Evolution…

Evolution is something that happens to us… and from a footballing perspective that means developing as a player, a team mate, a team, a squad, a club and most importantly, but often overlooked, as a person

It’s been referenced before, but a local (Super)Vets XI from deepest Essex has evolved, from losing to winning, from a threadbare team to super strong squad and from faded facilities to improvements that could only be imagined.

Behind the bravado and banter of the changing room has been more conversations and changes of approach to engaging with others. It’s not always uniformly adhered to, tensions do get raised with expectations and despite best intentions, not everyone can remain in the role they once enjoyed… we all have to evolve.

Evolution is something that World Cup-winning Rugby Player Will Greenwood spoke about in a recent podcast with Simon Mundie on Life Lessons from Sport.

Will also speaks about NeuroDiversity as part of evolution, and it’s something we recognised a whole back (Jan 2020 Blog https://whiterodingvets.wixsite.com/mysite/post/getting-the-message-across ) that is what’s needed to be grow.

Saturday was a County Cup Away match vs Newport in challenging conditions, which ended up like a rugby score 6-9. Not a great game for the purists, but a spectacle for the neutrals.

It went a little something like this:

0-1 (2mins)

1-1

1-2

2-2

3-2 HT

3-3 (OG)

4-3

4-4 FT

5-4 (Pen)

5-5

5-6

5-7

5-8

6-8

6-9 AET

will Greenwood also speaks about his Captain, Martin Johnson reinforcing “We are never a 2 or a 9 out of 10” to help the team keep level headed. We certainly was not a 9 and although closer to a 2, we still found a way through.

This season we have used 21 players. We will need the depth an strength of a squad to compete on 4 fronts. Whilst I can only pick 16 for any one game and only 11 will begin (and hopefully finish), NeuroDiveraity and evolving as players will be ever increasingly required… and as Greenwood advised, players have to ask themselves “How do I best serve the team?” both on and off the field.

Next week is a new challenge and we will evolve once more in search of another success.

Deano

Splinters (1)

Holly (5)

Too Tall Tel (1)

Barnett (1)

Weathers

Sibbo

Dan

Bairdy

Steve Martin (not that one)

Lucy

Babs

Dom

Copper