Throwins, Corners, Goal Kicks, and Fouls

No matter who kicked it out or whoever it rebounded off of, always assume that it is your possession. Grab the ball quickly and continue the game if the ref blows his whistle and calls you out for not having possession, just give the ball to the other team. The worst that can happen is that the ball is given to the other team. Sometimes the ref won't call it or they don't know who kicked it out so they just go with whoever grabs the ball first. No matter where you are on the field; throwins, corners, goal kicks, or free kicks, take them quickly because the team you are playing against has their back turned to you or they are setting up all their players. Either way they are distracted and the faster you are the better the chance you will have to possibly score off of this opportunity.
Throwins: Your players should check away and check too, they need to create space and try to get the player marking them distracted. If you lose the player, you will have a bunch of space to control the ball and dribble.
Corners: Have a player at the near, far, and center of the goal. Also have a player at the penalty kick and top of the box. No matter where your corner kicker kicks it there should always be a player there to take that opportunity to score.
Goal Kicks: Every player on the field should be in front of the players of the opposite team. When your keeper kicks the ball you should be the first one to it. Make sure that you have your other players open so then you can dribble to the other side of the field where there is smaller chance of the other team scoring against you.
Free Kicks/ Fouls: When you get that chance to take the kick from anywhere on the field have your whole team by the opposing team's goal. Kick the ball above everyone so they can run onto it and score. Many goals are scored from this opportunity. If you're close enough to shoot yourself, go for it. It is worth the chance.

State Cup Competition

In every state there is a tournament that is just for the soccer teams in that state. This tournament is called "State Cup". I guess it really isn't a tournament it is more of a you lose your done. There is one game a weekend and if you win that game you continue on to the next weekend. All teams can participate in this competition to see who the best team in the state is and then can continue onto the regional tournament that is competed by teams in that region that won their state cup tournament.
My team did so well during the season that we got a wild card to sit out the first round and automatically continue onto the second round. The next weekend we played a team that we have formally played in the season. Previously we beat them 9-0, we were not going to expect that same score this time. Teams show their true talent in State Cup because they want to have the privilege of calling their team "Number One". The team we played the first game started very aggressively, they ended up scoring two goals by half, we had zero. Our coach said we needed to step up our game, we all knew we could beat this team. In the second half we scored six goals, ending the game with the score six to two. That was a close one and we all knew it. We will never underestimate a team that we have previously beat every again. The next weekend would be the final game and determine who the number one team is.
The next weekend was against one of our biggest competitors. We had to play them last year in the final game, we won the year before but we were not expecting that this year. This team was very strong and very talented, they are our best competition. By half we were tied one to one. We were not about to let this team take away our title! Ten minutes before the game ended one of my teammates scored and we were up two to one. The last few minutes were all about being defensive minded, we could not let them score and go into overtime. The whistle was blow and we were excited to be called number one once again. Two years in a row we are invited to represent Iowa at the regional tournament in March. We are very excited and can't wait to see what the regional tournament brings and next year, state cup competition.

Route 1 vs. Possession Soccer

Most coaches prefer playing possession soccer. The teams that play route one tend to have no skill and the only thing they are good at is kicking the ball from one side of the field to the other.
Possession soccer is where you pass the ball constantly to get around players and down the field to the opposite goal. The teams that are very good at this contains players that are very talented in passing to a players feet and knowing where to be at the right times. The players know how to pass with only one or two touches and are very successful in doing this and with great speed. You see this type of soccer being played at all levels and I believe it is the right way to play soccer compared to what I am about to explain, that being route one soccer.
The teams that play this type of soccer have girls that can kick the ball really far, from the defenders to the forwards. These players have no other skills besides that. Once the forwards of the opposite team make a mistake by the defenders, the defense blasts the ball over the top of the midfield to the forwards that are just standing and waiting for the ball to be played to them.
If you want your team to be successful you should teach them from the start to play possession soccer. They will turn into good players and your team will be one of the better teams you play against tactically and mentally strong.

Year-round Training

During the fall club season you are going to practices three nights a week at odd hours that are in the middle of your night. The games and tournaments you attend are every weekend for three months. Most of these weekends you spend five or six hours away, leaving Friday night right after school then getting home late Sunday nights. During winter season you still have to go to practices but that is only two nights a week. Along with practices, the team is working out after school, whether that is weight lifting or running. We do this to stay in shape for the high school season and the end of club season that comes up in the spring. The spring season is spent having practices every night after school for high school soccer. Every week we have two games or sometimes the games are on the weekends instead of during the week. Club soccer has come to a halt and will start back up after high school season is over. High school soccer can be extended if you make it to state, this will take a week out of your summer break and practices will continue. Once that is done, club starts having practices three times a week again, to get ready for the last couple tournaments of the year. Once those tournaments are over we get a two to three week break to relax and try to stay in shape on our own. After that break is over tryouts for club occur and the cycle starts all over again. It is a never ending cycle until you quit.

Commitment

With any sport you are committed to go to every practice and every game. If you miss those there will be consequences. Some sports are during certain seasons and some are over the whole year. My soccer season takes up my whole year; club soccer tryouts in the summer lead into the fall season, during the winter is when we have practices to stay in shape and to keep out soccer skills up, then in the spring is when our season starts up again with club and high school. We get a slight two week break then we start up again with tryouts, then the whole cycle starts over again for as long as you want to do it. With the tournaments and games that come along in the season they are usually out of town close to where you live or they are completely out of the state you live in. With the tournaments being away from home there is the cost for hotel rooms, food, and tournament fees. This can be really expensive so your parents have to be committed to pay all of these fees. If you have younger siblings, they cannot stay at home by themselves so they will have to come along and that is more expense to you parents. To get to these places you have to use a lot of gas and that is even more expenses. Over all everyone in the family has to be committed to the season even if they are not the player. Life at this point revolves around you and your sport's schedule. If you feel bad, it is okay, if your parents weren't alright with being this committed to your sport then you wouldn't be playing it.

