Off to play soccer

It is indoor soccer, but with outdoor rules, including sidelines and endlines, so you must keep the ball in play. US indoor uses a hockey style playing area, and you can play off the walls, and the wall around the goal area puts shots that are wide back into play.  The goals are handball goals (used in European and the Olympic team sport of handball), about 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide.  I have not played in a couple of months, and it has been at least four months since I was running around playing.  I am so excited.

I arrived about 10 minutes early.  I was practically skipping on my way in.  We were scheduled to play at 10:30 French time, which means a start nearer to 11:00, but it takes me a while to warm up.  It takes me a lot longer to warm up than the young guys.  They are in their late twenties and early thirties, which means most of them could be my kids.  I was, of course, the first to arrive.  The gym was empty except for a couple of workers vacuuming the floors.  You enter on the second floor and look down onto the playing surface.  It is the size of a basketball court.  If fact, it is a basketball court outlined in red and has baskets at both ends suspended from the ceiling.  Basketball is a very popular sport in France, as is volleyball, so there is also the  smaller volleyball court drawn with white lines.  One of the works came over to me and started speaking French. 

Major disappointment.  They closed the gym this morning to paint for a week.  At least 8 days until I can play indoor.  I was like a kid thinking it was Christmas day, waiting to open presents and POW … I am told that Christmas is not until next week at the earliest.  I will now go into the corner and cry. :,(

Well, maybe I can find the old guys playing in the park this weekend.  It will be cold, 0 Celsius (32 F) but cold never stops the addicted from getting out on the field.