Well first off this is a LOOOONNNNGGG post. A lot of things happened for this post. I am sorry to my avid readers (I think that is just mom) that I haven’t been blogging lately. I got lazy and stopped doing it for a week. So I am going to start with last week. To set the stage, we originally came to SA to do sports camps. Well let’s just say that sometimes the Lord has different plans. We had one of the most interesting weeks that we have had since coming to SA. The word that I would use is phenomenal. Hein called us on Thursday the 30th about going to Queenstown to help with the Grant Khomo Rugby tournament. We said, “Yes we would love the opportunity.” So Friday morning we got up at 3:00 and went to pick up some guys form the Stellenbosch Rugby Academy and meet at the McDonalds. After a brief issue with some vehicle arrangements we were on the road at 6:00am. The drive was beautiful. We went what the locals call the garden route. It took us down the eastern coast of SA through the mountains and forests and stuff. The only problem that we had was that this way would take us longer to get to East London, where we would stay Friday night. So we finally got to our destination at around 8:00pm. We then went and grabbed a quick dinner at KFC and headed back the place we were staying. They actually arranged that we spend the night in a local school, which I thought was interesting. When we got back we did some life coaching training until about 10:00, so that we could be ready for ministry opportunities. After that is was bed time. We got up on Saturday morning at around 7:00 so that we could do some more training and then get another rental car that had been worked out. We were planning on leaving East London at around 10:00am. Well we went to the rental car place and they said that the car we were going to get had been driven under a bus, so obviously we couldn’t use that one. Finally the guy found us a car; however, when Ben went to pay for it his card was declined. We stood there for it seemed like 30 minutes. Ben called his bank twice to try to get the transaction to go through. It wouldn’t. So not only did we not have our car, but our group had grown to 19 people. Ben got on the phone and was able to arrange a car from the local pastor and so at about 11:00 we were finally on the road. This time I was lucky enough to be able to drive the car that had the trailer. Now this would have been fine except for two things. The first is that we were going on very hilly terrain. I mean I didn’t know SA had such big hills. The second thing is that the car pulling the trailer was not an automatic, like pretty much every other car in SA. So when we went up those hills I would have to down shift to get enough power to get up the hill. Now when you have never done this before it is quite an experience. Let’s just say it didn’t happen correctly very often. I would end up going from 140 down to 60 in no time flat. Oh, it was pretty bad. But after about two and a half hours we finally made it to Queenstown. Once in town we headed to Queens College, the local university that was hosting the event. Once there we were introduced to the people in charge and were taken to the different hostels where we would be staying. There were eighteen teams at the tournament. This meant that there would be one chaperone to each team with one guy being the liaison to the people in charge and the rest of the chaperones. We also found out that two teams had already arrived and were in the hostels. I was given the Mpumalanga Pumas and they were one of the ones that had arrived early. The hostel that I was in was being shared by three teams. You had the Pumas, the Falcons, and the Lions. So the three chaperones of the teams were given our own room. This was both good and bad. It gave us a chance to bond with each other and take a break from team duties, but it also took us away from the players which could hurt relationships developing with the players. Oh well moving on. The chaperones then all met up in a big meeting room and watched the Super 15 rugby semifinals. That was where I got most of my rugby prep for the week. I mean going into this thing I had only watched about three games in my life and so I had only a rudimentary knowledge of the game. Luckily the majority of the guys chaperoning were rugby players, so they explained everything in the game for me. We had a really great time and it was a good way to unwind after having a couple of rough driving days. After the game we were able to go to the mess hall and have dinner provided for us. Like I said since some of the teams had already shown up and so the kitchen staff was already going to work. I don’t remember what we had, but it was pretty good. That was also the first time that I got to meet my coaches. The chaperones walked in as a group as the two teams were eating. It was actually kind of funny. The players were staring at us and looking to see if we were another team to size up. We sat down and started eating when the Pumas coaching staff came in and got their food. At first I wasn’t sure whether or not to introduce myself but after a while I got up and went over. I introduced myself and that I would be their chaperone for the week. We started talking. They asked me where I was from, what I was studying, why I was here, and all that kind of stuff. At one point I was asked if I knew any Afrikaans. I said “no” and one of the coaches then said that I would