Family Support

I believe that no one should go through a sport or a school event without having that support from their family. It gives you confidence to try your best to succeed in anything you do. I know that I wouldn't be able to push myself in soccer if I didn't have my family there to help me. They have told me to keep my head up no matter how bad I play in a game. If I get yelled at by a player or a coach that I just take it as constructive criticism and continue on with my life. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends come to watch me in my games. Having them there to watch me makes me want to play my best. This also pushes me to show off in a way, to show that I am a good player. During the off season in soccer my parents help me work out to stay strong. My brother will go one runs with me so then my stamina can stay up. With any sport every player should have those parents that will sit back and watch the game. Occasionally they will yell and cheer when you do something spectacular. Then after tell you how you did and what they think you need to work on. My supporters put a smile on my face because I know that they are there to watch me. It helps me be more laid back and not worry about making mistakes in front of them because I know that deep down they will still come watch me no matter how bad the game turns out. Everyone should be able to experience that feeling of support.

Constantly Yelled At

During games and practices you notice that your coach yells at you a lot. Most times it is only you that he is yelling at, he makes it seem like you're doing everything wrong and that if you are so bad why should you be playing soccer. You get sad and want to cry but you know you can't because tears show a sign of weakness. The rest of the game or practice you look mad and don't talk to anyone. This can feel like the worst time in your life and that the spotlight is on you for everyone to look at and just stand there to watch. No one can speak up for you because they would get yelled at too. My coach does this to me all the time, I am a center defender so I am the eyes and ears of the field. i am in charge of the defensive line and the people in front of me. My coach yells at me because I am a leader, he needs me to shout out commands and tell what people to do on the field. He wants me to take the blame for other people's mistakes, I should take the blame because it is my job to tell them what to do. I always thought that he was out to get me and to make me feel small. In the end he was helping me, he sees the potential in me as a player and a leader. He knows I can succeed but all I needed was that push and guidance from him. It really wasn't in the way I wanted to get it but it makes me a stronger person, it makes me less emotional and that can help in the future. I really should tell him thanks for helping me all these years, he knows I am thankful by the way I take what he says and apply it in practices and games. If you do what your coach says it will help you not get yelled at as much. They are just trying to help you be a better person and a player.

Level of Play

Over the years I have noticed that the style of play your team usually does changes depending on the level of play your competitors are playing. When you are playing a horrible team you usually get more laid back and tend to make more mistakes. It is the opposite for the better teams, when you play then you tend to be more alert and not make as many mistakes or any at all. The best teams are the ones who can play the same way no matter who they play. Those teams have to top talent and work ethic to improve and stay fit. It is very embarrassing to be a very good team and when you play a team with less talent you stoop to their level. Your team should be out there proving to everyone that it doesn't matter who you play that you are a consistent team that will play their best every time. It can be hard to stay at the same level every game because you will come across those teams that are amazing and make you look like a horrible team. There are those days that you aren't having a good game and it is against a lower team. Not everyone can have a good game every game but it is all in your head, if you think your having a bad game you will have a bad game. If you think you're having a good game, you will be confident and continue playing good. If you're not playing at your potential level don't get down on yourself you're probably just off  your game, but in the next half change your mind set and the way you are playing with change in a positive way.

Soccer Season Routine

If you are on a club soccer team that requires year-round commitment your routine can be repetitive and very boring. You spend your whole day at school extremely tired and not focus from the long night you had before. This makes your day seem long and you are unable to learn what you need to learn. After school is over you start your homework, you only have a certain amount of time to work on it because in the middle of your evening you are going to have to leave for practice. In this small amount of time you also have to have something to eat and get everything ready for practice. In order to make it to practice on time you have to leave 30 minutes early, this also cuts into your time to get everything done. When practice is over you are on your way home, it feels like it takes longer to get home then to get to practice. It is very late and you still have homework to get done. When I get home from practice I am usually hungry again so I take the time to make myself something to eat along with getting my homework done. Before you go to bed you must take a shower so then you can sleep in just a little bit. When your shower is over you realize you will only get 5-6 hours of sleep and the next day you have to do it all over again. This all seems very boring and a lot to handle, but after a while you and your body get used to it and if you enjoy what you're doing it is worth it. This routine only lasts fall season after that it gets smaller and smaller since the off season is winter. As spring gets closer you will get back into the fall routine, but in the end it is making you a better person and player.

Indoor Games

Indoor games are very fast paced and are taken place on a very small field. There is a total of 12 players on the field, six from each team. As you can tell this is a small sided game compared to the 22 players that are on the field for the usual 11 vs. 11 games. Indoor games are played on very rough turf and have walls surrounding the whole field. The field is shaped into an oval, not like the usual rectangle soccer fields. During indoor games you can use the wall to get pass a player but there is a height limit in this type of environment. The ball cannot hit the ceiling or the netting surrounding the sides and top of the indoor soccer stadium. If you want to sub a player out you can do it at any time, even while the ball is in play.
Two weekends ago the high school team I am on played a club team called EIU. We ended up losing 3-0 but it was a very intense and well-played game. We could have easily scored but when your playing with new players it is hard to get the chemistry going on the first game. This last weekend we played the other half of our high school team. We won 5-3, two of those goals I scored. It was a very fun and laid back game, we don't go all out on our own players because we don't want to hurt them for the upcoming season.
You can either love or hate indoor soccer, personally I like it but not as much as outdoor. Outdoor is where the real talent is shown.

