Our head coach, Anderson, had a different assignment as he taught members of The Villages Cloud Chasers how to make kites. The club meets at the Polo Club to fly kites on a regular basis. Coach Anderson would drive by and think the times he flew kites as a child. One afternoon he built a kite at home and took it to the club the next day. Bill, the president of the club showed interest and invited coach Anderson to meet with his club members.

On the day of the meeting, coach Anderson and some of The Villages SC staff went to the Saddlebrook Recreation Center. Anderson was introduced by Bill and began to tell everyone how he flew kites in his native country of Brazil as a child. “Our kites flew so high that sometimes we didn’t see them beyond the clouds,” said Anderson. He then explained how in Brazil kids would make a mixture of glue and glass (which they would grind to a powder) and pour it over the line used to fly the kites so they would cut down other kites. After cutting the lines from other kites they would look for these kites and take them. “It was a competition with other kids in the neighborhood.”

After sharing some stories, club members worked on their kites while coach Anderson explained and other members of The Villages SC assisted. They took wood pieces and thread to make the frame. Once the frame was completed they chose colorful tissue paper to glue onto the frame. After that, it was time to add the tail, made out of thread and cut up plastic bags. Once all the kites were completed they agreed to meet the next day.

The next day everyone met at The Villages Polo Club. A windy, sunny, perfect day to fly kites. Seeing smiles as their creations were put to the test was very gratifying. We all became kids for a while. Overall a great time with The Villages Cloud Chasers.