“Go, go, go! Kick it, kick it! Goooooooooal! Goooooooooal!” The click, click, click of a camera, captured the moment in time.

I had seen great soccer players pull their jerseys off and run around the field after scoring a goal. For a brief second, I contemplated doing the same, after the ball passed the opposing goalie and rested in the net.

Instead, I just stood there, the sun shining on me, a huge smile on my face and absorbed the applause—listening to the comments from the crowd.

“Did you see that kick?”

“That was perfect!”

I watched as players scurry back to their positions and the game progressed. I was riding on a high. I don’t remember who won the game. In fact, I don’t remember the rest of the season. The first goal of a soccer player’s career is something never forgotten. I know it is something that I will never forget.

As I’ve gotten older, soccer isn’t a part of my life any longer. Until just a few days ago, I hadn’t set foot on that field in at least fifteen years. Other endeavors have taken soccer’s place.

Strolling across the field that day, the grass looked the same as it always did. The goals were still in the same place, they had always been. Players were running back and forth, passing and dribbling the ball, as they always have.

I wanted to feel it…but the magic wasn’t there. I walked to the exact spot I was, when the goal was scored—still, I felt nothing.

I climbed back in my car and drove home. I left the radio off and tried to remember how it felt that day. Sadly, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pull those memories from the depths of my psyche.

When I got home, I left my jacket in the foyer and trudged up the stairs to my office. I sat in silence for quite a while. Then I remembered the click, click, click of the camera, that day. I pulled a leather-bound album from my bookcase. I flipped through the pages and found the picture.

Adrenaline began to flow through my body. I picked up the phone and dialed. A voice on the other end answered, “Hi Dad!”

We talked about the day when a seven year-old girl scored her first, and what turned out to be her only, soccer goal.

My daughter is in college now. Soccer is far behind her as she finishes her psychology degree. For a few minutes, we went back to that day. The day I will never forget.