Team Meetings

Team meetings can be good or bad, it depends on the situation and what will be discussed at this meeting. Coaches will have team meetings with the parents of the players to talk about the season, the players, and anything concerning their role as a coach. Coaches will have team meetings with the players to talk about upcoming tournaments, the players, the atmosphere of the team, and anything that is getting in the way of the team being successful. Players will have team meetings with each other in order to talk about their passion (if there is passion with that player for the sport), things they need to work on off the field and on the field, coaches, parents, and anything that is being dramatic with certain players. The good meetings are the ones that are about how the team is doing and congratulating and recognizing certain players for their accomplishments. The bad meetings are the ones that end up in yelling, people being mad at each other for what one said, and talking about the drama that is hurting the team and keeping them from succeeding or improving. Also there are those meetings that you have between parents and players discussing playing time, other players, the coach, and games or tournaments coming up in the season. There are also those meetings that are supposed to happen but they never do because some people are scared about what will be said and how people will take it. My team was supposed to have a team meeting to discuss where some player stand on the commitment to the team and their attitudes towards games and tournaments we go to. As you can see, we never had it and no one will ever think about bringing it up so it is forgotten and not seen to come back into the minds of the team. Such a shame that it didn't happen, because it needed to. It is all on you whether you take a meeting in a positive way or a negative way.

"Sorry Ladies"

Those are the two words throughout my soccer career I was told not to say. You should never say sorry for other people's mistakes or mistakes of your own. You need to realize you did something wrong then correct it and improve. You could have been the nicest person in the world but if my coach heard you say sorry, he would stop the game and put you on the spot. He would ask what are you sorry for. She made the mistake not you! You rarely hear us say sorry now-a-days. Even at games, if we hurt someone on the other team we just turn around and walk away. We don't apologize because we haven't said sorry for so long that it just doesn't come to mind anymore. If someone on the other team hurts us, they say sorry but we just look up and give them the "death glare", get up, shake it off, and keep playing. When our team would motivate each other some would say "Let's go ladies!" Our coach was furious that we used the word "ladies". You could not call any of your teammates ladies, girls, or women. We had to say "Let's go team!" or "Let's go guys!" So pretty much we referred to our girl teammates as men. We have gotten used to saying these new motivational sayings, other teams still use the words ladies and girls. I think that not saying those words makes you look more intimidating. Saying girls and ladies is very girly and weak and no one will take you seriously. Every team changes so then their coach will respect them more, that's what my team did.

Dehydration

It doesn't matter if you are not thirsty or not during your game, you need to force yourself to drink because if you don't you have a high chance of getting dehydrated even if it is not hot out. My excuse to not drinking water during a game is because I don't want to get water log, water log is when you can feel the water bouncing around in your stomach and then it creates aches and pains in the lower stomach. This doesn't feel good, but you have to drink water so then worse things don't happen. One game it was really hot out and I didn't drink any water that day to keep myself hydrated. I went up to head the ball and everything went well but after i headed it I got a huge headache. Then I noticed that I was really light headed and was dizzy, but I ignored these signs and just kept playing. When the game was over I collapsed by the benches and just laid there for a couple minutes. One of my teammates was kind enough to give me a piggy-back ride to the parents because I was too dizzy and light headed to walk. On the car ride home I drank so much water that I started feeling better after a few hours. I didn't have a horrible dehydration incident but I now drink water every opportunity I can because I don't want to go through that again. Water log is way better then dehydration. The point is, that every player of some sport should stay hydrated and drink lots of fluids. If you don't you are seriously hurting yourself.

Conditioning

Soccer isn't just about knowing how to dribble, pull moves, and shoot. You have to be in shape, being able to run for 90 minutes straight. Yes, there is some resting time when you don't have the ball or it is not one your side of the field, but what is it is by you the whole game. You have to be able to not run out of breath or be tired. Physical fitness is very important in soccer, if you have a coach that finds this important, don't be surprised to run for a segment of your practice each time. If your team is really out of shape don't be surprised to run  the whole practice for a couple practices in a row. Every coach wants their players to be able to stand 90 minutes of running even if they don't play that long or at all in games. If something were to happen to one of the players and you are put in as their sub you have to complete their role for them and be able to complete it well. My coach makes us run to get our heart rates up before games but at practices we spend 30 to 40 minutes running with poles and cones. We do sharp turning runs and any situation that can occur in a game. Long sprints, short sprints, we do it all and it is worth it in the end because we are very fit and able to play the whole game if we have to. Conditioning can also help you from getting injured, the coaches teach you proper techniques so then we can have a less chance of tearing an ACL or MCL. Fewer injuries are always a good thing, who knew running was something that benefits you in the long run.

Cliques

Every team has this problem, the coach can say that cliques aren't present with the players but they are there. You have to popular players, the weird players, the players who all go to the same school, the player who doesn't go to school with anyone on the team, the "best" players, the "worst" players, the nice players, the mean players, and the new players. People can be really mean when they start making certain cliques and exclude people from them because they are "different". When I first joined the team, the one I am still with today, the girls didn't talk to me. One out of the popular group talked to me, she was very nice but she wasn't the "leader" of the group so even if she talked to me I wouldn't be in their clique. I stayed with the nice, quiet players. They accepted me for who I was and I didn't need to change for them. It kept me out of the drama too that was going on with other cliques. As the years passed and we all got better acquainted with each other, the groups started opening up and talking to everyone. I am very close to the girls that wouldn't give me that time of day when I first started. I don't hold grudges so even though they didn't talk to me I wasn't going to do that to them. Even though I was making new friends I didn't ditch the players who were with me from the start, unfortunately none of them are on the team anymore. Now that everyone is talking it is nice to make new friends and hang out outside of soccer. Everyone has a group that they prefer to hang and talk to but you should really be on talking terms with everyone even if you don't think you will be on that hangout stage anytime soon.

