First week
of practice has come to an end. I really still can’t believe I’m playing soccer
again. 10 months of ups and downs, 10 months since I last kicked a ball on a
team competitively and I’m finally able to do it again. Wow. What I surreal
feeling this is. I haven’t felt this happy in over a year, really. And to think
one week ago and I thought I would never play soccer for my high school ever
again… J
Monday I
showed up to practice only knowing three returning players and one other
Junior. As a returning player to the team I knew what to expect somewhat but
didn’t know most of the players or the coach. While still getting over the
virus I knew I had to impress the coach as I was not at tryouts, so I just did
what I knew how to do. After the mess the team was in last year (we only won 3
games) I was hoping for a good team and coach. That so far seems to be the
case. The quality of players on the team is a lot better than last year and
players seem like they care about the game. The one thing I am most grateful
for is the fact that this is the first team I’ve ever played on that I feel
like I’m not left out or ignored. Everybody seems to like each other. If I know
anything by the end of the first week of practices it’s that we are definitely
going to win more than three games this season! At the end of practice on
Monday I was given a jersey, so yes that means I’m officially part of the team.
The other thing I did after practice was something I’ve always dreaded doing,
telling the coach about my CP. I’ve never done this without the help of my
parents but I’ve matured a bit since the last time I’ve had to deal with this
so I decided to tell my coach that I had a physical disability but it is mild
so it doesn’t affect that much but that I do have some limitations. To my surprise
he told that the head coach of the program had sent him an email explaining my condition.
Wow! I know that doesn’t seem like a hard thing to do but it means so much to
me. They actually care about my needs as a player and personJ. I went on to tell him that I will
most likely play best as a forward because I struggle with speed in defense and
tire easier in midfield. Communication definitely won’t be a problem with this coach!
As the week
went on it did get harder dealing with fatigue and extremely sore muscles. Right
now I’m probably the least fit on the team from getting over being sick last
week and also fatigue from the mono. After all it has been at least 10 months
since I’ve done this kind of activity. But I kept going and I actually think I did
pretty well with scrimmaging and passing/possession drills. Since I began
playing soccer at the age of four I’ve always had coaches tell me I have extremely
good vision on the field. For some reason I never actually believe this. I always
thought they just said that to make up for other things I lacked on the field. But
one night after practice I was walking to my car when my coach called me over
to help the one thing I’ve always been told, I have great vision on the field. He
did tell me that I should try to work on my one touch passes but that made me
smile and give me confidence. I'm finally starting to believe it’s true, and it
only took me 12 years! The coach also told the team that they are looking to
move at least two players up to JV each week. As one of the the oldest on the
team this is a goal of mine during this season. Right now I’m a bit far off
from that because I’m probably the least fit on the team but I do know that if I
work as much as I want it, then maybe there is a possibility of that.
As far as my
schedule it’s definitely going to a hard one. I go back to school this Wednesday.
As much as I love soccer, school is the absolute number one priority for me at
this point. Last year due to mono I missed more than a month of school. I did
end up passing my classes but it sure was tough. As a Junior I need to get my
GPA back in the 3.5 range, what it was my freshman year, and start thinking
about college. I made the mistake last year by not taking school seriously
during soccer season. College is the one thing I want in my future, whether
community or university. I have matured enough to know what’s most important and
I have to work hard to get what I want. Soccer season will take up most of the
week. Monday and Wednesday games, Tuesday and Thursday practices and either a
game or personal training session on Friday. I am confident that I can find a
balance between soccer and school if I can do my best to stay healthy throughout
the season.
With CP comes balance and coordination problems. While mine are only mild, it does affect me on the soccer field. This is why I decided to get a personal trainer to help me with this. I’ve only been working with him for three weeks and have already seen a major improvement with my balance. This is something I plan on doing at least once a week over the course of the season. I also know I have to work extra hard to get my fitness up on my own if I have any chance of getting called up to JV.
Right now I’m just blessed that I get the chance to play for my high school. There was a lot for information I was given and many more things I could talk about but I’m going to do my best to update once a week on my progress throughout the season. We got the weekend off from training to enjoy the end of summer and get ready for school. I'm doing my best to get some rest and be as ready as possible for whatever comes in the week ahead!
-Never Give Up
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