Right as Rain: No Dog Is Too Old to Learn New Tricks

I have a confession to make.

Even though I have played soccer for over 30 years, there is one skill I have never mastered.

There’s a little juggling trick called “around the world,” where you are lightly kicking the ball up in the air repeatedly and on its ascent, you circle your foot over the ball and catch the ball on your foot before it hits the ground.

Many soccer players master this easily. It’s probably the first skill one learns on their journey to fancy footwork. 

But I never really took that road to fancy footwork. Instead, I relied more on my speed and strength and less on my skill and finesse. 

I still scored the most goals on my high school soccer team, so what I did worked for me. But I didn’t play in college, so I never really needed to learn these kinds of skills. 

Now I play in an adult league and find myself in the same situation, relying on my speed and strength. But there’s a problem. Those are both starting to wane. 

Just as the pandemic hit, my team was about to start a new season and defend its title as league champions. We were all excited and after having my best season in the past two years, I might’ve been the most excited. 

But as notifications went out across the country that week, we quickly got our email saying the season was canceled (we had no idea the next season would be, too!).

Not only did I lose one of my favorite forms of exercise, I didn’t want to lose the progress I had made on sharpening my skills. They were becoming more and more important as I aged. At 38 years old, I have to focus more on control, skill, and understanding of the game.

It’s a metaphor for life, people!

Being on lockdown provided me with the perfect opportunity to practice.

Instead of being depressed about our canceled season and letting myself wither away, I went out to a field by myself a couple times a week to practice my dribbling, shooting, and keep my fitness at a high level. Team sports weren’t coming back anytime soon, so I finally dedicated myself to learning that trick that forever evaded me.

I practiced.

I tried to get my foot over the ball and quickly realized that it was too high. I had to work on just tapping the ball in the air, so it didn’t go too high and with too much force. Then, I learned that I couldn’t do it if the ball was too far away from my body — I was off balance and stretched too far. 

I kept practicing.

Soon, I was able to get my foot around the ball, but couldn’t complete the rotation to get under it. Then it finally made contact! It shot off 10 feet to my right, but I had gotten my foot under it.

I was determined to get it that day.

Finally, I got my foot all the way under it and even though I didn’t keep control, I knew that it was coming soon. I smiled and my confidence grew. Within the next 10 tries, I got it! But I didn’t quite have the control I wanted to afterwards.

So I kept practicing.

I wanted to be able to control the ball after the trick as well as be able to perform it with consistency. What’s the point of learning a new skill if you can’t use it when you need it?

Let’s be clear. This really isn’t a skill you will need or even use in a game. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about continuing to get better at anything you do. It’s about getting smarter with how you approach anything you do. It’s about understanding that your physical ability will only carry you so far and to be a complete player, you must be well-rounded.

But mostly, it’s about practice and repetition. 

Because the real reason I never learned the “around the world” juggling trick, is that I never actually tried.

 

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Rain Bennett is a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, writer, and competitive storyteller with over a decade of experience producing documentary films that focus on health and wellness. His mission is simple: to make the world happier and healthier by sharing stories of change.

You can read the rest of “Right as Rain” here, and check back every Wednesday on Chapelboro for a new column! 

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