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.