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Post by rifle on Feb 8, 2015 21:53:25 GMT -5
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 9, 2015 8:23:13 GMT -5
Awww  |
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Post by lovethegame on Feb 9, 2015 8:43:45 GMT -5
It is painful. The end of soccer will be hard for us too. What seems like years of soccer ahead of us begins to come to an end little by little. Hopefully, we know when we are watching the last game our kids will ever play, but there's no guarantee of that. When Williams talks of an addiction it made me realize that addiction goes far beyond the players and beyond soccer.
U11 seems like yesterday. . .
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Post by spectator on Feb 9, 2015 10:05:47 GMT -5
Very sweet article - and as a former 'addict' to swimming, I can relate. I missed a lot during my youth for my "drug" of choice.
I'm already an emotional bundle today - my daughter plays her first high school soccer game tonight - with four girls she's played with since U9. I expect the other three moms and I will be sharing a box of tissues as they take the field! For how much they've grown and that the end is closer than the beginning now. Whether they play in college or not, they've already played more years through Rec, Academy and Athena than they have left to play.
Now if this blasted rain would stop and my cold would go away, I'll have much better coping skills.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 9, 2015 10:08:10 GMT -5
Very sweet article - and as a former 'addict' to swimming, I can relate. I missed a lot during my youth for my "drug" of choice. I'm already an emotional bundle today - my daughter plays her first high school soccer game tonight - with four girls she's played with since U9. I expect the other three moms and I will be sharing a box of tissues as they take the field! For how much they've grown and that the end is closer than the beginning now. Whether they play in college or not, they've already played more years through Rec, Academy and Athena than they have left to play. Now if this blasted rain would stop and my cold would go away, I'll have much better coping skills. so shes heeled from the injury I assume? (she got hurt end of the fall right??) |
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Post by spectator on Feb 9, 2015 10:31:32 GMT -5
so shes heeled from the injury I assume? (she got hurt end of the fall right??) Yes. She got injured October 24th. Taken off crutches December 1 and cleared for non impact conditioning so we rehabbed her on the stationary bike and pool at the gym. The ortho wasn't going to clear her for full contact for three months following the injury - which would have been the day after high school tryouts so we went back in early January for him to evaluate and she was given the all clear. The work on the bike and pool helped keep her fitness up and after the most stressful week of tryouts EVER (her words) she made JV. She's loving it so far - and she now has something I didn't - a connection to her school. I was a club swimmer (we didn't have high school swim teams) so my friends were swim buddies not classmates. Add to the fact she's played with or against all the freshman who made the team at some point or another, it's a tight group. Looking forward to my first high school game tonight, too - but pass the tissues - for my emotions and cold!  |
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Post by zizou on Feb 9, 2015 10:32:18 GMT -5
I read this as a powerful testament to the resilience of this woman. I was happy that she seems to have made an adjustment. Whether this is the long term solution, who knows, but she seems settled and like she is making progress. Elite level athletics are (mostly) for the young. Top level players need to believe they are invincible while they are playing, but they need to be psychologically well-adjusted and balanced enough in their interests to neither fall apart nor have no other options when the playing career ends (and sometimes it ends way too soon like for this really really good player). And it ends for even most top level athletes right after college one way or another. This cannot be an easy transition for some, but I am guessing most see the future (or lack thereof) long before it confronts them directly. Elite level non-athletic intellectual pursuits provide more time to develop the requisite skills. But the ones who take this career path can be confronted with hardships as well. Not everyone is cut out to be an elite academic, for instance. It is important in all pursuits to both be ready to give everything you have to achieve your goals and be resilient enough to change course if things do not work out like hoped/dreamed. This is a testament to good genes, good environment/parenting, and circumstance. I add the latter because I think it is under-appreciated how important chance factors can be in career success in almost any field. The same applies to both athletic and non-athletic intellectual pursuits. Anyway, I raise my glass to this woman and applaud the work she invested in becoming an elite athlete, obviously being a pretty good student at Dayton, and for finding a path that at least temporarily is providing her with a sense of satisfaction in life. None of that came easily. Cheers! |
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 9, 2015 11:29:18 GMT -5
Very sweet article - and as a former 'addict' to swimming, I can relate. I missed a lot during my youth for my "drug" of choice. I'm already an emotional bundle today - my daughter plays her first high school soccer game tonight - with four girls she's played with since U9. I expect the other three moms and I will be sharing a box of tissues as they take the field! For how much they've grown and that the end is closer than the beginning now. Whether they play in college or not, they've already played more years through Rec, Academy and Athena than they have left to play. Now if this blasted rain would stop and my cold would go away, I'll have much better coping skills. Good luck tonite!!! Im not ready for HS years yet |
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Post by lovethegame on Feb 9, 2015 12:40:04 GMT -5
Very sweet article - and as a former 'addict' to swimming, I can relate. I missed a lot during my youth for my "drug" of choice. I'm already an emotional bundle today - my daughter plays her first high school soccer game tonight - with four girls she's played with since U9. I expect the other three moms and I will be sharing a box of tissues as they take the field! For how much they've grown and that the end is closer than the beginning now. Whether they play in college or not, they've already played more years through Rec, Academy and Athena than they have left to play. Now if this blasted rain would stop and my cold would go away, I'll have much better coping skills. Good luck tonite!!! Im not ready for HS years yet The high school years come and go so fast. I was talking to a mom the other day. We chaperoned the 8th grade field trip to DC. We both looked at each other and wondered how four years could possibly have passed. Hang onto these days and enjoy them. Good luck to all of the hs players as they start their seasons. |
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