1 vs. 1

1 vs. 1 is when it is you and another player competing to score. One is defending the goal, the other is trying to score. The person trying to score is pulling every move they can so the defender will mess up and the attacker scores. Some people like this situation, others do not. I like 1 vs. 1 in games but in practice I hate it! In practices you know everyone there and they all know your favorite moves you like to do, so it is hard to score. It is more slowly paced and all planned out while you are waiting in line, 1 vs. 1 needs to be spontaneous and the moves just come with the situation. At practice if you get beat you don't hear the end of it from the player who won or the coach who is praising the person who scored or blocked your shot. It also gets you down if you lose, you confidence decreases and you don't play good anymore and just don't care. If you are the person who won you get really confident and sometimes cocky and then you are at risk for hurting yourself at practice because of silly mistakes. Games are better in my opinion for 1 vs. 1 situations. You don't know the person who you are up against and they don't know you so that means that neither of you know what move the person will pull to try to beat you. The moves come with the situation, they aren't planned out like they are in practice. You just do what comes to you and if it doesn't work the other players on the field on your team have you back to defend that person next. If you mess up and lose it is no big deal you just get right back in there and keep playing. If you win, good for you! Don't let it get to you now, you still have the rest of the game to play and you have to go up against that person again and they will be looking for victory.

Grass vs. Turf

Everyone has their own preference of what surface they like to play soccer on the most. You have grass and you have turf. I honestly like both, it depends on the game and what pace it is going at.
Long grass can be a pain to play on, it slows the ball down and it slow down your running. If you are on a breakaway to the goal you don't want to be slow because of the grass length, you want to be fast so you can fake out the goalie and score. When the grass is wet, it adds pace to the ball but it doesn't rain everyday where I live, so long grass isn't my preference.
Soft, short turf is the best turf to play on. It makes the ball move really fast, so fast that sometimes you can't catch up to the ball! Besides that, it doesn't cut your leg when you slide or fall. The only bad thing about this kind of turf is that it has little centimeter balls of tar everywhere. When you do fall you get tar in your shorts and in your sliders. This can be uncomfortable but it is better than getting cut up.
Hard, scratchy turf is the worst ground you could ever play on. Just like soft turf the ball moves fast, this can be nice when you're on a brakeaway to the goal but if you need to save the ball from going out of bounds you aren't fast enough to stop it. When you slide or fall on this type of ground your legs and arms get all scratched up and will produce scabs. Along with that you also get the stinging and pain from the scraping of skin and scratchy needle-like grass.
Short grass is my preference, it makes the ball move fast but not as fast as turf. This is nice because you can keep up with the ball and it doesn't slow you down. Sliding on this grass is comfy, it doesn't hurt you and sometimes you slide further then you wanted too and it makes it fun!
No matter where you play, you prefer one ground over another. You always chose the place where you look the best playing at.

Pointless Tournaments and Games

There are different levels of soccer, there is a higher more competitive level and a lower less skills, not as competitive. My team played in the higher level a couple years ago, it was called MRL. That was where the best teams went to get better competition and to improve on their playing. The lower level is called IPSL, my team and I have been playing in that forever. We are the best team in Iowa and we are playing in the lower level soccer. When we played in MRL we got second place out of our "bracket". We have no idea why we are playing in the worst level when we did so well in the higher level of soccer. Every game we have played in IPSL my team has been winning every time with scores of 6-0, 7-0, 5-0 and so on. We shut out the game and don't get scored on at all.
When it comes to tournaments, we beat the competition there too. First of all we are not going to college showcase tournaments like we should be because, all the great teams from around the nation go there to play. At these other tournaments we are beating the teams not as badly as we beat the IPSL teams but we still win. It is ridiculous, we should be getting some better competition if we want to play at the fast paced, aggressive level in college!

Annoying Parents

No one forgets the teams with the annoying, rude, and mean parents who yell the whole game about the stupidest things. These parents yell at the opposing team's players, they yell at the opposing team's parents, and of course they yell at the referees. They spend most of their time yelling at the referees, but what is nice that only the refs have the honor of doing is throwing those specific parents out of the game and having them leave the game to where they cannot come back. These horrible parents will swear at everyone and will yell assuming that the players, coaches, and referees do not know what they are doing or anything about soccer. Honestly, if we did not know what we were doing then why are we playing? I would like to see those parents play against us and see how good they would do since they "know" everything about soccer. If they actually played and saw that they are the ones that do not know anything they would shut up forever. I am so glad that my team's parents are quiet because I would be crushed if our team was known only because of our parents being obnoxious and not because of our talent and skill in the game of soccer.

Captains

Those players who are the leaders in the world want to be honored with the title "captain". They want to be the person that everyone listens to and respects. I honestly want to be a captain on my team someday, my opportunity has not come yet but I hope it does sometime soon. There are those captains that the team hates and there are those who the whole team likes. The ones that people hate are just cocky and think that they can act like the coach when they should not. We have a coach, we will listen to them and not the captain all the time. The captains are not necessarily the best on the team, they could be a person that sits on the bench all the time. The captain is a person who takes responsibility and shows leadership on and off the field.
The nice captains are the ones who usually get walked on, they do whatever everyone else tells them to do. These people should be captain because they are not mean or cocky, but you have to be to some extent that you are not a doormat to all the players on the team or the coach. I will be that captain that is in between, I will be nice but at the same time the job will be done to the best of its ability. Captains are a huge role to the team and you need to have the best person for the job.