probably have some problems communicating with the team. I thought to myself, “Great… what have I gotten myself into?” But once they were done eating, I said good night and went back to eating my food. After dinner the chaperones met up again to talk about the next day and to do a small amount of training. Then we went to bed. Sunday morning rolled around and we got up early to do a short bible study before the teams would arrive. After the bible study we met for breakfast and then headed off to the team photo and registration area. Once there we tried to help were needed. Teams started streaming in. The team manager would leave them to get their pictures sorted out and then head to get them signed in and registered. Now I must say this tournament is pretty legit. This is the time that the professional teams will start to invest in new talent. So not only are the players some of the top in their province, but they bring in some big name sponsors. The main sponsor was Coca Cola with Powerade, Samsung, and Vodacom also putting in money. So with that in mind, there was some pretty legit stuff being given to the teams. For starters each team got a special home and visiting jersey kit. They also got three sets of Powerade water bottle holders, that each had about ten water bottles with them. They also got an ice pouch for holding injury ice, it was really nice. And finally, the coaches received a goodie bag with all kinds of stuff in them. So after a while my team manager showed up. I went over and asked him how I could help. He told me to take the teams stuff and give it to the players to take back to the hostel. After they were done taking pictures and things I went back with them to the hostel. I followed the coaches to their room and just hung out with them for a bit. A few minutes later the captain of the team (Rowan) came in to talk to the coaches and get instructions. As he was leaving, I asked if he would take me around and introduce me to the other player just so they would know who I was. After meeting all the guys he told me that if I need them to do anything, get me anything, just to talk to him. I told him that I would and that he should do the same for me. I mean after all we were there to serve the teams in the first place not necessarily the other way around. Anyway I went back to the main area to see if there was anything else I could do to help. At that point the registration station had pretty much shut down, so I went back to the hostel. As I was heading to my room the players and coaches said that they were going to the Pick ‘n Pay, and asked if I wanted to come along. I said sure and so we loaded the charter bus and left. On the way I was like the most popular guy on the bus. I was sharing a seat with a guy named Menzi who is the teams number eight guy. He was really cool and we talked all the way to and from the Pick ‘n Pay. I also answered so many questions; I barely had enough time to take a breath. It was a really good experience. After we got back I told the team that I would see them at dinner and headed back to my room. Dinner time rolled around and so I went out and headed with the team to the mess hall. At dinner I was again inundated with questions. I sat beside the captain and vice-captain(Beer which is “bear” in Afrikaans) and had the majority of the team surrounding us. It was interesting because the main topic of conversation was American football. They wanted to know all about it. They asked me how it was played, the differences in rugby and football, and all kinds of other football questions. I will say that it was really fun getting to share with them my knowledge and educate them on a game that I love. Well after about twenty minutes, it was time to go to the all team church service. This was really cool. They had all the teams assemble in the school’s auditorium for a worship service. I went in and set down with my team, I was really looking forward to getting to worship with them; however, the SCAS chaperones were soon called to the front. After a few opening songs the chaperones were called to the front and we were introduced one by one. As each chaperone was introduced, the team that he had would stand and clap. I was really cool to have my guys, who at that point still didn’t really know me, stand up, clap, and yell. After the introductions we sat down and two of the guys went and gave their testimonies. Ishmael who had been in one of the gangs of Joburg (Johannesburg) and Basson who is a college rugby player shared with the guys. After their testimonies, the local pastor got up and gave his message. I am not going to lie; I don’t really remember what he spoke on. About ten minutes after he got up to speak I had to pee and pee really bad. All I could do was concentrate on not peeing in my pants. I mean I was on the front row in the middle of the room, so if I had gotten up it would have disturbed everybody. In fact I was right in front of the pastor so there was no way I could leave. Luckily I was able to tough it out for an hour. After that I ran to the bathroom and then met my players outside. There was supposed to be a function for the players and coaches after the service, but it ended up being just for the coaches and managers. So I grabbed my walkie talkie that we were issued and the team and I headed back to the hostel. We went ahead and turned in for the night since breakfast for us was at 7:00 and then our first game was at 9:00.
