As she approached the field, she could see all the kids in their equipment warming up. She saw a few parents as well, drinking mate and chatting, and she saw the coach. She hadn’t seen him before, so that meant he wasn’t from around here.
After the kids finished warming up, they started doing some exercises with the ball. “Piece of cake,” Mika thought, “I can do that with my eyes closed.” Without even realizing it, she was right next to the field, looking intently at the different exercises and picturing herself scoring many goals. She was completely oblivious to the coach looking at her.
By that time, the exercises were over. She was debating whether to ask him about the possibility of any girls teams or to just head back home.
“Hey, kid!” the coach shouted, but Melina didn’t even listen, as she was focused on her inner argument of pros and cons. “Hey, you in the rayada,” as we commonly say in reference to the Peñarol jersey. “We are one player short, and you are about the right size. Do know how to play?”
“Me?” Melina replied, looking around.
“Yes, you!” the coach replied, a bit exasperated. He was not a man of much patience.
“Coach! Come on! She’s a girl!” one of the boys shouted, followed by timid nods from some of the others.
“I’m the coach, and if you all are as good as you think you are, then what’s the problem?” The coach replied. There were no flaws in his thinking.
Melina didn’t have the best shoes, but she would have played barefoot, if necessary. She quickly ran onto the field and introduced herself. Some welcomed her and some just ignored her, but she didn’t mind.
About 45 minutes later, which felt like 5 minutes, practice was over. She had scored, dribbled by a few opponents, created fouls… all of it! She had celebrated with her teammates and for a while she had completely forgotten that she didn’t really belong there.
When the whistle announced the end of the game, she stayed a bit longer, pretending to stretch and gathering the courage to go and speak with the coach. She knew she was better than many of the other kids and she was convinced she had proven that in today’s practice.
Suddenly, she realized that it was already dark, and she had told her mom she’d be in the park for just a few hours. She got her ball and, as she started to run towards her house, the coach yelled, “Kid, we practice here on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 p.m.. Come with your folks next week!”
Milena’s mind was running faster than her feet could carry her, and she was running fast because, one, she feared her mom, two, she was going to play football! On a team! She couldn’t wait until next week. It seemed so far ahead!
“Milena! Where were you!” her mom shouted at her as soon as she entered the house. “How many times have I told you to be back on time or call! You are gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!” she added for an extra dose of drama.
“I’m so, so, so sorry! I completely lost track of time. I found a team! I found a team to play football! The coach invited me to join them because they were short one player, and I played, and I was so much better than the others, and the coach told me to come back!” Milena explained, without stopping for breath.
“That’s amazing!” her dad exclaimed, as he entered the room. “I didn’t know there were girls teams. About time!”
“Well… I don’t think there are…” Milena replied.
“What do you mean?” her dad probed, already knowing the answer.
“It’s the team that trains at the park. All boys. But I was so much better than them, and the coach told me to come, and for one of you to be there next week,” Milena said as she gauged her parents’ reaction. She had not thought this could be an impediment until now, and she was afraid of their answer. “I swear this is the only thing I’ll ever ask, and I’ll be good, and I’ll help out in the house, and I’ll take the dog out, and anything else! Please.”
Her mom began laughing, “I’ve heard that before, and guess who is still the one taking the dog out every morning?” She wasn’t making fun of Milena, but it always amazed her how her kid could say the exact same thing every time she wanted something and still forget all about it two days later.
“Go take a shower. You smell. And the pizza will be here any minute,” her mom said, cutting off any additional argument. She knew that if all went well, from now on, her Tuesday and Thursday evenings would be at the park, but she didn’t want to get Mikka’s hopes up too soon. Despite being in a country where football was more important than any religion, it was not friendly towards female athletes. She had heard too many dismissive and aggressive comments about women enjoying sports, either playing or just watching, and this engrained sexism in society was the main reason women’s sports in general, football included, was so far behind their male counterparts.
The following week, as Milena got ready to play, her mom got ready to fight. She was prepared to fight any parent who thought that having a girl on the team would hinder their kid’s opportunity to become the next Luis Suarez. New generations had Marta, Rapinoe and the Matildas to look up to as well; the change had started, and she was going to make damn sure that by the end of the season, they all knew Milena too. She had seen her daughter play, her skills and her competitiveness, and she was certain she would show that on the field. Hopefully, that would be enough.
(…to be continued…)
Transadaptation Volume 6 – Meaning? – Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted
January: A Regular Train Trip – Mateusz Tymoszewski (Poland)
February: Growing Up – Adriana Uribe (Columbia)
March: Mess – Veronika Groke (Austria)
April: The Roads We Take – Svetlana Molchanova (Russia)
May: Need – Nadia Silva Castro (Brazil)
June: “Next Sunshine” – Jonay Quintero Hernandez (Spain)
July: Intentions – Narantsogt Baatarkhuu (Mongolia)
August: Planet Kyiv – Anastasiia Leonova (Ukraine)
September: Torn – Ulrike Bergmeister (Germany)
October: Stories of Outcast Souls – Armine Asryan (Armenia)
November: Ronaldinha – Alejandra Baccino Uberti (Uruguay)
December: Aimlessly – Krisztina Janosi (Hungary)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 5: Of Flowing Vicissitudes – Life Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2024)
Transadaptation Volume 4: Material Dissent – Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2023)
Transadaptation Volume 3: Evanescent – Young Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2022)
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits
Top row (left to right): 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – The neighborhood – nanrinal (Shutterstock); 2. Punta del Este, Uruguay – The beach bar – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – Avenida de 18 Julio – Oliver de la Haye (Shutterstock)
Middle row (left to right): 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – In la figurita – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 2. Uruguay – Drinking mate – HC Fotostudio (Shutterstock); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – Emergency – Luis Barboza (Shutterstock)
Bottom row (left to right): 1. Montevideo, Uruguay – Piedras street – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 2. Piriapolis, Uruguay – The boardwalk – DFLC Multimedia Designer (Shutterstock); 3. Montevideo, Uruguay – September 15 – Maria Pinheiro (Shutterstock)
Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed