The Chelmsford Sunday Soccer Club's Blog

For our American readers: It should be a good day for soccer this Sunday. Overnight the temperature will dip down around freezing. No worries. It is predicted to be in the low 40’s by the time of our kick-off. There may be some frost on the field, but that should burn off. Don’t forget that the clocks change overnight and we fall back one hour. That should make it easier to be on time.

For our international readers: It should be a good day for football this Sunday. Overnight the temperature will dip down to 0. No worries. It is predicted to be 6 by the time of our kick-off. There may be some frost on the pitch, but that should burn off. Americans change the clocks twice a year for no logical reason whatsoever. It is stupid. No human left alive can explain the purpose of changing the clocks. Setting the clocks back an hour would seem to make it so that more players arrive at the pitch in time to warm-up and start the game on time. It apparently doesn’t work that way. Don’t even ask about how we’re doing on grasping the metric system. Just don’t ask.

I would imagine that being a weather forecaster in New England is either a very stressful job or a job with no stress at all. The weather in New England changes often. There is a nor’easter predicted for this weekend. The last time that this happened I went to the Chelmsford Library (as seen on “The SImpsons”) and checked out a copy of “Arks for Dummies”. But we got very little rain that time and I awkwardly had a half-built ark in my backyard that I did not need. So, who knows how much or when it will rain this weekend.

Remember that we do not play on the grass fields when they are wet. We don’t. This has helped us maintain our relationship with our hosts.

If it rains, we could get together to work on our goal celebration dance routines. They honestly are not as good as they used to be. (They are not as bad as our throw-ins, but that is a pretty low bar to clear.) Or we could meet at Brickhouse Pizza (the one in the wooden building) for breakfast and beer.

Keep an eye on the weather and let’s figure it out Sunday morning. I suspect that it rained more two weeks ago than it will this Sunday, but I am not a weather forecaster.

Lawrence
Lawrence

Demetri says: “It is a myth that you can’t wear white after Labor Day. Of course, I have never worn white after Labor Day but that is mostly because I have never worn it before Labor Day or on Labor Day itself.” Therefore, we are all looking forward to seeing Demetri’s new white shirt tomorrow.

The weather forecast says that the rain should hold off until we’re done playing. A perfect day is when it is dry for soccer, but too wet to do yard work afterwards.

Bring a dark shirt and a white shirt (like Demetri). Kick-off at 8:30 AM.

Lawrence

Today is a beautiful — almost perfect — Saturday. Great day for yard work. It would be a great day for soccer too. However, the forecast for Sunday indicates that some much-needed rain is on the way. I would be much happier if the rain came on Monday instead. Please remember that we do not play on the grass fields when they are wet. We don’t.

I mentioned to a couple of people that I was leaving early because I am on a “pitch count”. Pitch count is a concept in baseball where they predetermine how many pitches that they are going to allow the pitcher to throw and that is it. If the manager decides that a pitcher only has 67 pitches in his arm today, they do not let him get to pitch 68. It is kind of like that for my rebuilt foot. I have a predetermined time limit for the day before I even get to the field. Even though I was feeling great and playing well, I left when I got to my time limit. I am being careful so that I do not reinjure it. It was silly of me to use a baseball term with soccer players.

Before I left the game I said “my eyes hurt”. I appreciate those of you who have reached out to ask. My eyes don’t actually hurt. I did not hurt my eyes. “My eyes hurt” was my response to a throw-in that was less than textbook.

You will all be happy to know that after almost FIVE YEARS of playing with us, Demetri has bought some white shirts. If you have not seen his Tik-Tok unboxing video of these, they will be on display the next time he plays. Demetri…we can’t wait.

Lawrence

Unless posted otherwise, we are locked in to play at Murphy Field in Chelmsford every Sunday at 8:30 AM.

Please plan to arrive early if you need time to warm up before we start.

Also, remember to bring:

• Two shirts: One white and one dark so we can split into balanced teams easily.
• Water: Bring plenty of it to stay hydrated during the game.

See you on the pitch!

If elected, I promise to submit legislation to make it illegal for it to rain on holiday weekends (including the preceding Friday). I believe that this legislation will have broad, bipartisan support.

Rainy Sunday mornings are among the biggest problems in this country. Someone has to stand up. And I believe that I will be as successful as my campaigns against grey shirts and illegal throw-ins.

Until then, all that we can do is stay off of the grass fields in the rain. According to the weather app on my phone, it is going to rain quite a lot over the next day. I was hoping that the rain would hold off until noon but meteorologists seem to think that they know better than me.

Lawrence

There are only four weeks left before the World Cup kicks off. We have to sharpen our skills during these “friendlies” the next few Sundays. Beginning in mid-June, the stakes get higher.

I know that we’ll be ready when the games really count. I see all of you putting in the work.

Kick-off tomorrow at 8:30 AM at Murphy (after an appropriate warm-up). White shirt and dark shirt. Goal keepers can wear grey.

Lawrence

I know that (especially in the spring) this blog can be confused for “The Weather Channel”. We have to be careful with the fields.

This weekend is looking perfect. Too wet on Saturday to do yard work. Darndly darn! Dry, cloudy, and a bit cool on Sunday. Yeah baby!

8:30 AM kick-off at Murphy (after an appropriate warm-up).

Even if skies are grey, shirts are white or dark.

Lawrence

We all remember the fans running onto the field at full time of the last game in the fall. Another season over. The cup awarded. Pundits left to analyze the season just ended. The memories of victory and defeat faded over the off-season. Now a new season is upon us.

Forget the rankings in all of the soccer magazines and on Sky Sports and Fox Soccer. It is a new season. and anything can happen.

The weather looks just about perfect for us to play this Sunday. A bit cool but that is okay. Unless…Unless any of us are tempted to wear grey sweatshirts and claim that they are white “enough”. No such thing. Only goal keepers wear grey. As Yoda would say, “White or white not. There is no grey.”

We’re kicking off at 8:30 AM at Murphy (after a very appropriate warm-up). Ignore the pundits, the analysts, the scouts, the fans, and the coaches. Just play your game your way.

Bring a white shirt and a dark shirt. With the cool weather we should be able to play for two hours no problem.

Lawrence

The good news: We are playing at Murphy this Sunday at 8:30 AM. I love, love, love when we return to playing outdoor in the spring. Unless…it rains and we can’t use the grass field.

Today was a perfect day for soccer. Dry, cloudy, a bit cool. But Saturday is for youth soccer. Sunday is for us. And the forecast calls for a 100% chance of rain.

If it is raining, we stay off of the grass fields. We have always protected them. Even if the kids play on them on a rainy Saturday, we don’t play on a rainy Sunday (at least not on grass).

Since this is New England, the forecast is somewhat apt to change overnight. I am hoping that it changes to the rain arriving later this Sunday.

Hoping for clear weather. Hoping for an 8:30 AM kick-off (after a proper warm-up). Please bring a dark shirt and a white shirt. If you wear a grey shirt, you are the goalkeeper for the whole game. Just that simple.

If you look back at our blog over the years, you will see that every single April we are frustrated that we sometimes get rained out. It rains in April. Rain is good. I like rain six days a week. They don’t call it SUNday for nothing. It shouldn’t rain on Sundays. But sometimes (particularly in April) it rains.

Be prepared to play at 8:30 AM at Murphy. Just check the weather forecast. And… somebody has to bring an inflated soccer ball. That would be nice too.

On a personal note: I am still on the injury report. I hope to be back on the field with you soon.

Lawrence