When It Rains....

The final siren sounded and for one team, it was a brilliant moment of celebration.
Unfortunately, for the Oak Park Under 14s, that moment did not belong to them.

In amongst a sea of blue, white, navy and yellow, the feeling was almost too much to bear.
Every single Oak Park heart had become a little deflated, whether those hearts had been on the field, or on the sidelines.
Either way, it was certainly a (momentary) feeling of emptiness and hurt.

I walked across the field toward my younger brother Aidan Santuccione (aka Spaz),
with my eyes to the ground, afraid that if I looked around, my heart would fall out of my butt.
Not because I was disappointed in their efforts, but because my heart was breaking for these
young fighting Kangaroos who had worked so hard all day, and all season.

As I neared my brother, I looked up to see tears streaming down his face.
In fact, there were tears all around the field.
Talk about pulling at the heartstrings…

I wanted to cry harder than I cried when Collingwood lost the 2011 Grand Final, but I knew that my tears would be misinterpreted as a sign of disappointment, so I held myself together, fought them off, put my arms around my baby brother (who’s now basically a foot taller than me, and I’m 30 years old…)
and simply said “I am so proud of you”.

Because I was.
And I am.
And I always will be.
I am proud of every single one of those boys, and so are the rest of us.
And that’s exactly what the Oak Park Under 14s should be feeling, too.
Immense pride.

At the end of the day, this is a team of young guns who, albeit had some pretty lousy decisions made against them on the day, still went out and fought back. They gave their all, and the continuous amount of encouragement they all offered to each other on the field throughout the day was something to marvel at. Some of the boys really put on a show, too, and at times I wasn't sure if I was watching the Oak Park Under 14s or next round of top draft picks for the AFL!

But in amongst all the hurt, sadness and disappointment, there is one key thing these boys need to acknowledge,
and it is the fact that they were even there.
They played in a Grand Final, against an undefeated side.
They made it to the big dance, the big show, and the biggest game of the year, having battled many obstacles throughout the season.

Like they had been told by one of their own, some kids never get an opportunity to play in a Grand Final.
They will never know the highs, the lows, and the mental, physical and emotional aspects that arise when you’re standing on that field for the biggest game of the season.
But these boys did, and they did it with such spirit.

To see faces lighting up whenever a goal was scored, a mark was taken, a tackle was laid, and to hear the constant encouragement offered by their teammates “COME ON OAKERS, WE CAN DO IT!”…
Well - it was an absolute (nerve-wracking) joy to watch.

Each boy made an impact on that day, and each boy has etched another page into the history books.
They have left their mark, and the only way from here, is up.

The skills and knowledge gained on the day will surely outweigh the end result, and there is no substitute for real life experience. If I could go back to being 14 years old, knowing everything that I know now, that is the one piece of advice I would drum into my little head – having a real life experience and dealing with real emotions and feelings is far superior than coasting through life feeling and experiencing nothing at all.

You really do have to stand a little rain to keep it green in paradise.
And this experience is exactly what that was – a little rain.
No matter how hurt, down, sad or disappointed you can feel at times, everything passes – the rain eventually stops.

There simply aren’t enough ways to put it into words that this team is not just a team, but also a family, and no matter the result at the end of the day, the family is unbreakable.
So to you, my dear Oakers, I want you to remember one thing:
The scoreboard may say that you had lost, but you most certainly have won.

You won the experience, you won the lessons, and you won the family you never knew you had.
And even if you gave up footy tomorrow, they would always have your back.

How many footy clubs can say that??

Congratulations, Oak Park Under 14s team of 2016 – be proud of your efforts and here’s to a successful 2017 season. 

x0x - Lady K - x0x