Tubman's new field makes its DC SCORES debut

The first week of elementary school games is in the books, and with it the first game day for our younger poet-athletes at Tubman's new, beautiful field.

The turf field at Tubman Elementary School, which was completed over the summer and sits right behind the school, saw plenty of action last Thursday when H.D. Cooke bussed over to play a pair of games with Tubman.

(The first DC SCORES game at the site happened a week earlier when middle schools Lincoln and Oyster-Adams played.)

Participating in one of eight games throughout the District, the kids enjoyed the completely flat, well-lined, soft field. And both schools were winners; the Cooke girls and Tubman boys.

Win or lose, members of both teams got loads of exercise -- even more than on an average DC SCORES game day. That's because the field is much longer than our average field at schools.

And with our elementary teams playing 8-on-8, there was a lot of running to be done under a pretty hot sun.

But the poet-athletes didn't complain, ran hard, and enjoyed a great afternoon of soccer in front of a large crowd of supportive parents, classmates and others.

The scene at Tubman was just one of the highlights of the first busy week of games:

-- At Raymond, a large crowd turned out for Raymond's games against Hyde.

-- Good sportsmanship is a huge emphasis for us, and while there is always improving to do, especially this early in the season, there were some signs of good sportsmanship that should be followed by every one of our 700 DC SCORES kids as well as coaches.

At one elementary game Thursday, an opposing coach applauded good plays by the other team. We would love for all coaches to follow this model.

At Kelly Miller Friday (one of six sites that hosted at least one middle school game), there was a physical play when a Kelly Miller player collided with the Jefferson goalie. After the play, the goalie slapped hands with the offensive player to make sure he was OK.

That one play made those players winners on the soccer field.

As we head into Week 3 of the middle-school season and Week 2 for the younger poet-athletes, rosters are pretty much complete as well as coaching staffs.

Everything is just about in place for another exciting fall of DC SCORES action in the classroom and on the soccer field.