RECENT STORIES

3A/3B: Strong schools, strong property values ( Lesley Dahlkemper )
Election time blues ( Tim LaMacchio )
Lakewood photographer to have major show at C.U. ( Renee Fajardo-Anstine )
Two first-class stamps required for Jeffco ballots ( Julie Story )
Jeffco officials warn about ingesting moonflower ( Nancy Braden )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Lakewood \\ Stories \\ Sports \\ General Sports

The Final Seconds

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Kathryn Webb on 5/15/2006

Hot air rests on my neck and face. The last minutes are the hardest. I try to stay alert, watch the movement of the ball, focus on the position of the players. They rush at me with the intensity of a starving pack of lions hunting their prey. I slide to the right in anticipation. Get on your toes, on your toes, be ready! I am prepared, I know it, yet I pray it is for nothing. They approach, now it matters, I am the last line of defense. The air grows hotter, heavier. I crouch down, I am ready. Left foot first, right foot behind - like a snowboarder - back to the goal. Contain, contain, contain, do not lunge, contain. Here she is. She advances and I retreat. Foot-by-foot, inch-by-inch we play this game. Wait, she doesn't have the ball! She struck it too hard, this is my chance! An agile sweep with my foot, and I own the ball. I won this battle, but I haven't won the game, it is not over. How much time is left? I have to keep the ball, she can't have it, I need it when the whistle blows. Lunge to the left, but move to the right. I leave her standing, absorbing the reality of her fatal error. I advance up the field; my goalie shrinks in the distance. I'm at the half line, where is the whistle? Why hasn't it blown? One, two, three more touches, and there it is, the magnificent sound, like that of my favorite song, an old friend. The game is over - I have won. My shoulders are free and I can breath. The pressure is gone, an enemy that will return, eventually.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Kathryn Webb

Lakewood , CO

Kathryn Webb has posted 3 stories and 0 comments since joining on 5/14/2006. Kathryn Webb 's average story rating is 5.

view profile » view other postings from Kathryn Webb »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Lakewood

All stories by Kathryn Webb

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad