Go to church this morning. Wife is a true believer and she doesn’t know that I love to use the hour for thinking about the team. I kneel down and stand up on her cues but really I’m somewhere else for the duration. Not that there isn’t merit in this God stuff. Have had some of my best ideas sitting in these pews. Today is no different.
Flicking through the prayer book, feigning interest, I come across a reference to the Ten Commandments. Eureka! Have this idea floating around in my head for ages about writing a coaching manual. Always struggling to come up with a format. Until now. The ten commandments of travel team coaching! What a title! Forget your Brazilian Joga Bonito or Dutch total football, I will offer practical advice from somebody who really knows the game.
I start feverishly scribbling notes on a hymnal.
1. Thou shalt obey thy coach. He knows more than your parents and your teachers and your older siblings put together.
2. Never pass to an open player unless he is at least as good if not better than you. Giving the ball to weaker team-mates in space merely encourages them to stay mediocre.
That’s as far as I got when she busts me. I’d been so engrossed in the idea that I forget to stand up for some communal prayer. Amateur mistake. She grabs the hymnal and stuffs it in her handbag. Much glaring ensues.
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