My soccer hero

This won a contest on CBC Radio and will be read out on July 6 between 6 and 8:40 am.
Also won Cheryl and I tix to a U20 FIFA game!



My soccer hero is Cheryl Hagen of Chilliwack BC.

This spring, after years of standing on the sidelines as soccer mom and
occasional kids’ coach, Cheryl decided that mums deserved to have fun
too. She hatched the idea of forming a team to play in the local
seven-a-side ladies league.

One night over wine she convinced myself and another friend to play,
and then the campaign began. By week’s end she had 12 players
recruited, ranging in age from 32 to 49.

The fact that nine of the mums had never played before didn’t faze
her. She convinced our friend’s 14-year-old son to coach and we were
off, practising diligently, showing up punctually for every game, and
usually losing by a double digit margin.

We whooped when we occasionally scored, were jovial and motherly
towards our much younger opponents, and had a vodka cooler ritual after
every game.

We improved by leaps and bounds, bonded terrifically, and had a great
time taking time out for ourselves.

After not playing for 21 years, I was delighted to be on the field
again, so the Rosedale Rockers send cheers to Cheryl.

Our team cheer summarizes it well:
We’re the mums perhaps you’ve seen us
We’ve got three dozen kids between us!
Tired of being the carpool mums
We are here to have some fun!
Go Rockers! Play soccer!

Rosedale Rockers win (at least the second half!)

Anne says:

Woohoo! We won a half of soccer, by a 3-1 score. Okay, it was a whole game at a 6-3 score, but the second half was all ours! It felt great to make some actual offensive plays and get up to their goal, with some success!

Lovin' it!


Trish says:
That was an awesome game tonight!! It was fun to be able to actually make some passes and play soccer. I found it to be quite a treat!

If anyone is interested in either or both days for a soccer practice , just say the word. I'm in!! Say 8:30 or 9ish?

Great game!!

How it all began...

Went to Cheryl's for dinner last night. Verna was there too, and Cheryl hatched a plan that had its beginnings last year at the great Holland vs. Canada match in East Chilliwack: join the women's seven-a-side soccer league this spring.

We went on a phone blitz last night, while drinking wine, and tried to recruit other mums who spend most of their time on the sidelines watching kids, not playing!

So we've got 10 or so country mums, most of whom have never played or haven't played much, signed on to play against what will likely be much younger, fitter, more experienced teams!

I was a soccer pioneer back in the 1970s and 80s, part of the first wave of girls teams, and very proud to be playing after watching my brothers play for years and being told girls didn't play soccer. We won the provincials twice, the western Canadian finals once, and got to the Canadian final, losing by a 3-2 score.

BUT, I am now over 40, overweight, with bad ankles and the beginnings of arthritis! I know I'm fit enough to play as I run and work out a lot, but I am worried about injury, so will be proceeding with caution and with lots of ankle braces and a knee brace!

Congeniality award

Well, our perseverance, resilience, sense of humour, and sportsmanship has paid off! We've been awarded a dedication prize before the season's even over. Thanks Ashley.

We're still having all sorts of fun despite being severely outplayed by our younger, fitter, more experienced opponents. The scores are lopsided, but we take small victories in well-crafted plays, forcing the ball off the field before the other team scores (yet again), blocking corner kicks, successfully heading, and generally mastering soccer skills one by one.

Here are some recent photos!

Photos from Sandra

She may be injured but she remembers fondly the three games she got to play! She remembers the Dutch Crunch girls in the first game saying to each other: "You've got time, you've got time" and being vaguely offended by this! (Even though it was true!)

Go Rockers!

We're the mums perhaps you've seen us
We've got three dozen kids between us
Tired of being the carpool mums
We are here to have some fun

Gooooooo Rockers!
Plaaaaaaay Soccer!