Game on

Last week I told you all about the adventures of netball. This week I got to live them. Saturday past was meant to be my first real game, but turned into a three hour tutorial in netball lessons. The day was advertised as a simple game to give us practice. I emphasize the singularity here. However, Saturday morning I received a call informing me we in fact had two games that day. Okay, not a big deal. After the first game, marked by a horrible loss despite a fifteen point handicap, we geared up for our second match only to discover that we were entered in the tournament, a fact naive to our coach, and actually had two more games that day. It appears that we were entered into the wrong division and, despite our glaring lack of ability, been catapulted up the ranks. This is where it turned interesting. At half time of the second game, the coach for the top tear Ngati Ruanui team rushed over and asked to borrow two players so they wouldn't have to default their game. She grabbed one seasoned player and myself. I remind you, I have never played this game before, having only heard about it two months prior. Despite playing positions with which I was unfamiliar and having to be directed as to where to stand at the beginning of each play, I managed to hold my own. Luckily you can't foul out for creating too many obstructions. The irony is that even though I had never practiced with this higher level team, I was familiar with most of them through the clinic. A fact that rang true even for the opposing team, noted when the girl I was defending heard me speak, turned towards me and said, "Hey, you're that American doctor. Hey, you're my doctor." Oh, you have to love this small town.