Final Post: Parting is Indeed Sweet Sorrow

This is the last time I'll be posting on this side of the Atlantic.  Tomorrow, at the end of a long day of travel, we'll be back in the Upper Valley (and north of the notch!).  Already, our little team is breaking up.  Mattias went home with his family today.  Isak will be staying in Iceland for a while, as will Jack Ross, whose family has been with us for the past two days.  They have another week here, lucky ducks.  I wish I had an hour to write this, but I have to get back to the school where the boys have been staying, and do my second night of dorm duty.  The boys want story time, and they will get story time. First, a short summary of today.  We started out long before you were up, rising at 6:45 Reykjavik time to eat a quick breakfast and make it to the field to warm up for our final game, which kicked off at 8:00.  For a while, we were headed for a story book finish.  We earned a corner kick and Jack Ross set up in his new happy place, righto in front of the opposition goalkeeper.  He loves being pushed, shoved and mauled, and this location had it all.  Max Ritter swung a perfect ball to the far post, and Jack took a jab step with his left foot, darted to his right, and found the time and space to place a perfect header into the goal.  It didn't take long for the wheels to fall off for Touchline, however.  We were really out of gas, and the local guys who had slept in their own beds all week took advantage of our every mistake.  The score was only2-1 against us at halftime, and we resolved to rally.  It wasn't to be.  With five of our starers on the bench with little knocks, we opened enough holes to allow three goals and come out on the short side of a 5-1 loss.  It was dispiriting, but we knew that we had given everything.  Better yet, adversity showed us that we could stay together as a team, not call each other out, not blame the referees, and remind ourselves that we had come here to learn. After the game the boys wanted to go and cheer for the Verslo team from Kenya, by now truly our little brothers.  Then we headed "home" to chez Larus/Hulda and had a good lunch of hot dogs, Icelandic style. Then, of course, more soccer.  We walked to the impressive National Stadium to watch the U16 A Division Final between Brighton Hove Albion, a British pro club, and local favorite Prottur.  BHA scored first but then went down a man, and Prottur eventually scored to tie the match, which quickly went to penalties.  When a Prottur player put one over the bar, BHA, twice beaten in the finals, had their well-earned win.  After a little down time, we headed to the Prottur turf stadium for the closing ceremonies.  As we entered the stadium, the boys saw the team from Kenya, practicing for a drum and dance ceremony that they would be performing.  Next thing they knew, they were invited to practice with Verslo and eventually were invited to perform with them.  What?  Kenya and Touchline?  It was meant to be. Before they entered the stadium, the Kenya coach presented our team a beautiful carved wooden lion as a symbol of this new, wonderful friendship.
We settled in to watch the medal presentations. The overall winner of the U16Boys B group was our friends from Vesli.  No team had played them closer than Touchline (1-0 loss on a pk).  We had played great soccer against the best teams in our group before we started running our of gas, and that's something that we can point to with pride.  We are better soccer players for having been here.
Then, in the midst of the ceremony, out marched Kenya, followed by Touchline, one of the Kenya coaches took the microphone and sang/chanted as three drummers drummed and all of the boys, from opposite ends of the world, dances together.  Amazing stuff. They walked off together to significant applause, although I am sure many of the huge crowd wondered what these scruffy kids from NH and VT were doing with Verslo. Little did they know about the many gestures of true friendship that our lads had extended (and have sworn to continue - this brotherhood is not finished).  After burgers at the local Huldaburger joint, we piled into cars and headed to (what else?) a top level soccer match.  We were part of a huge crowd to watch two local team battle it out, and our guys were once again cheering, chanting, booing the refs, and enjoying five goal, 10 red cards, and a lot of high level soccer. They can't get enough.  We'll head to bed soon, pack tomorrow, and start the long journey home.  There's more upon which to reflect, and the boys all own me an essay about their trip, the second part of the assignment I gave them when the applied to come.  For now, though, our focus is getting home safely and reuniting with the families whose trust and support made this possible.  Thank you!  Goodnight!