INTERMISSION
Well 6:30 on Monday morning rolled around and my alarm woke me up a little bit too early. But after a few minutes I was up and ready to go. I walked outside and there were all 22 of my team ready for breakfast. We headed to the mess hall, had a short prayer, and then proceeded to go in and eat breakfast. After breakfast I headed back to see what the coaches needed me to do to get ready for the game. I was put in charge of getting contact shields for pre-game. Let me go ahead and say that it was cold at this point in time. We had been given jackets for SCAS (they were some really thick ones). So I was wearing that, my fleece jacket, SCAS t-shirt and long sleeve Underarmor; along with my Chino pants and running tights. It was cold in Queenstown. So I headed to where we were supposed to play our first game. They way that the tournament was set up was that there would be two game fields and six practice fields. Field one was the actual Queens College game field, while field two was a more rec type of field that had was still used for games. A better comparison for those back home would be that field one is Cowboy’s stadium and field two is Shotwell. So at the field I finally found the manager of field two and asked him about the pads. He said that they had some but he wasn’t sure if we could use them. So he called his manager and after about fifteen minutes he finally showed up and said that it was ok to use those. I grabbed four and headed over to the locker room. At about that time the team was walking up and so I headed over to Anton to see what else I needed to do. We stood there and talked on the sideline as the team was warming up. I found out that the Pumas (and other teams for that matter) were a select team. The players go through a pretty strenuous selection process. They are first selected from the different schools from the province. So for the Pumas they have like six schools in a 350km radius. From there they chose about 30 guys. After a couple of games they select who gets to go to the tournament. So this is like taking the best players from each state and making a state team to compete nationally. It is really intense the way that Anton described it. Pretty soon it was game time and so the guys went back to the locker room to change out of their warm up clothes, a cut off t-shirt, and into the game uniform. I did feel kind of sorry for the guys because it was cold and they were not allowed to wear their track suits to warm up. Anyway the game started and I was charged with my first job as part of the team, watching the bags. Not necessarily the most glorious job, but somebody had to do it. In rugby you play two thirty minute halves with a five minute half time. This was the first time I got to see the game up close and personal. After sixty minutes of play we were the team on top. The team had won their first match. However, it didn’t seem like they had just won. From what I was told, they didn’t play very well and so the coaches were not too pleased with the performance. So when we got back to the hostel the coaches called practice for 4:00. After everybody was showered and stuff I collected the laundry and put it in my room so that it could be taken to be washed at lunch. We had the opening ceremonies at 12:00 and the team needed to be there for that. I met the guys at the field and we went to the spot where they would be situated. I don’t remember much about the ceremony. All I remember is going nuts wen my team was announced. I mean they went crazy when I was introduced, I should do the same for them. It was funny because afterwards they said that I was louder than even their parents. I think that is just because I was closer. After the ceremonies the guys asked if we could stay and watch the other teams play. So I went with them. As we sat there I was starting to get grasp on the game of rugby. At around 1:00 it was time for lunch so we left as a team to go and pick up the lunches. Queen’s College decided that instead of serving lunch as they did dinner and breakfast, the teams would receive take a way lunches. So we grabbed lunch and then headed back to the main field to watch the rest of the games. It is at this point that I must say that I felt a little bit left out. Like I said earlier, the guys do speak English but mainly spoke Afrikaans. So when they would talk to each other during the game, I didn’t exactly understand what they were saying. So I started to perfect the stare and act like I understand technique. Haha yeah it made things pretty interesting. After the game on the main field ended the guys wanted to go watch the Falcons play on field two, so we headed over there to support our hostel neighbors. That game was a complete blow out. The Falcons killed the team they were playing; it was actually kind of embarrassing. After the game the team headed over to one of the practice fields to… well practice. The coach put it best, “We must go work them out so that they don’t do **** like they did earlier.” So they did their warm ups and stretches and then they split up between forwards and backs, and the other guys. I went with the forwards and back and watched them practice. Rugby practice is a lot different than football practice. Because the sport is a lot more fluid, the plays are not as elaborate as football. As a result they ended up working on passing and stuff. Well I was standing on the sideline watching what was going on when Rowan decide that I should get involved. He asked if I would throw the ball to him as sort of a line in type deal. I said