BLOG

Since I've gotten several requests to blog more often because some people lay around under the covers all day waiting for me to blog, I've decided to please my crowd.

But I will say this, you're welcome Simba, you big complainer you.

Last time I wrote, I told you about all that crazy things I've been doing while I've been here. And this one won't be much different. We had a scrimmage on Saturday against one of the top teams in Sweden, Linkopings FC, and we beat them 1-0. It was cool to get a win against a quality team, especially considering it was the first time we all played together.

As I've gotten older, I've  realized how much of life is to be analyzed. It's not just a case of oh, that person is mad so they must be mean. It's more of, that person is mad or sad, maybe something is bothering them; maybe they are dealing with something other people can't understand. Makes you rethink how you treat people...

I have also found that there are a lot of people who are mad or sad and really there isn't anything wrong with them. All that is wrong with them is the pity party that is inside their head. They feel sorry for themselves for whatever reason. And this, in my opinion, is a choice.

"...it's a choice you make." This is the end of a conversation I had with a young soccer player recently. She told me she wanted to play professional soccer when she was older. And I told her what it takes.

Well, I told her one thing that I thought it took. And one decision I made without knowing I made it.  And I guess it was something soccer taught me without knowing it for a long time... but now I see what I have learned.

Life is interesting being a female. All your life you're told that you can do anything.

But is it true?

It's funny because I think I went through phases. When I was little I believed I could truly do anything. I could go to the moon, play professional soccer, invent the next greatest thing and become a millionaire.  As I got older, the thought became that I could do some things, but probably not everything. I could possibly play professional soccer, if there was a league. The moon didn't seem too realistic and the only thing I might be able to invent was myself. And now, in my late 20s, I have fallen back to the beliefs of my youth and think anything is possible.

I had a great conversation a few weeks ago with one of my mentors. We talked about ourselves compared to many other players who we've come across in our time. One of the biggest differences we noticed was how people approached the game of soccer. We split them up in two categories: people who play to get something out of it and people who play for the love of the game.

This sparked my interest quite a bit.

Every person who has a blog and hasn't blogged in a while starts it off with how busy they've been and how it's been so difficult to keep up with writing. Blahg, Blagh, Blagh.

I just didn't feel like writing until today. There. That's my only reason.

With that said, I've had tons of ideas run through my brain.  But the theme I'm going with today is humility

With the Women's World Cup upon us, it is incredible to see how a sport can unite the world.  Soccer makes it possible for people from Equatorial Guinea and Brazil to have a common ground, even if it's only for 90 minutes. What soccer does on a global scale is something people are always talking about and something that is well established: fans of the game come together to enjoy the sport they love.

As a player, though, I've seen first hand how soccer can bring people together, and ultimately, keep them together.

I feel as though most of the life lessons that come from playing soccer may come across as cliché to many.  Sometimes that scares me when I start a new blog.  Like of course we will be more confident women and of course we will work well with others, we play a team sport. Then I remind myself that it’s not always about the message, but about how it’s delivered, and I can say confidently that, like any side-armed pitcher in MLB, my delivery is anything but typical. With that said, one of my favorite acquired qualities from soccer is the idea of being bigtime.

n my time playing soccer I have had a lot of coaches. I have had coaches who believed in every single step I took, and I've had coached coaches who didn't think I was good enough to see the pitch. Sometimes, these coaches were one in the same. Crazy huh? A coach has the ability to make or break a player.  I know so many people will argue that the player has to be mentally tough enough to deal with anything a coach does or says, but let's face it, it's never that easy.  Think about it in the sense of school work.  If you study your ass off and get an F, it doesn't really matter what you think personally, because you failed on paper.  Just like in practice if you're doing everything in your power and don't start over the weekend, it really doesn't matter what you think, you're on the bench.