The Road to 40 Day 23/365: Multi-game day and Daddy/Vino time

by | Jun 2, 2025 | Strawberry-Filled Donuts

Vino had so much fun playing his first game, he wanted to do three more next day.

We actually begged off on this game day, because registration started at 7:15AM. On a regular school day, Vino is still snoring by this time.

When we told Vino about the game day, he said we should try.

Che was still feeling a bit under the weather, and she was going to have to fly out in the afternoon, so she asked if I could take Vino myself.

He said he was nervous, but you could feel his excitement the whole way through even if he was trying to hide it.

My guy was doing well early on, blocking a lot of shots that came his way.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop a few more that came his way. He came off as a keeper having saved maybe eight shots, but gave up three.

Because they didn’t have a lot of players, he was still able to get back on the pitch in a different capacity.

By the end of the game, they lost 6-1.

Vino took the loss better than I expected, and he had so much fun that he said he wanted to do three games the next day even if we had to be at the venue by 7:15AM.

It took about 20 minutes for us to reach the school, but we had to walk around to find the side entrance that was open.

I thought we were late already, but it was just nice enough for him to still play a little bit.

We were assigned to court 5, with the first game starting at 8:30AM. It was a good spot because the sun wasn’t directly shining on us.

There are three goalkeepers on the team, so Vino wasn’t able to play in the first game, which is ok. He needs to understand that team games will sometimes keep you on the bench depending on the coach’s strategy.

The strategy this day was to allow all 10 kids to play through all three games.

They lost the first game, 3-1.

A short break allowed us to walk a bit and eat some snacks. We packed a sandwich, so I told Vino we shouldn’t spend money on snacks we don’t need.

For the second game, Vino came in to start the game. With game time just a few minutes away and no players showing up yet, the other parents and I were getting excited to get a default win.

But as luck would have it,, the team showed up just before they called for the match to start. They were 6 boys, with four of them really big for their age, so we were kinda worried.

Their skill level was different though. Our side managed to dominate the attacks, so Vino didn’t have a lot of work for the game.

We won that match, 2-0, and the parents said the boys needed that win.

While waiting for the next game, the boys had a little bit of downtime, but they kept running around. Vino got his tablet and they all bunched together to watch the games.

At least they had a bit of rest before the next match.

A short break allowed us to walk a bit and eat some snacks. We packed a sandwich, so I told Vino we shouldn’t spend money on snacks we don’t need.

For the second game, Vino came in to start the game. With game time just a few minutes away and no players showing up yet, the other parents and I were getting excited to get a default win.

But as luck would have it,, the team showed up just before they called for the match to start. They were 6 boys, with four of them really big for their age, so we were kinda worried.

Their skill level was different though. Our side managed to dominate the attacks, so Vino didn’t have a lot of work for the game.

We won that match, 2-0, and the parents said the boys needed that win.

In the third game, Vino started again.

They got a goal early, keeping the momentum going from the last game.

He saved a couple of shots, but after one of the balls hit Vino’s face, one of his teammates got confused and thought play was stopped. The boy picked up the ball with his hands and got called for a penalty.

Faced with his first penalty defense, Vino had a good sense to stay in his place and jumped when the ball came.

He tipped it with his fingertips, but it was ultimately too high for his reach. The ball went in, 1-1.

After halftime, the other team got a quick attack and their striker got free. Boy kicked it in, but Vino blocked it!

Unfortunately, the ball bounced from Vino and into the other side of the net, 2-1 in favor of the other team.

A few minutes later, Vino got subbed out for another keeper. He conceded another goal, but just before play was over, Vino’s team got another goal to finish the game 3-2.

Vino came to me after the game with tears in his eyes.

He was sad that they lost and that he conceded two goals in the last game. Another kid was crying because he was telling his team before the match that if they lost, they would be relegated to the lower league.

We found out quickly from the other team’s parents that they would not be relegated because there are two other teams who finished worse than them.

As we were going home, I asked Vino to wash his face because of his tears and the boy gave me attitude. I told him he can be sad or angry or whatever, but he can’t give me attitude like that.

All his teammates were ok, and one of them also assured him that they will not be relegated, thinking that Vino cried because of it.

He was still a bit down when we were in the cab, but he got over it later on.

Back home, we had a quick lunch with Che before she left for the airport for her 2:30PM flight.

Vino and I had time to rest before going out to go to church for Sunday mass.

There was a Stitch thing happening and Vino asked if we could buy tickets to play. This, after we just gave away a few of his stuffed toys.

We went to try one of the claw machines before heading inside for dinner. The mall was packed, but luckily, we were able to secure a seat at 4Fingers.

Before going home, we went to the supermarket for a few breakfast things.

Cleaned up a bit and off to bed we went to watch a bit of Kuroko. While Vino isn’t really into basketball, he is interested in the stories, so it was nice to explain to him the values of Kuroko’s basketball in terms that he would understand.

Che was already checked in to her hotel, so we said goodnight for our first night separated for the week.

It’s gonna be a long week ahead.

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