sure and proceeded to throw the ball in. When I did, he burst into a big smile and I think chuckled a little bit. After about the third time I think he got tired of me throwing it wrong and so he didn’t ask me to throw it in any more. However, when the team was getting together to break practice he did teach me the correct way to throw the rugby ball. So thank you Rowan I did learn something while I was here. After practice the guys went and showered and then headed to supper. After supper there was this forum thing for the players that everybody needed to attend. This was really were I learned how big of a deal this tournament was. The forum was put on by the SA Rugby commission and is basically the first step for the guys trying to go pro. So they filled out five page information packet and turned that in. Next the guys running the program put on a video promoting the camp that they have. So what ends up happening is that out of all the teams at the tournament, fifty people are chosen to attend a special training camp that Boksmart (the company behind the national team, the Springboks) puts on. They take the players to Cape Town to be tested, trained, and then most likely prepared for the next level of competition. It looks to be a really intense camp that takes more of a holistic approach to training. So it involved not only physical, but mental, and life coaching as well. It actually kind of reminded me of what I think the German’s did to train their athletes for the Olympics back in the day. After about an hour that was finally done, and the event was completed by them passing out a booklet with workouts on it and a copy of the training camp promotional video. After that the guys had the rest of the night off, so we walked back to the hostel and I sent them to bed. However, my night was not over yet. My roommates decided to have what came to be known as radio SCAS. It was basically an hour of funny commentary and music on the channel that we were using for the walkies. Oh it was hilarious. We were rolling with laughter. Like I said that lasted for about an hour so at about 10:15 we finally made it to bed. The next morning went the same as the one before pretty much. We got up, I took the guys to breakfast and then we headed back to the hostel. There was one slight change this morning. It was cloudy and started to rain on the way back to the hostel, and you know this wasn’t just regular rain, it was freezing rain. Oh it was cold. Luckily the tournament guys got us chaperones some white waterproof jackets. They were perfect for keeping the rain out. Today’s game was against the Falcons on field one, so it was primetime today. Anton made the comment that it seems that every year the SA Rugby Association always pits them against the team that they are staying with and have made friends with. So I again had to find contact pads for the field. The great thing was that there were none at the field we were playing on. So after hiking to the upper field I was able to get four pads for pregame. When I got back to the field, the coach said to take them to the players that were already in the locker room. I was a little bit hesitant because I didn’t want to interrupt their pregame prep or throw off their game. So I walked in gave them the pad, told them good luck, and then headed out. About five minutes later the guys headed out to warm up on the nearby practice field. Anton and I stayed behind to watch over the bags. After the warm up, the players headed back to the locker room to put on the game jerseys. The coach was headed in and said that I should join him. So this was the first time that I was included in the team. We walked in and the head coach gave a quick pregame pep talk. I must say that he is an excellent speaker. His speech even fired me up. After that the guys sang their song (they had a legit team song, I really wish I could remember how it goes) and headed out to the field. The first half was a very back and forth game. We would get the ball and then they would get the ball. We would score a try and then they would score one. However, at about eight minutes left in the first half we had an injury. Our number ten player, Renard, was laying on the ground after the other team had just scored a try. The medics ran over to him and then helped him off the field. Anton was out of his seat and unsure whether he needed to stay on the sideline and keep stats, or go in with Renard. I asked him if he would like me to go with him and he seemed very relieved and said yes. We were in the first aid room for about fifteen minutes while Renard was being checked out. The medics determined that there was something wrong with his spine and that he needed to go to the hospital to get an x-ray. So his mom was there and she said that she would take him. As we walked out the game was out of half time and we were winning 16 to 17. I wished Renard luck and then went back to the sideline. At that point the weather decided to get a little bit worse. I think it got colder, the rain came down a little bit harder, and the wind was picking up. This was the kind of weather someone could really get sick in. We kept playing. In the last thirty seconds we were losing 22 to 23 we had just recovered the ball and had gotten to about 20 meters from the other teams goal line. As the game ended there was a penalty so we lined up to kick for three points and win the game. Rowan lined up to kick for the points as our other kicker had already missed a couple of kicks earlier. The stadium was dead silent as he kicked the