more than a game of football

It may not seem like it, but i do more than play football here. However, to find out the other things i do you'll have to keep checking my future posts becuase again today i'm going to focus on Football. What strikes me is that it's more than just a game... I'm not sure everyone will agree but for me it's a constructive way to release a weeks worth of stress. For others its just a reason to fight (some will remember the infamous Ped of Friday Night Chrisitian Football) For most it's a way of keeping fit.... Tonight its 11 to 18 year olds football and no doubt some will come to fight, others to laugh and some to show off to their mates. In fact i haven't been running this football for a couple of weeks due to half term breaks and friends staying but tonight i return to the theatre of theatrics that is our football field.

Last time i ran this football session i was put in charge due to the absence of my two more expereinced colleagues Tim and Pete. It's always a little tense during the games becuase the group is made up of kids from different areas so in a sense different gangs come together to play football. Most of the time when it's well refereed there are no problems but when its not well refereed chaos can erupt. Now, it wasn't becuase i was a poor referee that chaos erupted on that night i think it was more that the two leaders who have developed the best relationships with the kids were absent. Therefore the element of respect the kids have for them was absent.

It all started when one of the boys accidently kicked the ball in anothers face. A shouting matched was the result but i managed to settle everything down with my whistle and my scottish slang. Problem was that the two boys had history and the ball in the face incident opened up old wounds and as soon as the game finished the two went for each other. Again we managed with the help of the older males to control it but it became inevtiable that they were going to fight at some point that night whether under our supervision or not. We managed to get all the boys off the pitch and onto the street so they could begin to walk home. However, instead it turned into a massive circle with the two fighters in the centre squaring up. From what i could see the guys i knew from football had turned into fighting machines, they had tensed up and were totally focused on the other person. Normally jolly guys who were laughing and joking looked angry and serious as if this was about more than just a ball kicked in the face. Instead it was about pride, territory and reputation. It was very scary to watch. It was even scariar to know that i was in some way responsible for the kids and the leaders. I really didn't know what to do.... But i remembered thinking that whilst we were outside the pitch the football session was over and the kids had a respnsability to make their own way home. Was my safety and the other leaders more important here, i also remember thinking! But i also saw that this fight could get messy especially as both boys were supported by groups of peers. The best option i thought was to try and get the group to the main road two hundred yards away where the mass of people and street lights would surely distract the situation. Instead the whole situation kicked off, a punch was thrown and another then all the boys from one group jumped in and it became a five on one mass. Then realising how unfair it was other guys jamp in to pull them apart. As the boys separated the male who had been ganged up on ran for the main street and i breathed i sigh of relief knowing that he might run home and the whole thing would de-escalate.

Not that simple, instead the running away male shouted a load of abuse about the other guys mum and the whole thing really kicked off. As a result of shouting he was chased by the guy he had offended with his comment and all that guys mates. Instead of keep running for the main road he turned round and ran back towards the oncoming group of males and was tripped up and beaten pretty badly. Again the wider group of guys there stepped in to pull them apart. One of the other leaders took the hurt boy and walked him briskly home whilst i and another leader stayed back with the group of boys to try and slow them down. The whole thing was crazy and left me feeling really shaken.

I tried the night it happened to write about it for my Blog but i struggled, mainly becuase i was still really affected by the whole thing. Now i feel more clear about the situation in my head and after i've written this i'm attending a conflict resolution session with the group of boys to discuss their actions. How will it go..... I'll let you know