Journey into the World of Junior Soccer

       Its six months since I last saw my grandchildren ,when we last  met at the Gosford Park at Christmas .The two eldest have taken up the world game Soccer so I wanted to see them play for Cooks Hill Junior Soccer Club, especially as they say they have learnt to dribble !
It required a very early start to catch the 6am bus to Central for the 7am train to Hamilton . In the backpack went the cut lunch, thermos of coffee and some fruit, and  of coure the camera .!
Its a slow journey of over two hours so some reading matter was included,Billy Griffith's Deep Time Dreaming ,an intrigueing storey of ancient Aboriginal culture dating back 40,000 years.At school we learnt nothing of Aboriginal culture ,but with recent news of the finding of Mungo Man, I am now able to learn more about their ancient culture I have become fascinated with their survival history.
I was met at Hamilton by Guy and Nadine and the budding soccer players ,scribbling messages of love for grandpa.
The first game was at Stockton oval ,so we had to cross over the Hunter river and past the ginormous coal loaders scooping from the coal piles into the ships waiting at the dockside.
Arriving at Lynn Oval it was surprising to see the hordes of young children dressed in their soccer gear waiting to get on to the pitch to play their game,supported by a large number of parents. The sun was shining but a cool breeze was blowing lucky to be 17 degrees,but that did not stop these kids enjoying themselves.
After Amaya',s game it was back across the river to  National Park oval in Union street where there were even more children preparing to play.
These girls were two years older,bigger and had grasped the fundamentals from their coach ,so the game was  livelier,more action ,more physical and more cheers from the watching crowd,,do we have some budding champions in these teams .?
Half time provided an opportunity for a snack of grilled sausage onions and mustard between two white crusts,while the girls satisfied their thirst with sliced oranges.
After the game it was back to Guy and Nadine's house ,round the corner to photograph the girls rooms and check the renovations done to their property,have a expresso coffee and head for Broadmeadow train station for the 3pm train to Sydney .
A little snoozing on the return journey, which was crowded with folks headed for a night out.Finally after 13 hours travel  it was home satisfied that a little gold dust had added to a family reunion.
(C) copyright Tim Williams