Historically the school I attended, Morrison CP, never bothered with football as none of the teachers were willing to give up their time. Enter Mr.Melia, a great man who saw football as a birthright of all young boys. He quickly entered the team into a local league and the excitement began to build. After some football sessions he told the boys in the squad to keep checking the notice board near the school entrance, as this is where the first team sheet would be posted. Days of incessant checking and re-checking followed before word got out that the team sheet was finally there. The race to the notice board was as keenly contested as any Olympic 100 metre final. When we got there we saw, for the first time, a football team sheet with our names on it. And smack bang in the middle of the team was me. L.Deveney (Capt). There are almost no words to describe the feeling that engulfed me, save to say that if it could be bottled and sold, I would be a very wealthy man. The match, against Matthew Arnold CP, would take place in a few days time. The wait was unbearable, the anticipation incredible. How I managed to compose myself enough to play still amazes me, but I did. My first game of competitive football, and the beautiful game had never been more beautiful.
The result?. We lost 5-0, but it didn't matter. We were playing football, for our school, for each other, and for ourselves. We were simply glad to be able to put on the shirt and play. It was possibly the purest game of football I ever played.
Fast-forward 30 years and Philip is about to experience school football for the first time. As he is now playing in his third season of organised football, today is just another game, only this time it is with different team mates. But for one man on the touchline, today is about the special moments in a parents life, and a trip down memory lane for the boy inside.
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