Snow Soccer

by David Trifunov

  He found the inside zipper, undid it and pulled the jacket apart. He handed a smaller, red jacket to Sarimah.

  “There. Now, what are the teams?” he asked.

  Sarimah was amazed. She had not realized there was another piece to her coat. She waved her arms around. She had more freedom to move!

  “You four over there against us four over here,” Seamus said. He motioned to Sarimah, Tamsen, Izzy and Brandt as a team. “We’ll play half-field.”

  Sarimah had not expected to be on Tamsen’s team. She wondered how Tamsen felt about it.

  Seamus grabbed the ball and booted it high from the goal area. It hadn’t snowed for a couple of days, so the snow on the field was packed down. It made it icier than before. The ball skipped and slid from one end of the field to the other. It didn’t matter what kind of boots anyone was wearing. Sarimah could see everyone was having trouble standing. It made it tough to score, and the teams managed just two goals each as the game continued.

  “Whoa, look out below!” Brandt shouted. He took a running start at a huge slide for the ball.

  He nudged it forward to where Sarimah could get it. She scooted off to the wing with the ball. There was some empty space there. Then Tamsen broke through the middle of the field. Sarimah acted quickly and punched a pass up to her. Tamsen ran onto the ball and nudged it into the goal. It was a whizz-bang play that caught everyone by surprise.

  “Amazing play, you two,” Izzy said.

  “Nice pass,” Tamsen said. But she glanced past Sarimah, instead of looking at her.

  “It was a good run,” Sarimah added.

  It was the best play of the game, and the last. The bell rang and the game was over.

  “Hey, we win 3-2,” Brandt said. “Tammy gets the winner, with an assist to Sarimah!”

  The two teams gathered and all the players walked back into the school.

  “Sarimah and Tamsen, what a great combo,” Izzy added. “You two have good chemistry.”

  Sarimah looked over at Tamsen, who didn’t seem to have heard what Izzy had said. Tamsen walked away without saying anything.

  “I’m serious,” Izzy said to Sarimah. “You guys are both so smart. I bet if you joined our team, you two would be amazing together.”

  Sarimah looked at Izzy. She wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

  “Well, yes, I would like that,” Sarimah said finally. “It would be amazing.”

  9

  Gym Class

  Everyone in Sarimah’s Grade 7 gym class gathered at the doors. The teacher appeared from around a corner. He asked them to form a single line and head outside quietly.

  “You voted to play snow soccer for gym class,” he said. “Everyone who has a light-coloured jacket will play on one team. Everyone with a dark-coloured jacket is on the other.”

  Sarimah looked down at her red coat liner and then at Izzy’s silver jacket. She glanced around at the other kids and noticed Brandt and Seamus both wearing light colours, too. She spotted Kaelynn and Tamsen standing together, in black jackets.

  “Sarimah,” the gym teacher said, “you’ll play with the dark jackets to even the teams.”

  “I guess we will be playing against each other,” Izzy said.

  “I guess, yes.”

  Sarimah was amazed at how warm the sun felt. It was almost like spring. She shielded her eyes and looked around.

  “It’s nice out, isn’t it?” Izzy said. “It doesn’t happen that often. But we’re happy when it does. It’s a Chinook.”

  “What is that?”

  “It’s when a whole bunch of warm air comes from the mountains. That’s why we’re outside for gym class.”

  “Yesterday was so cold,” Sarimah said. “I do not understand.”

  “Welcome to Canada. You don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes,” Izzy answered. “At least that’s what my grandpa says.”

  The class made two teams of ten players each. It was the most players Sarimah had seen on the school field. Tamsen called her team together and started putting people into positions. She said she would play forward, while Kaelynn would play centre midfield. She sent Sarimah to play right midfield.

  The teacher placed a ball at centre and flipped a coin. Tamsen called tails.

  “Heads, so the ‘Silver Stars’ win,” he called. “The ‘Dark Knights’ have to defend.”