ball. It was low and missed the goal posts. A second later the ref blew the whistle and the game was over. The player slowly walked off the field. I tried to give a high fives here and words of encouragement there, but I remember how that felt to me after I lost. I did what I could. Rowan was the last one off the field. He helped me grab the contact pads and take them back to the locker room. I gave him a pat on the back and told him that they played an excellent game. I know it didn’t mean much but I wanted to do something. So in the locker room the coach really encouraged the guys. He said they played a hell of a game, one that was infinitely better than the day before. He was right. They played an awesome game. We just couldn’t get it done in the kicking game. I mean I am pretty sure we had more tries than the other team; they just were able to make their kicks. So after the coach spoke he had the guys pray and then sing their song. I have to admit it was pretty cool. It was loud in the room and I got chill bumps listening to it. Once that was done I had to take the contact pads back to the other field. When I got back to the hostel my hands were purple and had no feeling in them. Oh it was awful. But I went ahead and had everybody turn in their laundry and then went to lay down for a bit. At 11:00 I got up and went to the main field to see if I could help out somehow. The coach had given the guys the rest of the day off and so technically I wasn’t needed. Well when I got to the field I wasn’t needed either. I then saw some of my team sitting in the stands and so I went and watched a game with them. At around 12:30 we headed to pick up the lunches and disperse those. Afterwards we went back to the main field to watch the rest of the games. At that point it had stopped raining, but it was still freezing outside. We stayed there throughout the rest of the day just watching the different games. I mainly talked to “the beast” during this point. The beast only speaks English so we didn’t have any communication problems. After the games we headed back to the hostel and got ready for dinner. After dinner it was back to the hostel to just chill. Radio SCAS made its debut at 9:00 and lasted an hour and a half that night. After that it was time for bed.
7th INNING STRETCH
On Wednesday we got up at normal time and went to breakfast. I still question the reasoning behind this. Wednesday was the day off for the teams and so you would think that they could have moved breakfast back a bit. Well they didn’t, so it was off to breakfast at 7:00. After breakfast most of the players went back to bed. I tried but just couldn’t sleep. So I went down to the TV room where some guys from the Falcons were watching “Step Up 3”. It wasn’t my first choice, but it was something to watch. About half way through it cut out and wouldn’t play anymore. I guess that is what you get for pirating movies… Anyway they put in “Just Go With It” and we watched that. About mid-way through the movie I noticed a bunch of my players walking out of the hostel. So I went out to see what was going on. They were going to the Pick ‘n Pay just to pass some time. The Pick ‘n Pay was located in a very small mall. So I went with a group of guys and walked around with them. We walked through a few stores and some of the guys bought a couple of things. Eventually it was time to leave and so we loaded up and headed back to the hostel. Once there, I went and grabbed the lunches and then waited for the team to come and pick them up. And I waited, and I waited. At about 1:30 I figured that all the guys that were going to grab lunch had done so, so I took the left overs to my room and laid down for a couple of minutes. Again I couldn’t sleep, so I headed down to the TV room to waste some time. I walked in and Rowan had beaten me to the punch. He was the only one in there. So I sat down and we watched vintage wrestling for about an hour. It was entertaining. Neither of us had watched wrestling very much and so we took joy in making fun of the guys on TV. After an hour his parents came to pick him up so he could go shopping and so I was left alone. At that point kid’s shows were coming on, so I switched that off as soon as I could. I decided to go ahead and put in “Just Go With It” again and start it from the beginning since I had time to kill. For the first time in I think three times I got to finish that movie. It really turned out to be a decent movie. So after that was over I was tired of sitting there doing nothing so I went out to one of the practice fields that was being used. There were a few chaperones there and so we started throwing a rugby ball around. This was the time that I found out that I was able to throw one of those as a football. So while the other chaperones were throwing the ball how it was supposed to be thrown, I threw it like a football. After about ten minutes of that I decided that it was time to get the guys out of the hostel. So I got a few of them together and we headed outside to play some touch rugby. After about ten minutes of that a bigger field opened up and so we moved there. It was at this time that I decided we were going to play a different game. Since they had been patient with me and taught me how to play rugby, I thought that I would teach them how to play football. So we went and played touch football. There were five to a side. These guys had a blast. I mean they were smiling and so happy to be playing and learning a new game, and they were pretty good at it too. I mean there were parts that the football guy