We get home from our epic Christmas in Banff and I kid you not, sleep in our beds for three nights before heading back to the gopher great beyond, otherwise known as Lompoc. It’s our first All Stars tournament, just down the road from where Elon shoots his rockets into the ocean. Jake and Nate and I check-in to the Embassy Suites and find sustenance at the local Wingstop, where there are no fewer than two other Jaime’s waiting for wings.
We wake-up bright and early and head back to the skinny, rippling fields for the Legends first test.
Now I haven’t mentioned that for All Stars I’ve signed-up as Team Manager and in addition to Sign-up Geniuses, I’m also officially the Keeper of the Stats. I kind of love this new job. Otherwise I’m totally in the moment and have no idea what the score is except whether we’re winning or losing. Now that I have to write things down, I’ve been promoted to one step higher than chauffeur of the water bottle caddies.
Our first game is against Morro Bay and we win 18-0. No, that’s not a typo. Our second game is against 5 Cities and we put it away 7-1. Our third game against Nipomo is the wake-up call we need. Nipomo establishes themselves as our leading nemesis. We eek out a win 5-4 and then forget all about it at our impromptu Embassy Suites hot tub party.
The next morning we’re up against 5 Cities for a second time, winning 7-2. The finale is against SLO B and ends 11-2. After 10 goals and 8 assists, we’re just able to wedge Nate’s giant head back into the car for the drive home.
For the record, Lompoc has the worst fields… and the best first place medals.