  Sarimah watched the other team kick the ball back to their midfield. Brandt suddenly scooped up some snow and made a snowball. He tossed it at Tamsen and then ran for cover behind the teacher.

  “Snowballs are fair play!” Brandt shouted.

  “Quit it!” Tamsen yelled. “Take the game seriously.”

  Kaelynn moved into position behind Tamsen. Sarimah moved beside and to the right of the two girls. She could see they wanted to pressure the ball. She would help by cutting off any passes to her side of the field.

  She moved closer to the middle, knowing it would be hard for the other team to kick the ball over her head. It was warmer, but still below freezing. The ball wouldn’t sail as high as it would in warm weather.

  The plan worked well. Tamsen forced the Silver Stars to kick the ball all the way back to Izzy in centre defence. Izzy had to retreat to her left, with Tamsen in pursuit. Kaelynn cut off the middle, so Izzy tried to kick the ball up the field.

  She wound up and swung as hard as she could. The ball went up into the air. Then it came down almost as quickly. Sarimah was in the perfect place to trap it. Tamsen made a diagonal run in front of Izzy.

  Sarimah took a quick dribble so the ball wasn’t sitting too low. She popped it forward, right into Tamsen’s path. Tamsen had nobody in front of her except the goalie. She scored, making it look easy, with a side-footed shot into the net.

  “Wow,” Brandt said. “That was the fastest goal in Thornton Park School history!”

  The teams regrouped for another kick-off at centre. This time, the Silver Stars tried kicking the ball forward, away from Tamsen and Sarimah.

  Izzy moved ahead from centre defence, leaving a huge space behind her. Sarimah thought if she could just get the ball, she would be able to kick it ahead to Tamsen again. It would be another sure goal. Sarimah watched in amazement as Izzy kept running to the far side of the field where the ball was.

  “She is not playing smart,” Sarimah said. But nobody was close enough to hear her.

  But somehow, it worked. Izzy stole the ball and charged toward the goal. A few kids were giving chase, but mostly people just let her run past them. Izzy would kick the ball into empty space. It would splat in some soft snow and she would chase up to it, and kick it again. She continued like that most of the way down the whole field.

  “This is silly,” Sarimah said.

  “Hey, don’t be so slow!” Tamsen yelled from the forward position.

  “Yes, I agree,” Sarimah said.

  Her other teammates didn’t seem nearly as concerned. Izzy deked past one and then another until she was right in the penalty area. At least, it was what Sarimah thought was the penalty area. With all the snow, she couldn’t see any lines. Sarimah finally decided she had better move back to help defend, when Izzy unleashed a wicked shot. It curled left and then down before it scored.

  “Toe-bomb!” she said, cheering.

  “It’s good to have big snow boots,” Brandt said, as they high-fived.

  Kaelynn and Tamsen kicked off at centre. They booted it back to Sarimah on the right wing. The three formed a triangle and moved the ball up-field. Brandt and Izzy played defence just enough to slow them down.

  Then, Sarimah made a run up the right side. She was at the side of the field farthest from the school. The snow there hadn’t been touched. Kaelynn spotted her and hammered the ball ahead as hard as she could. Sarimah ran onto it, with Brandt close behind. He wasn’t slowing down and Sarimah was worried he was
going to try something funny. She almost expected him to throw a snowball at her.

  But Sarimah caught up to the ball and dug her toe underneath it, just as she had in the sand. Brandt let out a yell and came sliding forward. Sarimah flicked the ball high into the air and it looped over Brandt. Sarimah watched Brandt slide on the wet, slippery snow — much farther than Hassan had at the refugee camp. The ball bounced and Sarimah continued her chase. Izzy managed to get back into position. But in front of Sarimah it was just Izzy, and then Seamus in goal.

  Sarimah continued to run toward the goal, forcing Izzy to come in to defend her closely. That helped Sarimah decide. She passed the ball on a sharp angle in front of the net. Kaelynn ran onto it and kicked home the go-ahead goal.

  “Amazing goal, Kaelynn,” Tamsen said, running to congratulate her friend.

