Soccer Shoes

Soccer shoes have changed quite a bit since I last had to buy them back in high school. Shin pads have morphed quite a bit as well. Fortunately, playing the game I grew up with for so many years managed to linger long enough in my feet that I wasn't too rusty when I decided to strap the boots back on here in Nagoya.

Back in March, my wife had found an ad in the ex-pat newsletter for the Shonai FC soccer team. Nothing official, just a group of fellow ex-pats from all over the world who love the game of soccer and get together and play every Sunday at The Shonai-Ryokuchi Park in northern Nagoya.

Thanks to some encouragement from my wife - and some new shoes she bought me for my birthday - I've been playing ever since and really look forward to it every week. Ages range from 23 to 45, and backgrounds are from England, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Romania, France, and yes, Japan.

Besides meeting fellow ex-pats, it has also offered a chance to see different parts of Japan. Tournaments are held a few times throughout the year for ex-pat teams from all over the country. Back in May we went south to the Awaji-island tournament (near Osaka), and there's a Nagano tournament in the fall. The competition is fun and in some weird way it's like fulfilling a boyhood dream of playing internationally!