Employees get a kick out of indoor soccer
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Will Chavez, player-coach for the City Slickers, tries to steal the ball from two Exxon Mobile players. About 12 city employees play for the City Slickers each week. |
Story and photos by Dave Schafer
While many other workers hit the bar for happy hour, Will Chavez and a dozen other city employees spend a happy hour playing indoor soccer.
Chavez, of the Information Technology Department, is player-coach of the City Slickers, a team of city employees who play in a Friday night indoor soccer league at Kicks Indoor Soccer on Shepherd.
“I love this,” Chavez said between gulps of air. Sweat stood out on his face from running around the field, which is less than one-third the size of a normal soccer field and made of synthetic fiber, rubber pellets and sand. Each half of play is 25 minutes, and walls keep the ball inbounds.
Because the field is smaller with less out-of-bounds areas, the action is faster and more intense than during outdoor soccer.
Chavez has played soccer nearly all 33 years of his life. He began playing indoors to beat the Houston heat.
After playing in another Kicks league, Chavez started a team of city employees.
About 12 members of the team from City Council, IT, Planning and Development, Building Services and 311 show up for each game.
Robert Bundick, IT, joined the team because his son, Nosakhere, likes playing soccer. Bundick said he thought this would be a good way to encourage his son’s interest and spend some fun time with the boy. It’s also keeping the ex-Marine in shape.
Bundick, 41, is the oldest member of the team. Nosakhere, 13, is the youngest.
Hector Rodriguez, P&D, said he hadn’t played the game since college physical education classes in the early 1990s.
“I love the sport, I just have never had the opportunity to play it before,” he said.
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| Hector Rodriguez and Chavez plan strategy before the City Slickers game against Exxon Mobile. |
Bundick, Rodriguez and many other City Slickers never played soccer beyond the requirements of school. Chavez said the novices are improving, but the team’s inexperience shows in its record: two wins against six losses and a tie against teams from other companies and schools, such as Exxon Mobile Corp., Rice University, and St. Thomas.
Hurricane Katrina can be partially blamed for that. Many team members are assisting hurricane evacuees, so Chavez had to find other employees to fill out the team.
For instance, he met Rodriguez in an elevator before the ninth game.
“You look like a soccer player,” Chavez said. Rodriguez wasn’t, but he took Chavez up on his offer to join the team.
It’s not about winning, the players said. The league has a steep entry price, $925 per team for a 10-week season, and the champion gets just a small trophy and a T-shirt.
“The point is to get in shape,” said Chavez, who has lost 16 pounds since he started league play in February. “It’s a lot of fun, and without realizing it, they’re having a great workout.”
It’s also about friendly competition, team-building skills and camaraderie.
Kicks has leagues year-round, so this happy hour will continue, Chavez said. After all, it’s a healthy way to burn off a week’s worth of stress.
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