So its 4:30 practice for the 8-9 year old boys soccer team my son Ian is on and I am coaching. I'm early, as usual, setting up cones for the drills and muttering about the futility of all these never ending seasons (this is 3rd kid, and I've now coached over 30 bball or soccer teams). But hey, its a nice fall evening starting and the sun is shinning and even the worst practice is better than work, so my attitude is better now.
The first mom arrives to drop junior and has a few friends in tow that she introduces me to. First is a very nice woman named Jenna, shes hanging with this dark curly haired guy, very quiet, Nike soccer shirt on, looking down, kinda tracing circles in the grass with his tow, as she speaks.
Moms chatting away and mentions this guy is a professional player from Boston, and maybe would i like him to assist this practice? Assist, shucks he can have it.
She finallty gets to the name portion of this intro, and this mans name is Ethan,which doesn't really click, until he lifts his head and i see his face. Me being not so sharp at the end of a long week, I ask him. Don't I know you from somewhere? (LOL am i lame or what?)He VERY kindly says no, you may have seen me on Survivor Africa, I'm Ethan, I won.
So we shake hands and procede to start the 90 minute practice. This man is so kind to the kids its unreal. After a few minutes, I just tell him, take it, run it all evening, I'll just watch the master at work. He spends the entire time having a ball with these little boys, and teaching some great new skills at the same time.
This guy was unbelievably nice, quiet, gentle, and sweet. As I'm watching him, I'm thinking to myself, these are all the qualities that kept him under the radar and allowed him to win that Survivor, and how wonderful that a nice guy got that far, and did so well.
It ends up that Jenna was from the first survivor, but it didnt click for me because I didnt start watching until SII. In chatting with her she seemed very sweet as well. Both were in town,(Newport Beach, CA) Staying at this moms house, who I find out works for Mark Burnett productions.
We finished with a team photo with Ethan and went our seperate ways. I just had to report to the Survivor fans what a nice, regular, unaffected person he was. BTW, 100% of the kids had no clue that he was some Hollywood type (which it appears he isn't anyways)they only saw him as the pro soccer player that wanted to help them. Very cool.
Why you old dog you!
Prattling on about Ethan this and Ethan that, and thought you would just slip in "Oh by the way I also meet Jenna."
Thought we wouldn't notice, huh? Thought you could keep her to yourself, huh?
Well, we'll let it slide for now, but don't let it happen again.
Great story by the way!
:~D