  “But what about that pass?” someone yelled.

  Kaelynn and Tamsen stopped and looked around. A man was standing off to the side of the goal. Kaelynn put her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun.

  “Coach?”

  Sarimah stayed back a little. Izzy, Kaelynn and Tamsen ran to greet him. Sarimah was suddenly nervous, but she wasn’t sure why.

  10

  Open Invitation

  Izzy, Tamsen, and Kaelynn walked behind the goal to greet the visitor. Sarimah watched them closely. She didn’t think he was a teacher.

  “Sorry,” Izzy said to the gym teacher. “Can we have a break to talk to our coach?” At a nod from the teacher, she turned to Sarimah. “Hey, Sarimah, come here for a second.”

  “Are you sure, Sarimah?” Brandt said. “Your team will be missing your three best players.”

  “Well, then you better score,” Kaelynn said. Everyone was watching Sarimah as she approached the group behind the goal. The man was smiling, but Tamsen was not.

  “Coach, this is Sarimah,” Izzy said, smiling. “She’s the one who made that brilliant pass. She’s the one I told you about the other day.”

  “As-Salaam-Alaikum,” the man said.

  Sarimah gasped. How could someone be giving her the traditional Muslim greeting? She never thought she would hear Arabic in the schoolyard at Thornton Park.

  “Wa-Alaikum-Salaam,” she said, stuttering a little.

  “My name is Krisna, but everyone just calls me Kris or Coach K,” the man said. “I’m sorry my Arabic is not good. I am from Indonesia, but I have lived here twenty-five years.”

  Sarimah was still unsure of what to say. She could feel everyone staring at them.

  “That was a beautiful play, very creative,” Coach K said when Sarimah remained silent. “Where did you learn that?”

  Sarimah looked down at her boots. She was a little embarrassed, but thinking about soccer made her braver.

  “In the sand in Turkey,” she said. “Playing on snow is almost the same.”

  The man smiled. “I suppose it is almost the same — minus the sunshine.”

  “That’s what my father said.”

  “How are you enjoying Canada, Sarimah? It took me a long time to settle in here when I arrived. I still miss my home often.”

  Sarimah looked up at him and smiled. It made her feel good to hear that others missed their homes, too. It made her think of what her family had left behind in Aleppo.

  “I miss it, yes,” she said. “But Canada is nice. My friends are nice.”

  “That’s very important. I’m glad my players are welcoming you.”

  “You are their coach?”

  “Yes, I coach the Blizzard. I would love to have you as a guest at practice tonight, if your parents say it’s okay.”

  Sarimah thought about playing indoors, with no snow, in the warmth. She couldn’t keep in her happiness. A smile spread across her face.

  Tamsen turned suddenly and looked at her coach. Kaelynn mumbled something.

  “Coach, we already picked our team,” Tamsen said. “We can’t add anyone.”

  Coach K held up a hand. “She will be our guest,” he said. “Tamsen is right, though. We are nearing the deadline to add any players. But this will just be a friendly offer, from neighbours to new friends to make her feel welcome.”

  Izzy came over to Sarimah’s side and mussed her toque a little. She was still smiling from ear to ear.

  “Besides, Tamsen,” coach said, “it looks like you and Sarimah have a good connection. Maybe you want her passing to you more often?”

  Tamsen turned away from them. The gym teacher came over to the group.

  “You going to join us, Kris?” the teacher asked. “We’d love to see your moves.”

  Coach K laughed. “It looks like fun. But I can’t stay,” he said. “I just came here to drop off a thank-you letter to the school, for supporting our team. I have to get back to work. But I’m glad I came to say hello first.”

  Coach K turned and walked back toward the parking lot. Sarimah wanted to scream with joy.

  She couldn’t help smiling all day, from the time the gym class ended until the final bell sounded.

  When Sarimah got home, there was a bag of clothes sitting outside the front door. Attached was a note. It said, “To Sarimah, thought you might want these.” It was signed ‘Mo.’

