David Beck"HAM"

As most of you know David has been playing soccer since he was three. He has been on the same team the whole time and it has been the same group of boys every season. We really love being a part of this group which has been a huge factor in extending David's soccer career. These boys are pretty good, in fact The Hurricanes went undefeated for almost two full seasons. If it was not such a great group we would have moved on to other sports long ago. David is by far the youngest player on the team and until recent games he has never "got it". We have been focusing on goalie for the past two seasons in an attempt to make the most beneficial contribution to the team. This has worked pretty well, the coach trusts David to be in the goal, and David does a good job when he gets an opportunity (we have good defenders too). Well the game right before spring break this season David was asked to play as an attacking winger because we were playing one of the weaker teams. Coach wanted David to play in the field some, and boy did he play. Mom and Dad along with everyone else associated with the team saw a sudden and very real difference in the skill level David was displaying in that game. He was all over the place, being aggressive after the ball, and making plays. No goals in this game but we were all very excited. After spring break and several rain delays we finally got back to soccer last weekend. David's first game back still had signs of his recent improvement but it might have been one step back after forty steps forward.

Now we come to Sunday night, a showdown with the Lightning, the only team able to secure a tie last season with the otherwise undefeated/untied juggernaut that is The Hurricanes. David started in goal and had a couple of stops in the first quarter, then seconds before the end of the second quarter the Lightning striker beat both defenders and snuck one past David off of the post for a 1-0 lead.

After a half time speech for the ages from Coach Jason and with the 25 mph wind now at their backs the Hurricanes quickly scored a goal early in the third period to tie it up. Soon after David broke free from the defense and found himself forty feet away from the goal with a bouncing ball in front of him. With unmatched focus and determination and a perfectly timed swing of his mighty right leg David "put the biscuit in the basket, going top shelf cookie jar, where Grandma keeps the good stuff" over the outstretched leap of the formidable goaltender. The goal held up as the game winner as the Lightning barely made it across mid field for the rest of the game, in part due to the defensive mid-fielder in the fourth quarter (David). Again he was being very aggressive and taking the ball away from the forwards from the other team. David seems to be "getting it" finally. I don't know how long he is going to want to play soccer, but it sure makes it a lot more fun to watch when he is playing like this. The Hurricanes added an insurance goal late in the third quarter to seal it and went on to a 3-1 victory.

The HAM part came shortly after the goal and for the rest of the evening. Everybody knew David scored a goal even if they did not see it, and even if they were just at the park watching another game or just having a walk. David was very excited.

That is our coach that says "oh...get in there" while watching the ball fly into the goal. Then if you listen close he turns to me and says "tell me you got that". There is also a very excited mother close by telling her daughter "David scored a goal", I think the little girl's name was Katherine.

Way to go David. Cyber chest bumps to everyone!!