to midnight. "Sunday is actually my
busiest day. You would think everybody's
going to do other things–for instance,
church." Perhaps soccer is, in some ways,
a religion.
David didn't think Sundays would be so
busy. "I've got regular groups that have
been coming in now for seven years.
They've been coming from 8 a.m. until 10,
and then I have another group at 10 a.m.
My leagues start after that."
Most nights David is at the facility until 2
a.m. "I don't think anything of it because I
love soccer–I love being around it. It's not
a whole lot of trouble for me to be there all
the time. I schedule a referee and sit there
and watch soccer in the evening. People
look at me, and they think that I'm doing
absolutely nothing. They think, 'Ah, you've
got the easiest job in the world!' They
don't see me during the day or the offweek between seasons. All they see is the
machine working, in motion. I set it all up.
Once it's in motion, all you have to do is
keep the place clean and stay on time."
While he sits and watches soccer in the
evening, he focuses on keeping everyone
safe. "I've got referees trained. It's kind
of like a trickle down effect. If I train my
referees to the same standard, it'll trickle
down to the players, and they'll fall in line."
He adds, half seriously, "If they don't, I kick
'em out!"
Safety is, after all, a priority. If players
see that the trouble makers are being
excluded, they won't, for example, get
involved in a fight.
"Everybody's going to work the next day.
We're not professional soccer players,
14
but we need to have a safe environment
to play in."
Playing indoor soccer is what Wolf's Indoor
Soccer is all about. It is not a fancy place,
although it does have high quality turf.
During the summer, the garage doors are
opened and large fans draw air across the
arena to cool off players and spectators.
Perhaps, because the game is the focus
(there's no sporting goods store, although
socks and shin guards are available for
sale; there's no café, although drinks and
snacks are available from the vending
machines), Wolf's Indoor Soccer seems to
attract a higher level of play.
"It seems to improve over time. Once
they've played in there for a couple of
seasons, teams will add another guy and