  Their sponsors had already given them a TV, radio, clothes, shoes and books. But Sarimah’s family had found clothes and household items on their doorstep before. The neighbours often dropped off gifts for them. Once, Sarimah came home from school to find an entire set of dishes, and then pots and pans the next day. They looked like nobody had ever used them. At first, Sarimah wondered how Canadians could afford to buy them such nice things.

  Her teacher told her that many families had more than they need. Their neighbours were just giving them what they didn’t use. That puzzled Sarimah even more.

  She turned her attention to the new supplies. She opened the bag, expecting to see another scarf or a pair of mittens. Instead, she pulled out three pairs of soccer socks, shorts, and two jerseys — one white and the other green. They said ‘University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ on them. Then Sarimah pulled out running pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. At the bottom was a set of shin pads and a pair of soccer cleats.

  Sarimah upended the bag to get the pads and cleats out. She put the cleats on and wiggled her toes. They were a little big. But wearing two pairs of socks would make them just about right, and leave her some room to grow, she thought.

  “Nice!” she said.

  “What now?” Her mother had heard her come in.

  “Look, Mama. Mohammed left this for me,” Sarimah said, in Arabic.

  “What is all this? For football?”

  “Yes. Now I don’t have to borrow anything from Izzy.”

  Her mother picked up the plastic bag and looked at the handwritten note. Then she opened the bag and peered inside.

  “Mama, it’s an empty bag. There’s nothing hiding in there,” Sarimah said, laughing.

  Her mother wrinkled her brow at Sarimah. “Don’t tease me,” she said. “Where are you going to use those shoes? You can’t wear them in the snow.”

  “For indoor soccer. Izzy’s team asked me to practise with them tonight. I will go with Izzy and her mother in their car.”

  Her mother’s eyes darkened. Sarimah realized she should have asked permission first. She held her breath.

  “On a school night?” her mother said. “You should be studying. This is not a good idea.”

  “Please, Mama,” Sarimah said.

  Her mother sighed. “Your father will be home soon. Let him decide.”

  Sarimah collected all her new soccer clothes and carried them to her room. She put them out on the bed. She put the running pants and long-sleeved T-shirt on first. They were stretchy and thin. She managed to put on her soccer clothes — shorts, jersey and socks — over them. She still felt like she could mo
ve freely. Into her backpack, she tucked away the shin pads and shoes.

  She returned into the living room just as her father returned home.

  “Hello, Papa,” she said. “I have something to ask you.”

  11

  Tea for Three

  Sarimah’s father hung his coat in the hallway before kicking off his boots and heading to the kitchen.

  “I need tea,” he said. “This weather — I tell you. And today everyone said it was warm outside. If this is warm, I am a camel.”

  He began filling the kettle with water and found the teapot. He placed his mug on the counter. Then he turned to see his wife and daughter staring at him.

  “I feel like something happened while I was away,” he said as he got the tea from the cupboard.

  “Papa, can I play football with Izzy? She plays on an all-girls team. The coach is Muslim.”

  His father looked up as he searched for a spoon in the drawer. When he found one, he placed it next to the mug.

  “What? Football? Why? Where is all this coming from?”

  “I met the coach today at school. He asked me to come to practice.”

  She watched as her father stared at the kettle.

  “Will this cost money?” he asked.

  “No, he asked me just for practices. Izzy’s mother will drive me.”

  “Who is this coach and what is this team? Where do you play, outside?”

  Sarimah smiled. She knew her father was joking. At least she hoped he was.

  “Papa, you are being silly. I’m going to the indoor Soccer Centre. The team is called the Blizzard.”

  “Good name.”

  Sarimah’s mother moved to the kitchen table and sat down.

  “She wants to go tonight,” her mother said.

  “Tonight? It’s a school night. I don’t want you playing on school nights.”

  Sarimah’s shoulders slumped. She flopped into a chair next to her mother. She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. All Sarimah could hear was water heating in the kettle. Then the kettle started to whistle. No one said anything as her father poured hot water into the teapot.