Male vs. Female Coach

Males tend to be more demanding and yelling. They think that everyone should strive to be perfect with everything in soccer. They don't let you mess around which is a good thing since it keeps you in line and paying attention. Male coaches in my opinion are better they make you a better player by always having that pressure on you. I guess I am biased but I also haven't had the pleasure of having a female coach so I only see one side of the coaching experience. Male coaches want you to be in perfect shape, you do a lot of conditioning and muscle toning. They want you to be the best and to compete with the best, no clowns will survive on the team of a male coach.
Female coaches, from what I observe, they are not as mean and put less pressure on the players. They tend to get off topic a lot when they should be focusing on practice or the game. Female coaches tend to only coach girls teams while male coaches tend to coach both boys and girls. The reason is that teams of boys will not listen or take professionally since men think women are not as good as them. Again i have not had the privilege to be coached by a woman, so my idea of them being coaches most likely is not the same for all women. There could be those hard headed, mean, striving for success women coaches but I have not met them yet. I am excited to meet one sometime soon.

Ball Hogs

No one likes the player who never passes the ball and if they ever do pass it, it is passed only to their best friend every time. The player who tries to dribble every player on the field, who might be successful one out of every ten tries. It is so frustrating to play with those types of players, if you think you're the best then go be on a team by yourself. Everyone is working their hardest to get open for you and make runs that might potentially be the pass that takes the person to the goal to shoot and maybe score. If they keep making their runs and you keep hogging the ball then that person who is busting their butt off will stop helping you. Let's say they finally pass the ball but you didn't make the run, that person then comes up to you and yells at you for not making the run. What I would say to them is "well maybe if you passed the ball every time maybe I would make the stupid run!" Bottom line is that no one, no one likes someone who doesn't pass the ball. It will make your teammates not feel like wasting their time opening up when they know that you will just hold on to the ball every time.

1st Place

Over the weekend my team and I went to a tournament in Des Moines, Iowa where we had to compete in the U18 bracket. U18 teams are mostly consisted of players who are 17 and 18 years old. We had three games we had to play and if you made it into the final round, that game was later that Sunday. Our first game we won 1-0 against a very aggressive team. The second game we won 4-0 against a team that we beat the previous weekend 6-0. The third team we played we won 3-1 against the team who we would later that day, not even two hours later, play again. That final game we won 1-0, the team showed up to win but early in the game we scored then had a tough defense the rest of the game. We have one of the best defensive lines in the state and it is very hard to get past us. With the win we received a trophy for 1st place, all of us were very excited since we played in an older age group and won the whole thing. Another accomplishment was that we only allowed one goal to be scored on us and we scored a total of nine goals throughout the weekend. Those are great stats and our team takes great pride in our success.

New Coaches

Recently my coach told my team and me that he will no longer be coaching us. It broke us all down, he was a great coach and no one can compare to what he has helped us with for these past two years. We all looked up to him and we will never forget how good of a person he was to all of us. With him leaving that means that we will be getting a new coach who doesn't know any of us or what we are capable of doing on the field. This means that all of us start a new slate on tryout week. We have to prove to this new coach that we are good and should continue being on the top team. You have to fight to keep your spot because you never know if a better player is around the corner that can start playing your position and you end up on the bench. I wouldn't usually say this because I don't like doing this but you have to be a suck up to the new coach in order to be on his good side. Don't be a horrible suck up to where it is noticeable and annoying but just enough that he knows who you are and that you are on his good side. You have to show that you are a coachable player and that you won't give him attitude when he tells you to do something. We are still young players and we don't know everything about soccer, we still have a lot to learn. So don't act like your perfect, do into the new season with an open mind and an open heart and see what happens.

Mean and dirty players

There are those players who are all muscle and no skill so they think the only way they can play is if they tackle you every time you get the ball. They are just aggressive to the point where they should get thrown out of the game. Then you have those players who swear and say mean things to you because they want to break you down. They say unnecesary comments that they think will make you mad and try to do something back to them whether that is a physical or verbal response. Lastly, you have those players that grab and pull your jersey or pinch your arm when the ref isn't looking. No one likes to play against these players, I know I don't. They take the fun out of the game, they actually make me prefer to be on the bench. They can seriously injure you and put you out of the rest of the season and no one wants to be injured.
There are some refs that will let the aggressiveness slide and that gives everyone else the freedom to get dirty. Then there are those refs that will call even the little things and then you feel like you can't even put your finger on the player because you think the ref will call that as a foul. You have to study all the players and all the refs that are involved in your game. You will be a better player if you know what is allowed and what isn't.

