Post-training rituals

One of the problems with soccer in Canada is the ubiquity of artificial turf. It's entirely understandable, of course, given the climate (have I ever mentioned there is a lot of snow?), but not great. It's not so much that the ball doesn't run or bounce truly, it's that you end up bringing much of the field home with you in the form of rubber pellets.

So, every night, rain or shine, because I am a tyrant, poor Ottawacker Jr has to sit on the front step to remove his boots, shaking out the little rubber pellets and bits of plasticy syntheticy crap that get stuck, velcro-like, to any surface not coated with teflon. Then he does the same with his socks. 

When I was a kid, we had to clean, brush and polish the senior players' boots. So I told him he is getting off lightly... he's unconvinced.