Drop the Shoulder

file under: embarrassing social situations

When I play frisbee with my friend and his daughter, she inevitably gets marginalised in the game and I end up as one of two grown men playing with a child's toy while its owner watches.

A couple of weeks ago, when I was walking to the local shops something similar happened with a couple of strangers. A man (probably in his 30s) was walking to the shops with his young son (probably less than 5). The man was kicking a football accurately and sympathetically to his son who would try, clumsily, to kick it back.

I'm no expert in football, but in a monkey-see-monkey-do way I have learned to use some of the jargon. On one occasion the son lost control of the ball and it came in my general direction. I jogged over and knocked it back to the father who had excellent ball control. With one touch he put it back at his son's feet and shouted - ostensibly to his son who had no idea what he meant – "knock it on, let's see if he's got pace". I collected it again and while I kicked the ball back to the father I shouted – again aimed at the son, but really to amuse the father – "run off the ball, build triangles".

The son didn't get many touches for the rest of the short walk to the co-op.

Richard "show him the nutmeg" B