in me said “no that isn’t right,” but they were having so much fun that I just let them play on. It was awesome. And it was really funny to see rugby brought to football. I mean after the initial forward pass, it was rugby to them. So they would lateral the ball as they were going down the field. It really made things a bit more exciting. We ended up playing for about two and a half hours. Right up until dinner time. In fact we were late to dinner because we had been playing so long. After dinner again there was something for the coaches and managers and not for the players. So we headed back to the hostel to chill. At the hostel I didn’t feel like chilling in my room so I headed down to a group of player’s room and chill in there. I set down on a bed and just chilled. We talked about a lot of things. Then there were times when they would talk and I would just listen. Also there were times where they would be talking, I would listen, and not understand a word in the conversation. All in all it was a great night. During our conversations, the other two teams and their chaperones decided that it would be a good idea to have a water balloon fight in the hall. I told my team that they were not allowed to go out and luckily enough they listened. So we hung out in that room until it was bed time. The coaches came in shortly before bed time and asked about what happened in the hall and whether or not the team was involved. It was a good thing I was there to keep the guys out of the fight or they would have gotten in real trouble. Before I left Beer came up to me and handed me something. It was a little thing that he had picked up in a store earlier that day. I told him that I couldn’t take it, but he said I must take it. So I reluctantly took it. I said good night to the guys and went out into the hall. Out in the hall I saw the damage that was done. There was water and balloon pieces everywhere. I knew from the coaches’ earlier reaction that they were pissed so I went to find a broom to start cleaning up. I know it wasn’t my mess, but I thought that I would do my good deed for the day. I started sweeping on my Pumas hall. I figured that if I just did my guys hall it would be good enough, since they were the victims in the whole deal. As I got even with one of the doors it opened and Petrus was standing there. He said hi and then ducked back in and I heard him say that it was only me out in the hall. After a couple of minutes Rowan appeared and asked to take the broom from me. He then asked if they should help. I said no and that he should go back to bed. I mean I was happy that he offered and everything, but they had a game in the morning and I didn’t want them to lose any sleep. So I started again. After a couple of minutes the other teams came and took over. Their coach was there making them clean up. At that point I went back to my room to turn in for the night. My fellow chaperones and overseers of the mess were in the room. I think they decided to get out of Dodge before the coaches grilled them about what went down. There was a short radio SCAS broadcast and then they went off the air for the year. The next morning we got up and had the last breakfast as a team. I asked them about whom we were playing today and they told me a little about it. We were going to play the Western Provence. Now this team is like the Cowboys of the under 16 Rugby. They have the money and so they should win. However, they had lost their first two games and so they needed a win. That is why I think they scheduled us. They were looking to beat up on a smaller team; surely they would get a win from us. I told the guys that nothing is certain, and that they should just focus on beating these guys. After breakfast we headed back to the hostel so the guys could get packed and moved out. The coach wanted them out before the game so they didn’t have to waste any time after getting on the road. They had a fifteen hour drive back to the province so they didn’t have any time to waste. Lucky for them the game was at 11:00 so they had time to get things done. I went to the coaches’ room and asked if they need help with anything. I helped Anton carry out his stuff as he had the most bags. I guess most team managers do have the majority of the bags. After that the coach told me to go get the bags ready and so I went to the field to get them. The game was going to be on field two and so it was a hike to go find them. I get there and find out that they don’t have enough, so I had to go back to field one to see if I could steal some from there. Sure enough I found some and brought them back for warm ups. I was with the guys on the practice field while they warmed up and walked over with them when it was game time. The coach took them into the locker room and I watched the bags while they were out front. I heard them sing the team song and it was quite possibly the loudest I had heard it. Again it gave me goose bumps. I mean the battle that was about to take place was a David and Goliath match. In fact that is the story in the bible that I turned to the night before. Our team was the smaller and maybe weaker, but they had the heart to win. As they came out of the locker room I wished them good luck as they passed by and then they were on the field. This time I got smart. After the game started I moved all the bags behind the bench so that I could stand with the players and still keep an eye on the bags. The beginning of the game was close. We went ahead by kicking twice but then they answered with a try. At the end of the first half