Hurry up..... and wait.

Last weekend I traveled down to my college for a one-day college ID camp run by Slippery Rocks Men’s head soccer coach. Upon entering I saw there were about 40 or so players who were all very good and had talents that far exceeded mine. At the beginning of the training session we started off with simple passing drills and general warm up to get to know each other a little bit. After that we began playing fútsol, which I had never played before. It is the same game but is played with a smaller and heavier ball to avoid the bouncing on the gym floor, which we were playing on. It took a little getting used to but we just scrimmaged for the entire four hours changing the teams of every 20 minutes or so. This is when I realized that I could compete with these kids and make myself stand out against all the rest of the players. After each game was played, wins and losses were accounted for seeding in the championship tournament. My team ended up being seeded as 2^nd. We ended up winning the game 1-0 with myself scoring the game-winning goal. At the end of the session the coach gave advise on recruiting and how the process worked. So I was anxious after being exhausted from play, to hear what the coach had to say but when I began to ask him he simply said, ‘I will keep in touch with you through email and we will go from there.” A pretty vague response I would say. So here I am wondering if I got recruited onto my college team, the one goal I have worked hardest in life to accomplish, and I am waiting on an email. He said that those of you being actively recruited will hear from me “soon.” So what does that mean? Every day that goes by makes it a little more uncomfortable. Hurry up and wait.

The Bicycle Kick

One of the most stunning soccer moves to witness is the over head scissor kick or bicycle kick. If one can master this move, you will awe audiences and coaches wherever you go. However, at the same time, if you attempt this extremely risky move and mess up, you look like a complete fool while doing it. During the progress of a game, bicycle kicks are usually most common on crosses such as corners, or also long balls to strikers. Tactically, players tend to do this when the keeper is off the line and want to get the ball to the goal quickly. I personally have never scored off a bicycle kick but I have come very close on several occasions. In order to practice this, I suggest that you practice on a turf or soft ground because essentially you need to learn how to fall correctly to avoid injury. However, since this is so hard to do and is only used in very few situations, it will not hurt you if you cannot preform this move.

Concussions and Fútbol

Over the past several years, I have accumulated seven different concussions; some of which are from soccer. I have finally realized that the repeated head traumas are not worth the long term consequences. For example, a couple years back I was playing in a tournament in Binghamton, NY in which we were getting killed in a game. At one point in the game our keeper was out of position as someone took a shot so I immediately jumped in the way and saved a shot with my head in which I received a concussion. As I think back on the game, we were already losing the game by a few goals, so even if I had let the goal in, it would not have made a difference. At the end of my junior year during soccer season, I had scored 5 goals with my head. I always thought that as long as you don't get hit hard you couldn't have brain problems. But now as new studies are coming out, soccer players who use their head quite often are having similar chemical changes occurring in their brain, found in concussion patients. I have experienced a few symptoms which may continue to turn into long term problems because of my repetitive head injuries. When you get a concussion, the grey matter in your brain is altered by chemicals, which can lead to memory loss, problems concentrating, and depression. Heading the ball during games is an important aspect, but you need to be smart about it. Balance the risks and rewards before going into a game. Play smart. Keep your head safe!

Fútbol from the Referees View

I began refing soccer when I was in 7th grade to help make a little money over the summer. I figured it would be pretty easy, I mean stand there blow a whistle here and there and point in the direction the ball should be going. Seemed simple enough to me. I took the entry level certification, which was fairly simple. I began refing at the lower levels which was a little difficult at first, trying to remember all of the minor details that I had not noticed as a soccer player. However the refing got better but it was not until 10th grade in High School when I realized that refing would actually be helping me while playing soccer. Since I had had a decent amount of experience I began knowing how to take advantage of certain opportunities that present themselves as a player. For example, as a referee, if I didn't know who the ball went off of, I would allow the players to decide by whoever picked up the ball first. Knowing this, I had done this several times knowing well that it was suppose to be the other team’s ball. Also, the same goes with corner kicks. Get the ball quickly and take the kick quick, the refs most likely will not argue. One thing that has gotten myself into trouble is knowing the exact laws of the game, because if a referee blows a call, I usually make certain that know they are wrong. However this usually finds me a yellow card because by this point the referee panics and doesn't know what to do. If you can figure out how to hold your tongue and temper, I highly encourage becoming a referee. It will help you in situations that may n some cases, help you pull off a win. The pay is excellent also, which is never a bad thing.

