Thursday, October 22, 2009-

OF SOCCER...

S: Score. It doesn’t matter if you’re only six years old and shoot your first goal in In-house League, if you’re 15 and finally make that diving header goal, if you’re team captain and sprint for the game winner that sends your team to State, if you’re just starting D1 (maybe in Iowa, perhaps…maybe say at Drake, perhaps) and you net one on a break away, or if you’re playing for Real Madrid and finish to the roaring crowd, Scoring is the Glory.

O: Once. I’ve now been caught up on the 2009 NHS soccer teams' latest games. Guys, I’m cheering for you even from overseas. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed playing with a team like yours and I hope you’re cherishing the blisters, bruises, and pains because before you know it you’re free of cuts and scraps and that’s just boring. So enjoy this season because it will only happen once and although many of you may have more, each one is different and you’ll never see the same game twice (sorry was that mean to say girls? Maria told me about the whole Lakeville North game over Skype yesterday and I couldn’t sit still as she explained each step. I wish I could be seeing these games!). The fact that each season only happens Once is the Novelty .

C: Competition. What more is there to say? You go out onto the field each game and it’s a matter of who has the speed, the touch, the sight, and the cool to last until the end. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned (Insert a picture of Sam Studer heading a goal over the top of Rochester Lourdes’ keeper with mere seconds left on the clock) it’s that in reality if you don’t think "compete" then you ought to think "defeat." Competition is the Thrill.

C: Class. No Adam, not like a textbook or one of your fake online-courses, think of Jorge every time he touches the ball or Simon when he gets all excited and his British accent is revealed. Soccer teaches you how to act, think, react, and improvise. The fact that you’re probably covered in dirt and dripping with sweat may make this hard to see right now, but if you’ve got a good attitude on the pitch people with know you've got class. So don’t swear at the ref, don’t pull someone’s jersey (all the way off), be careful who you hate because they might just end up being your college roommate, and never, never, never slide tackle in the box. Soccer’s all over the world so if you’ve got Class you’ll always find a game. That’s the Reward.

E: Everybody loves DEFENCE (Give me a break, soccer doesn’t have a “d”). While the glory of soccer is the scoring, the real challenge of the sport is in defense. If the other team never gets a chance to score then you're odds of winning are on the rise. That's not to say defenders don't what the glory sometimes. I spent my share of years back there too Cale(b), I know how you’re feelin’ buddy, but just know that a real student of the sport is impressed by both ends of the field. I just hope that the fans (and especially Jeff Wald) realize how vital a shutout is when you’re playing some of the best AA teams in Minnesota. Same goes for a goalie, if you’ve got someone who takes each play as it comes and is able to keep their team clam then you’ve really got it all. Defending is the Challenge.

R: Retrospect. (Cue sappy violin music and picture me with a twinkle in my eye and my hand on my heart!) I just want to thank all of the coaches that I’ve had over the years, I look back on our games together and am happy to have been a member of your teams. And also to my family because more often than I said “thank you” for, they paid, drove, washed, feed, sat, cheered, organized, and encouraged from the sidelines. It meant a lot to always have a fan. And to my teammates, now more than ever I realize how fun it was to do something as simple as ride the bus, either freeze my hinder off on the bench or risk overheating at the summer State games, listen to Nick Wilson sing the National Anthem before every game, do “The Drill,” and of course to sit around laughing at Jorge and Simon’s pre-game speeches! The fact that soccer is something you can enjoy years after you’re knees give out and you’re ankles can be taped no more, is where you'll find the sport's truest Satisfaction.

-Sam-

I was thrilled to be able to join a men’s futsol league here in Nakagawa. They meet once a week and I was shocked at how good a couple of the guys are (not to mention one of them is like 6’5” aka a Japanese Giant!). I would say two of them could have played Semi-Pro, and I'm not exaggerating either. It felt so great to kick the ball around again but I’m ashamed to think how much I’ve lost since last fall!

I also got to play ping-pong with this 50 something year old women that was without a doubt the best player I’ve ever faced! She basically trained me how to volley super fast within just ten minutes. It was awesome, the picture below is blurry because we were moving so fast!! = )