ROCK STARS AND SOCCER COACHES!

My morning drive to Panera Bread was interrupted when my cell phone rang. I answered it, and it was Paul, calling from his caravan of young soccer players, his students, on their way to Atlanta for the  Norcross Nike Cup with high hopes of being recruited for scholarships to universities seeking the cream of the crop. I couldn't help but think about the Saturday almost a year ago when I went to my first-ever soccer game, one of those tournaments in Wesley Chapel where Gibbo was showcasing his best players. I was so impressed with those kids. They moved about on the pitch with confidence, those smooth moves reflecting and radiating what Gibbo had taught them. They were playing the beautiful game, which doesn't come naturally. It comes with a lot of hard work and the desire to learn from the ground up. Literally. The more I've watched Gibbo, the more I've heard and read about him, the more I realize he is the best. His coaching style of play—free-flowing, attacking, passing—won him the reputation for producing good soccer players and teams that are a pleasure to watch even from The Albion days, all stemming from his love of the Dutch Coerver method.

Well... Gibbo was off again with yet another group of kids, and I can't wait to hear the results. But I learned that he was reminiscing about something else this morning... someone else, I should say. He was thinking about Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin, primarily because he was on his way to Atlanta and it brought back memories of Robert. It goes like this...

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Reminiscing is good, especially when it includes rock stars and soccer legends. At least, I'm sure Gibbo feels this way. I'm still just Jane, living and breathing and writing for people with whom I have little in common. I've never liked rock music, never been to a pub nor tasted a bitter or mild, and I never knew a thing about soccer before Gibbo. Now... well, now I think I'm an expert! On soccer, that is.

Posted 3rd December 2010 by Jane B. Gaddy