This past summer, Jay Greene,* a counselor at TheZone, witnessed something beautiful—beautiful not being a word much associated with soccer. But there it was, a beautiful story of empathy and sacrifice between two campers, Sam and Seth, and one very special goal:
“It was the end of camp mid-playoffs and one camper, Sam, always tried getting involved in the game, but he wasn’t too great at sports,” said Jay. “This game was very important to the kids, because if they lost, they weren’t going to make it to the championships.
“The best player on the team, Seth, was taking this soccer game very seriously, but when he saw Sam, he went over to him and told him exactly where to stand and be ready for a pass. But when it came time, Sam wasn’t where he was supposed to be.
“Seth finally spotted Sam and passed him the ball, but Sam still didn’t make the goal,” related Jay. “After the play, however, Seth, together with the other players, got together and set everyone up to make sure that this time, Sam would make that goal.
Goal for the Winning Point!
“The game was nearing an end but Seth’s priority was not so much winning, but to make sure Sam went home with that amazing feeling that he won the game for his team. With 30 seconds left and their team down by one point, the pressure was on. Seth starts bringing the ball down the field and all the other players are in position. At the last second he gives a light pass to Sam who slams the ball into the goal for the winning point. The entire team picks up Sam, who was never the star of the game, ever. He was on cloud nine.
“Seth goes over to Sam and says, “We have a new MVP this year!” a moment which I’m sure will forever stay with Sam.
“And there you have it: the one goal of the team’s best player, was to make sure another boy felt important!”
*Name changed for privacy