Time Consuming

Club soccer can be very time consuming, you have to travel out of state every weekend for three to four months. Practices take up your nights and are during high school sport activities that you want to watch with your friends during the week. It is a big commitment that is why you have to be 100% in it. It is hard missing time hanging with your friends and trying to make new ones because you are gone all the time. It really affects the friendships you have with those people because they get used to not having you around so they stop inviting you to things. I have had some teammates quit recently due to not having enough time to spend with friends. I would rather have the player quit then to not have them there to play and not give it their full effort to win the games that mean a lot to us since most of us will be playing at the college level. Soccer has to be your main priority if you are going to be gone all the time playing.
High school soccer is less time consuming then club soccer but it still takes up your time after school to about 5:00 p.m. This cuts into your homework that you have to get done for the next day. Those sporting events that you want to watch during the week you can't always go to because you have to get your homework done. The games also cut into your week time, you have to be there an hour early to get warmed up and the game can last up to three hours if you go into two overtimes and penalty kicks. It can drag on and get very tiring, that is why you have to finish the game as quickly as possible and out some goals in the back of the net. Every so often we would have a practice on Saturdays but those were usually very early in the morning. Those aren't so bad but they do cut into how late you can stay up on Friday nights with your friends.

Thinking about quitting

My mom always told me when I felt like quitting to give it three more practices, if I felt the same after that then I could quit. Every time I gave myself the three day rule I didn't feel like quitting anymore. I know in my heart if I wouldn't have listened to my mom I would have regretted it so much. There are always going to be those coaches, or players, or games that make you feel bad about yourself and want to quit. If it is really bothering you try bringing it up in a nice way to that person and let them know that what they are doing is making you feel horrible. They can listen or they can be jerks about it, if they are a jerk then just shake it off. That person obviously isn't worth you quitting what you love so just get used to how that person is. I play with girls that I don't always agree with but they are like sisters to me because I have been playing with them for so long. Even the girls who don't give you the time of day they eventually will get used to having you around and you will make friendships with them. Just wait your time will come. I guess my only advice is to stick with it and wait for a better day. Nothing is always perfect so don't expect it to be, just look on the bright side there is one there.

Playing in the rain

I love playing soccer games in the rain. To me it is like one of those scenes in a movie, where the rain is pouring down really hard and all you see is the player, everything else is blurry. You see the intensity in their eyes and the love in their heart for the game. The scene is in slow motion and it adds more effect until you see that slide tackle and everything gets faster and more intense. That is how I feel when I play in the rain. Slide tackling is more fun in the rain, reason one is because you get really muddy afterwards and those girly-girls stay away from you, and reason two is because you slide faster and further. In my soccer games I seem to be the first person who slides first and the muddiest after the game. I guess I just take advantage of the weather I like to play in since it doesn't come every day. For me playing in the rain makes me feel invincible, almost like nothing can stop me. It gives me confidence and makes me play better. Everyone has those certain situations or environments in games that they prefer playing in. Mine just seems to be rain and mud.

Team Bonding Time

It is good to know and be good friends with you teammates. Teams have to have chemistry, if they don't your team won't be successful. My club team has team dinners for special events like State Cup, we all have spaghetti the night before and we play some games to have fun and to get to know each other more. For State Cup every year we make it a Breast Cancer awareness game for a fellow teammate who lost her mom to breast cancer. We dye a strip of our hair pink, we tye-dye shirts that we warm up in, we try to get pink socks, shoes, tape, headbands. Our team tries to go all out because this game is supposed to bring awareness to the spectators. We don't usually have sleepovers because it is hard having everyone go to different schools and having busy schedules outside of soccer with jobs and friends. We try as hard as we can to get together and make our team bond stronger.
My high school team has dinners almost every week, with everyone being in different grades we try to make the upcoming freshman feel welcomed and comfortable around us. We do try to have a couple of sleepovers because at the first one during our season we do freshman / new players' initiation. It is so much fun and everyone has to go through it. It makes us all get along better and make long term friendships. We also do a Breast Cancer game, for this game we go all out. My teammates and I do the same things as I mentioned above with my club team but for high school we get pink jerseys. It is fun to play in a different color then you usually do and they are always cute shirts.
No matter what team you are on, try to get to know the people on it. Yes, you might not like everyone or get along with everyone but you need to put on a happy face and try to make the chemistry work on the field.

Getting Tougher

Girls the only way you are going to get tougher and stronger is if you have the guts to practice and play small sided games with boys, they are faster, stronger, and very skilled. They can get you used to having pressure on you constantly and having to think faster about where you are going to play the ball. Along with playing with the boys you should probably lift weights to gain muscle in your legs, abs, and arms. If you work on getting stronger then the boys will have a tougher time pushing you down. The one thing that sucks about practicing with boys is they think they have to go easy on you because you are a girl. One way to get their mind-set to change is to become a dirty player with them, then they feel like they can't look bad in front of their other friends so they go harder and in the long run this can be better for you if you want to be a better soccer player. Get a schedule to organize the days you lift weights and the days you play with the boys, you should probably go at least two times a week for both. On the other days relax and stay healthy and maybe get together with some of your girl friends to pass the ball around and work on some of the technical sides of soccer. That being passing, shooting, moves, corner kicks, and so on.

College Coaches

During your high school years you are supposed to contact coaches to come and watch you play and hopefully ask you to play for their school. The day comes and they are going to watch you play you are either one of these three types of people. You are either very nervous and are going to play worse then you usually do because you feel under pressure by having to look good. Another type is very excited and plays even better because this is your time to show off. Lastly, you can be that person who turns into a very aggressive and dirty player because you have the mind-set that you have to be tough to make it in the college level. Personally I am the person who gets very nervous and plays worse then I usually do. I prefer not to know when a coach is going to come and watch me, "out of sight out of mind" is what I go by. Eventually you will hear from the college about your playing, if they are interested in you they will contact you if they don't contact you that means that they don't think you are the type of player they are looking for.

