my alarm goes off at 6:45am saturday morning. the first thing I do is question my decision. do I really want to play? is getting up at least 3 days a week at times that routinely make me shudder worth it? is the fact that all my friends went to the bars last night and some have stumbled home only hours earlier going to compel me to get up, or ignore my alarm and sleep. too often the battle is that first step out of bed. today is a battle day.
it's day two of tryouts. yesterday was a day full of ups and downs. running my two mile in 12:59 was an up. the running i did the last couple weeks looks to be paying off. the turnout at tryouts was a downer. less guys then the year before, which sucks. as much as i like my spot on the team, and as much as i like the guys from last year, new blood is good. it encourages players to work harder, to play like they have to prove themselves everyday. we need that. our leading scorer, doo doo brown, isn't coming back this year. it's really too bad, as he is a guy who has the talent to play out of college for sure. easily the best player i have ever played with. still, at least 14 of the core guys from last year's roster are back. the chemistry on that team was great. if we can carry that to this year, we can battle santa barbara for a league title and a shot at nationals.
playing club is a strange beast. we have a college team at cal poly. most of us could probably play for that team, possibly as role players and the like. for one reason or another though, each one of us didn't get a shot at that team, didn't make that team, or didn't want to play for that team. everyone has their own reasons, many tried out and the coach just didn't see it. mine is different, i broke my arm senior year of high school and never even got that look i desired so greatly. being a late bloomer has its disadvantages. however club came along last year, and i jumped at the shot to play at a more competitive level again. playing with guys who had played for the poly team allowed me to realize i could hold my own, and at the end of the season the coach had honored 3 of us as "all league players", and my name was on the list. it reawoke that dream, the one that was always there as an overachieving youth, of playing for a bay area mls team and the national team. if only....
i get home saturday, after our second session of the day. two a day tryouts have crushed my body. it hurts all over. again. just like it did this morning, and nowhere near as bad as it will tomorrow morning. still not pleased with my play, but pleased with my effort. this year, its time for me to step up. for this could be my last shot at my first love, the beautiful game.
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