What a kick!

This month will mark the end of an era, so to speak. After 15 years, we’ll watch our last child boot a soccer ball for the Kenwood Soccer Club. Over that period, our family has played on Kenwood Soccer Club teams, refereed, coached, served on the club’s board of directors, you name it. In the attic above our garage we still have boxes of old uniforms, and even relics from the days when the club used to have its annual Oktoberfest fundraiser in Shaw Park (remember that?) We also have dozens of those black and yellow soccer socks, none of which have any elastic left in them.

It’s been fun for us, especially since we didn’t have to do any of the actual running. We let the kids do all the sweating for teams like the Kenwood Crushers (a very popular Wine Country mascot), Raptors, and Wolves. Sitting on the sidelines gave us time to catch up with our friends and find out about town goings-on, so thanks for that, kids.

Our three children played close to a dozen years each with Kenwood soccer, beginning around age four or five when their favorite things about the game were 1) half-time snack, 2) finding bugs in the grass, and 3) end of game snack.

When they finally reach age 17 or 18 and play on the Under-19 coed team, their soccer priorities have changed a bit, but the desire for a snack is still there. Best of all, though, is the camaraderie of playing for “Kenwood,” their hometown. Many of these kids have played together for years, and their teamwork is instinctive. (Right now the U-19s are undefeated.) In fact, Kenwood enjoys a fearsome reputation among the other soccer clubs. We used to laugh when coaches from other clubs accused Kenwood of holding try-outs, when in fact, we were begging kids to sign up in order to field teams.

And, if there is a more beautiful spot to watch a soccer game than Shaw Park on a sunny fall day, under the watchful eyes of the Mayacamas Mountains, we’d like to know.

So thanks to all the volunteers who helped keep the Kenwood Soccer Club vibrant through years, and to all those who continue to carry on a tradition that is important to our town. It’s definitely a kick!

Noteworthy: Dunbar School’s Moondance is coming up on Nov. 14 (details here). This is their biggest fundraiser of the year, so buy your tickets soon!