Womens Soccer

Over the past few years I have been hearing from soccer spectators, that women's soccer is not as good as men's soccer. I ask these people what is so bad about watching women's soccer. I have been told so many things from it being slow paced, not as aggressive, horrible skills, and bad decisions. Yes we aren't as fast or strong as boys but we still have skill. None of these things make sense to me because while I am playing the game it seems pretty face paced and aggressive. I try changing people's minds on watching women's soccer because everyone has this set opinion that every women's soccer team is the same, when they aren't! My team is very aggressive, exciting, and fast paced. When I try to convince people they don't believe me. Fortunately we have convinced our friends to come and support us and to their amazement they saw that we were correct. Then it is a chain reaction, our friends tell their friends and eventually more people come to watch us. We still don't get as much support as the boys but we are going to get there someday.

Jerseys

Everyone wants to wear cool looking jerseys, but there are those teams who you can never take seriously because they look so ridiculous in their uniforms. This can really affect how you play and the intensity of the game because you will probably be laughing every time you go past one of the players with these ugly jerseys on!

Anyone who wants to play checkers should seriously get off the field! This jersey is distracting and not that appealing to the eyes of the viewers trying to watch the game.

There are two things wrong with this jersey. First are the long sleeves, what if the game is hot? You can't take off your jersey because you have to play with one on. Second is this jersey is not cool, the design and colors make it very bland and not fun!





There are not many cool looking jerseys out there in the soccer world. The things that make a jersey awesome and fun to wear are the colors, details, and designs on it. After searching the web for the past ten minutes I have found only one jersey that I would enjoy wearing.

This jersey has writing and a wearable design that anyone would be jealous to wear as their game jersey. If I could change anything about it I would change the colors but besides that I enjoy looking at this jersey.

Top 5 coolest soccer cleats

Number 5: These cleats are the Adidas F50 AdiZero TRX FG, they weigh exactly 5.8 ounces each. That is the lightest pair of soccer cleats ever. They are naturally purple but when the light catches them the right way they turn green. The color change gives them the name Chameleons. I have this pair of cleats and I have been told from opponents that they are distracting when they change color.

Number 4: These are also Adidas F50 AdiZero TRX FG. These cleats stuck out to me because of their electrifying shiny purple color along with the accenting red and yellowish-green colors. The weight of these cleats is also 5.8 ounces each.

Number 3: Along with the other cleats, these are also Adidas F50 AdiZero TRX FG. These cleats are very distracting because of their bright yellow color. One of my teammates has these cleats and I can't keep my eyes off of them. Along with all the other cleats, these weigh 5.8 ounces each.

Number 2: These are the Adidas F50 AdiZero TRX FG and they also weigh 5.8 ounces. Every girl wants to have these shoes, they have the prettiest colors and they stand out. The electrifying blue and pink make these shoes look even whiter. You opponents will be jealous of you style.

Number 1: Adidas F50 AdiZero TRX FG leather cleats. Each cleat 

weighs 5.8 ounces each. The blue and lime green make these cleats pop with color. Not only do they have cool colors they also have an awesome design throughout the shoe.

Adidas is doing a great job with all the cleats they are producing and selling. All of these cleats have popular colors and designs but most of all they weigh almost  nothing. It doesn't even feel like you have cleats on when you are playing, this helps you run mush faster and change direction quicker. That is the magic of having weightless shoes.

Injuries

No one wants to be injured and sit out of their sport. It is hard to watch your teammates at practice while you’re just sitting there. Especially on cold nights, you’re sitting in the wind while your fellow players are sweating and complaining that they are warm, when your teeth are chattering. Even though you want to get up and start playing alongside your friends, you have to stop yourself and say "You are injured that is why you are not playing, if you start playing you’re only going to make it worse." What makes sitting out even worse is having you teammates ask you about it, yes it is nice and caring but you don't want to keep thinking about it and seeing what you are missing out on.
The worst thing that you can be told is how long you have to sit out. For an ACL injury you have to sit out for months, possibly a whole season depending on when you tore it. Luckily I have only had to sit out a couple days at most, but even a couple days can get me down. The recovery time when you just come back from an injury can be hard too. If you sit out long enough you lose your touch and it will take a while for you to get it back. Along with practices you have to attend physical training appointments to make your body stronger so you hopefully won't have that injury happen again. It is a long and hard process to go through so it is important to keep your body healthy and strong.

Out of state tournaments

Everyone dreads the long hours that you spend in the car in order to get to the tournament. Even our parents hate it but it’s worth it if you really enjoy the sport. I believe it is better to travel with a friend because it gives you quality time to get to know that person better or just to come out of your box more and show your crazy side. There are many games that you can play on the way to the tournament. You can play I-Spy, make funny faces at the people you pass by, yell out the windows, dance party in the car, sing at the top of your lungs, and many more. You can even watch a movie but that is not as fun as those games I just listed above. Time really does pass when you’re having fun. 

Then you get to the hotel. The worst part of the whole trip is getting your luggage out of the trunk, finding a cart, loading the cart, checking in, then unpacking your luggage in your room. It is the most boring and waste of your time the whole trip, but the fun part comes next. Usually the next thing to do on your list is to go get something to eat at a local restaurant. You don't know anyone in the state you are at, so when I go out at tournaments I usually come way out of my box and have fun while it lasts. You can't really do anything weird in the restaurant but when we are done eating the fun begins outside the restaurant. Some things you can do are posing for cars that are passing by, you can sing and dance to passing cars. One of my favorite things to do is act like a cheerleader and perform cheers to passing cars. My teammates and I usually walk behind people and try to guess their names, if they turn around we usually look the opposite way. Those are just some of the things we do to make this a fun experience for everyone, even the people we do this stuff too. Eventually the fun ends at the restaurant but it can be continued at the hotel.

