so much of his effort is wasted, just like his screams when things don't go his way.
Up front there's The Talented But Ultimately Lazy [Black] Kid2. In the first game I saw he was an undersized, stocky little fellow, in the second, he was a lanky kid with an enormous afro. His touches are effecient and his passes are well placed. Although his lazy stride will lull you into thinking he doesn't care, do not be mistaken: if he deems it possible, he will outrun the people around him and somehow maintain possession of the ball. He's admirable and disgusting, the coaches nightmare: take him out and your team will fail, but leave him in and you endorse his attitude. He knows he's good enough to get away with it.
Usually in midfield, you'll see The Technician. The Technician isn't the natural that the Talented But Ultimately Lazy [Black] Kid is, but he makes up for it with skill of foot. Not only is he accurate and sharp with the ball, given the opportunity and angle, he will usually score on a regular basis. In the first game I saw, The Technican scored twice. I found myself admiring The Technician most: the skill is a derivative of practice but beyond that is an effeciency and effort that differentiated him from Little Napoleon and the Talented But Ultimately Lazy [Black] Kid.
Look at the back of the field and you'll see The Fat Kid Playing Defense. These amiable fellows do their best at getting in the way and "clearing" the soccer ball. Clearing, in this context, removes implication of placing a kick with any accuracy, it means to simply kick hard and pray that The Technician or the Talented But Ultimately Lazy [Black] Kid is nearby to make use of it. They get along with their fellow players well and especially for the younger kids, I trust that one summer these kids will lose their baby fat and surprise everyone they used to play with.
The other archetype I noticed was The Leader. This kid is usually parotting the coach on the soccer field, yelling at his fellow players to "get to the ball" and "switch the ball" and "play defense." The Leader wants the ball like Little Napoleon, but more than that he wants acknowledgement and deferrence. He wants to take the free kicks and be the one doing the coin toss as team captain. After watching a few games I realized that The Leader is usually at heart one of the other archetypes. I also noted that The Leader was usually not the best player on his team, just the one who wanted to be vocal and make "decisions" for the team.
Of course these are generalizations - most of us grow up and find ourselves changed along the way by experiences and maturity. But at the heart of it, at the bottom of the "work clothes" do we not find ourselves on those fields of our youth, watching a Goon talk during a meeting, or admiring the work of a Technician, or being frustrated by a Talented But Ultimately Lazy cohort? Last year, to pass time in meetings I'd look around the room and imagine all who were present as their younger selves. The connection, most of the time, was obvious.
1However, there are Goons that are just that big, strong, and athletic that they can live as such even at the professional level.
2As black as I am, I was never a talented soccer player. Although in both games I watched this role was played by a minority kid, I'm proof that it isn't always so. Once, in Kenya, we went to a rural school for a soccer match where The Talented But Ultimately Lazy Kid was an Indian named Ali.
9:20:16 PM 
|
|
