>>>I managed to make it to adulthood with no broken bones and very few scars - with no seatbelts, helmets, or padding -playing baseball in the backyard, football (not soccer) in the street, basketball in the driveways and skateboarding on the sidewalks - as did a lot of people. What was wrong with us? (grin)
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>>Someone ran statistics on football (soccer) for number of leg injuries, and guess what - the least injuries happened to guys who began exactly that way, playing barefoot in the street. They learned to keep their feet in one piece and not rely on any protective gear, and learned that early on, before they tried any advanced stuff.
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>And you learn to tackle from the top, not diving for the legs.

When I was refereeing soccer you were straight out of the game if you dove for the legs. It's against the rules and for good reasons.

I have had the thought lately that I should start reffing or coaching again in the spring. I am not world class at either but think I was pretty decent. In particular I thought I was good with disadvantaged kids, those born upside down in our upwardly mobile society. It wasn't a racial thing. Some were black, some white, some Hispanic. Kids smile alike in any language. I am thinking of Jovan, a 7 year old Bosnian kid (at the time) whose family was fresh off the boat. His people were busy being slaughtered so they came to the U.S. He had hardly a word of English. Among them was "Yes" when I asked him if he understood what I meant <g>. His dad always brought him to soccer practices and games and probably understood less English than Jovan. The best moment I have ever enjoyed in soccer was one sunny Saturday morning early in the season. The ball bounced loose in front of the 18 and Jovan was on it like a hawk. Bang, goal. Jovan looked straight to his dad and the look they exchanged was one of pure joy.