Rowan went down with an injury and so he was subbed out. Luckily it wasn’t too serious so he didn’t need any attention. At the close of the first half we were behind by a couple of points. Then something changed. We not only began playing against the other team, but against the ref as well. I mean I am not one to blame refs often but even me, who doesn’t know the game of rugby that well, could see that there were some pretty blatantly poor calls. We came back to almost tie it up. We were losing 22 to 17 near our scoring line when the final whistle blew. It was heartbreaking. You could see how close we came and then to fall just that much short was gut wrenching. But that is how sport and life is. So I headed out onto the field to talk to my guys and say my goodbyes. I had to turn a player around so that he would shake the other team’s hand. I knew how he felt and I didn’t blame him for it. It is hard to congratulate an opponent who didn’t really earn the victory. So after they shook the other team’s hands we circled up and the coach talked to them. He said how proud he was of the guys. How proud he was that they WERE the better team even though the scoreboard didn’t reflect it. He also told them to keep their heads up and to keep fighting. I agreed with every word he said and was so glad to be a part of this team, even for the short amount of time I was. We then sang the team song for the last time and headed back to get the stuff. I waited over by the bags and started saying my good byes to the team one guy here, two guys there. It was actually pretty sad. As pretty much everybody had left Rowan walked up. He asked me if he thought this would fit me and then reached into his bag and pulled out his warm up top. I said that I couldn’t take that, it would be too much. But he insisted and so I was forced to take it. We then hugged and said goodbye. I walked back with Anton and we went to get lunches for the guys riding back on the bus. After that I went and put up the warm up top and then walked over to the main field. On the way over I met the coaches and Anton as they were heading to the bus. We said our goodbyes and they expressed how much they appreciated my help. They even specifically mentioned keeping the guys out of trouble the night before, which to me was a huge complement. We shook hands and they headed off to the bus. After that I stuck around and watched the rest of the games. Once that was done all the teams left and only nine of us chaperones were left. The others had gone with a couple of teams that were headed towards Cape Town. That night we had a braai with just the chaperones. We got up at around 6:30 the next morning so that we could drive home. This time we went a different way which was shorter, so the drive was about seven hours instead. When I got back to Stellenbosch the other group was here and so it was good to see them.
2ND INTERMISSION
I felt that I should do a bit of a debrief this time around, because this week was quite possibly the best I have ever had. The players were amazing. You know, I came this week to serve the players and team; however, it seemed that it was the players that did more of that for me. I came to try and teach the players a bit; however, it was them that taught me. They were selfless, giving, and genuinely interested in me and what has happened in my life. I mean I know that I wasn’t this mature when I was sixteen years old. These guys were great. Their amount of giving was touching. I mean some of the other chaperones received things from their teams, but it was always the coaches giving them extra stuff. I didn’t get anything from the coaches. Everything I got was from the players. I mean I was given a hat, actually I traded Daniel for it but it was still legit. I received the thing from Beer that he bought himself. And finally, I received the warm up jersey from Rowan. These guys also always wanted to help me whether it was carrying the lunch food, the contact pads, or even sweeping up the balloon mess. I mean the morning after when I went into the coaches’ room Beer was getting taped and said something that really made me feel good. He said that it made him so mad that I was out there cleaning up the mess and that no one was helping me. I told him that that is what a servant does, but it still felt really good that he cared that much. Also after the last game Rowan said how much he appreciated what I did and that he was glad that we got to know each other. I have also received facebook wall posts and messages saying how much the guys appreciated me and how much they want to get together again. All of that has just been so touching. I mean one that has gotten me the most is a message I got. It said, “U are relly one of the nicest people I have met!!!! I think u have made I good change in my life!!! “I mean how can you not be affected by that? And to think that I was never really meant to go to this thing. That just shows that while we may think we know where we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to be doing, and when we are supposed to do it; God has other plans. I have made great new friends this past week. These guys I will keep up with, and I want to try and be a mentor for. These guys are why I am trying to find a way to get to their game on the 23rd of July. These guys are why I am going to be coming back next year. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to be with them. I hope to see these guys in the future. Well this is Ryan Dillon signing off.
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