Injury Prevention and Recovery

Imagine its pre-season, you have been working hard and think you have been training properly then all of a sudden you pivot too quickly and sprain an ankle. The damage has been done, there is no going back. You must sit out for at least a week up to three depending on the severity of the injury. Then you think back to what you did wrong, you can’t think of anything. The biggest problem people run into is not if they train or not but HOW they do so. The number one cause of injury is lack of proper stretching. We all know what is going on here. The coach tells the team to stretch out while he goes and sets up the next drill or collects some equipment. None of the players take it seriously; they talk and joke and go through the motions but don't actually stretch. This can cause you to miss a couple weeks, a few games, but in some cases it can cause you to miss out on an entire season. Also, you need to think about the key parts on your body that you may be missing in your typical stretch. Have you ever tried playing soccer with a strained neck? It hurts a lot and makes your quality of play go down immensely. Another thing I struggled with was the recovery aspect of injuries. I have accumulated several injuries over the years and my number one goal was to get back to playing as fast as I could. This is a hard mind set to change but the mind set you need to have is taking care of your body and recovering properly. Proper recovery leads to better stretching habits because of missing out in the past.

American Footbal v.s. Soccer

In the United States, American Football has become immensely popular, in both the collegiate and high school level. This has morphed into a society in which American soccer has become inferior to American football. People have even gone to many lengths to completely tear down the sport as a whole without attempting to explain that their sport is better. Websites such as http://www.soccersucks.net/real_sports.html look at the worst events in soccer history, alter the facts to come up with a beastly story of what they want to portray this sport as. In my opinion, people of the United States have become fascinated with the big hits and crushing tackles seen in the NFL or on the collegiate levels. A sport in which the drawing component is mindless brutality, in my opinion does not require skill, talent, or strategy. I would have no problem with American Football if people were drawn to the sport because of athletes amazing skill, coach’s intelligent strategy, and players ability to play consistently. The other thing that bothers me is the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is claimed to be a "World Title"... am I missing something? When did the United States become the center of the World? However, soccer has the world cup in which several countries compete for an actual world title, because they actually play different teams from around the world. Also, in the NFL the teams play one game per week, which means that there is lots of recovery time and time to adjust to fix things. Soccer on the other hand play anywhere from one to three games a week, which means athletes need to be able to physically perform more often than those of football players.

Treat yourself As a Professional

If you as an individual want to play at the collegiate or professional level, you need to treat yourself as a professional. This means dieting properly, maintaining in peak physical condition, and staying mentally switched on, both on and off the field. Last night at practice with my club team, we had a returning college student play with us. At the end of the session, we were required to do conditioning as we always do. Chris, the returning college student seemed lethargic and completely out of shape during suicides and ended up walking the last leg of the "sprints." Just as he got to the goal line he leaned over and pukes everywhere. Later in the practice he had admitted that he had been drinking the night previous. What we got out of this is that in order to play competitively you need to take care of your body. Whether that means stretching by yourself after a training session, or icing a minor injury, athletes need to learn to treat their body as a machine. If you put bad oil into a Ferrari it will break down and be useless. However, if you put fresh oil into the same exact car, it will drive like it is meant to be driven, remaining in pristine condition. This also includes diet. One of the most important aspects of diet that athletes tend to forget about is to stay hydrated! Dehydration leads to muscle cramps, fatigue and mental breakdowns. The easiest way to avoid this is to simply carry a water bottle with you throughout the day. If it is in your sight, you are much more likely to start drinking it without even thinking about it. You as an athlete need to take care of your body. If you don't not only do you let yourself down, you also let your team down.