At the hotel we usually try to get to know the staff and have some fun with them. We call them by name and we tell them our names and throughout the whole weekend we call each other by name. One tournament my teammate and I ran around the hotel with napkins on our faces and acted like ninjas. Usually you think people would get annoyed but they all enjoyed our company. If no one knows who you are it makes it all the better.

The games come and you know it is time to be serious. You play your hardest and leave it all on the field to make you fellow teammates and coaches proud. Win or lose just make sure that you have fun.

This last weekend we were at a tournament in Missouri. Out first game we won 3-1, the second game we lost 2-1, and the third game we won 5-1. We should have won all three games but we just didn't finish our opportunities in front of the goal. We left with the title of 2nd place in our bracket and let me tell you that it is way better than last place but not as good as first would have been. We have an upcoming game this Sunday and I will be sure to fill you in on that by next week.

Working hard to get better

If you truly want to get better at soccer you need to get a group of people together to play some small sided games almost every day to work on the things that you need to improve on the most. Whether that is shooting, dribbling, corner kicks, or taking players on, the best people that can help you are your own teammates. They can support you and encourage you to do better and to become a better player in the long run. From my own experience, I didn't have the opportunities to work with my teammates, a couple would want to work on things with me but it wasn't enough people to be productive. I ended up turning to another idea, I started playing small sided scrimmage games with boys. They made me a tougher player and they were as passionate about soccer as I was, so it was nice to have those teammates there to support you. If your own teammates aren't there to help you turn to other options, never be afraid to turn to boys for help. They are the best ones out there for the job of making you a better player mentally and physically.

Challenges

The challenges that players face in soccer depends on their age. Club players practice year round until they reach high school, then their season breaks into two. One season, which is in the fall and sometimes during the winter, is club practices. The other season is in the spring with high school practices. As you are playing for both of these two different teams you are beginning to think about college soccer and where you want to go. You have to start as soon as possible, mostly your freshman year in high school, to start contacting college coaches to come watch you play in your soccer games whether it is club or high school. Coaches recommend emailing the colleges due to the Division 1 schools can’t contact you back until your junior year. Even though you email the coaches you most likely won't get a response which is not always bad because they can still come and watch you play. While all of this is happening in the player’s life some fall under the pressure and quit the game entirely.

Players have to sacrifice some of their high school experiences due to club soccer tournaments out of state. Usually the team leaves on the Friday night before their first game which is when most sporting events are scheduled for school. Dances and school activities on the weekend have to be skipped because of the long hours of driving you are doing to attend the tournament your whole team is going to. From experience I have missed many football games and school dances but I waited for my turn and it finally came. Yes I do regret missing everything but in the end it all worked out and it was worth it. Another thing that players have to miss out on is quality time that you spend with your close friends or even boyfriends or girlfriends. During the high school age soccer is your life, you have long practices practically every night and you are out of town for every weekend three months straight. It is hard to be that committed to a sport but if you truly enjoy it, it shouldn't matter.

Tryouts

Just because you have been on the soccer team for the last five years doesn't mean that you shouldn't take tryouts seriously. You never know if there will be a player who is better then you and will take your spot, so you have to go in 100% and work to keep your spot. Coaches don't always look for the best players with the best skill. They try to look for the most coachable players, who are open to criticism and the ability to learn things. Coaches don't want the players who think they already know everything because in reality, we don't.

At tryouts they want to see what you can deliver; with that being your dedication to the sport, the player's work ethic, is the player disciplined, do they have a good attitude and good sportsmanship, are the players competitive, and at the same time having fun with the sport. Skill wise the coaches are looking for the players who can control their dribbling, accurate passing and shooting, juggling skills and fitness. Finally they see how you do in situations during a live game by sorting the players into two teams and starting a scrimmage. This is your time to shine and standout from all the other girls.

Tryouts is the worst part of the season, you have to wait for weeks before you know what team you made. You constantly sit by the phone hoping that your coach will call you and give you the news, you have doubts running through you head about how you played and how the other players did. If you really love soccer it shouldn't matter what team you make as long as you are playing and pursuing the sport you enjoy. If you work your hardest, everything will pay off in the end.

Why I play this game

In the book I am reading, The Beautiful Game, the girls in the story describe how they feel when they play soccer. When I am at practice I look all around me and I see the beautiful grass flowing with the wind. I hear the cars from the interstate pass by and all I am thinking about is how calm and relaxing the environment is around me. When it comes to games, I get this adrenaline rush that makes me want to play really badly, butterflies are in my stomach making me nervous about how I am about to play. We get to the stadium and people are in the stands all around us. Seeing people there to watch you and your team make you feel special, a feeling that you can't describe until you experience it with the sport you have the most passion playing. Everything going on around you doesn't matter because you love the game so much. My passion for soccer is indescribable, I absolutely love soccer. The days that I go to that exact stadium to watch other teams or other sports I feel like just running onto the field and playing because that feeling of having everyone watch you play is a great feeling to me.

A couple weekends ago we had our first game of the season, it was a friendly game. We ended up winning 7-0. My team played in a tournament a couple weekends ago in Illinois. We played three teams, the first team we beat 4-1. The second team we beat 7-0 and the third team we beat 6-0. Winning those three games put us in the semi-finals, we ended up losing 2-1 but over all our team played great. This last weekend we played two friendly games, the first game we won 6-1 and the second game we won 6-1. We have an upcoming tournament in Missouri this weekend and I will let everyone know how we do next Monday.

If you are a true soccer player and you have a great passion for the sport, nothing else matters when you are doing the thing you love most.