I got to go to my first Premier League game... Ever... Liverpool vs West Ham at Upton Park
Words cannot describe the emotions that go through these games... Passion.
The Agony when a goal is scored against your team... The Elation and Excitement of scoring a goal... The Loudness of unified chants... The ever changing emotion when a game swings one way to the other... The sound of Crunching tackles... The soft Touch of the ball... The strength and agility of players in the air... The Pure pace of the players and the Speed at which they think and play is unreal... This is the reason that football (the real one) is the best sport in the world... Passion.
The best way to describe the experience and the game is actually in the songs of the two respective teams. Liverpool went up 1-0 thanks to a brilliant Glen Johnson goal. Then West Ham went up 2-1 right before half time thanks to a PK and a Stevie G ownie only for Liverpool to come back and win 3-2 in the last 10 minutes of the game...
"I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air. They fly so high, they reach the sky, and like my dreams they fade and die!"
"You'll Never Walk Alone."
Passion.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sometimes... you just have to let someone else say it
The piece below was written by Marina Keegan '12 for a special
edition of the News distributed at the class of 2012's commencement
exercises last week. Keegan died in a car accident on Saturday. She was
22.
We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.
It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team. When the check is paid and you stay at the table. When it’s four a.m. and no one goes to bed. That night with the guitar. That night we can’t remember. That time we did, we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt. The hats.
Yale is full of tiny circles we pull around ourselves. A cappella groups, sports teams, houses, societies, clubs. These tiny groups that make us feel loved and safe and part of something even on our loneliest nights when we stumble home to our computers — partner-less, tired, awake. We won’t have those next year. We won’t live on the same block as all our friends. We won’t have a bunch of group-texts.
This scares me. More than finding the right job or city or spouse – I’m scared of losing this web we’re in. This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness. This feeling I feel right now.
But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They’re part of us and they are set for repetition as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn’t live in New York. I plan on having parties when I’m 30. I plan on having fun when I’m old. Any notion of THE BEST years comes from clichéd “should haves...” “if I’d...” “wish I’d...”
Of course, there are things we wished we did: our readings, that boy across the hall. We’re our own hardest critics and it’s easy to let ourselves down. Sleeping too late. Procrastinating. Cutting corners. More than once I’ve looked back on my High School self and thought: how did I do that? How did I work so hard? Our private insecurities follow us and will always follow us.
But the thing is, we’re all like that. Nobody wakes up when they want to. Nobody did all of their reading (except maybe the crazy people who win the prizes…) We have these impossibly high standards and we’ll probably never live up to our perfect fantasies of our future selves. But I feel like that’s okay.
We’re so young. We’re so young. We’re twenty-two years old. We have so much time. There’s this sentiment I sometimes sense, creeping in our collective conscious as we lay alone after a party, or pack up our books when we give in and go out – that it is somehow too late. That others are somehow ahead. More accomplished, more specialized. More on the path to somehow saving the world, somehow creating or inventing or improving. That it’s too late now to BEGIN a beginning and we must settle for continuance, for commencement.
When we came to Yale, there was this sense of possibility. This immense and indefinable potential energy – and it’s easy to feel like that’s slipped away. We never had to choose and suddenly we’ve had to. Some of us have focused ourselves. Some of us know exactly what we want and are on the path to get it; already going to med school, working at the perfect NGO, doing research. To you I say both congratulations and you suck.
For most of us, however, we’re somewhat lost in this sea of liberal arts. Not quite sure what road we’re on and whether we should have taken it. If only I had majored in biology…if only I’d gotten involved in journalism as a freshman…if only I’d thought to apply for this or for that…
What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.
In the heart of a winter Friday night my freshman year, I was dazed and confused when I got a call from my friends to meet them at EST EST EST. Dazedly and confusedly, I began trudging to SSS, probably the point on campus farthest away. Remarkably, it wasn’t until I arrived at the door that I questioned how and why exactly my friends were partying in Yale’s administrative building. Of course, they weren’t. But it was cold and my ID somehow worked so I went inside SSS to pull out my phone. It was quiet, the old wood creaking and the snow barely visible outside the stained glass. And I sat down. And I looked up. At this giant room I was in. At this place where thousands of people had sat before me. And alone, at night, in the middle of a New Haven storm, I felt so remarkably, unbelievably safe.
We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I’d say that’s how I feel at Yale. How I feel right now. Here. With all of you. In love, impressed, humbled, scared. And we don’t have to lose that.
We’re in this together, 2012. Let’s make something happen to this world.
We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.
It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team. When the check is paid and you stay at the table. When it’s four a.m. and no one goes to bed. That night with the guitar. That night we can’t remember. That time we did, we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt. The hats.
Yale is full of tiny circles we pull around ourselves. A cappella groups, sports teams, houses, societies, clubs. These tiny groups that make us feel loved and safe and part of something even on our loneliest nights when we stumble home to our computers — partner-less, tired, awake. We won’t have those next year. We won’t live on the same block as all our friends. We won’t have a bunch of group-texts.
This scares me. More than finding the right job or city or spouse – I’m scared of losing this web we’re in. This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness. This feeling I feel right now.
But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They’re part of us and they are set for repetition as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn’t live in New York. I plan on having parties when I’m 30. I plan on having fun when I’m old. Any notion of THE BEST years comes from clichéd “should haves...” “if I’d...” “wish I’d...”
Of course, there are things we wished we did: our readings, that boy across the hall. We’re our own hardest critics and it’s easy to let ourselves down. Sleeping too late. Procrastinating. Cutting corners. More than once I’ve looked back on my High School self and thought: how did I do that? How did I work so hard? Our private insecurities follow us and will always follow us.
But the thing is, we’re all like that. Nobody wakes up when they want to. Nobody did all of their reading (except maybe the crazy people who win the prizes…) We have these impossibly high standards and we’ll probably never live up to our perfect fantasies of our future selves. But I feel like that’s okay.
We’re so young. We’re so young. We’re twenty-two years old. We have so much time. There’s this sentiment I sometimes sense, creeping in our collective conscious as we lay alone after a party, or pack up our books when we give in and go out – that it is somehow too late. That others are somehow ahead. More accomplished, more specialized. More on the path to somehow saving the world, somehow creating or inventing or improving. That it’s too late now to BEGIN a beginning and we must settle for continuance, for commencement.
When we came to Yale, there was this sense of possibility. This immense and indefinable potential energy – and it’s easy to feel like that’s slipped away. We never had to choose and suddenly we’ve had to. Some of us have focused ourselves. Some of us know exactly what we want and are on the path to get it; already going to med school, working at the perfect NGO, doing research. To you I say both congratulations and you suck.
For most of us, however, we’re somewhat lost in this sea of liberal arts. Not quite sure what road we’re on and whether we should have taken it. If only I had majored in biology…if only I’d gotten involved in journalism as a freshman…if only I’d thought to apply for this or for that…
What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.
In the heart of a winter Friday night my freshman year, I was dazed and confused when I got a call from my friends to meet them at EST EST EST. Dazedly and confusedly, I began trudging to SSS, probably the point on campus farthest away. Remarkably, it wasn’t until I arrived at the door that I questioned how and why exactly my friends were partying in Yale’s administrative building. Of course, they weren’t. But it was cold and my ID somehow worked so I went inside SSS to pull out my phone. It was quiet, the old wood creaking and the snow barely visible outside the stained glass. And I sat down. And I looked up. At this giant room I was in. At this place where thousands of people had sat before me. And alone, at night, in the middle of a New Haven storm, I felt so remarkably, unbelievably safe.
We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I’d say that’s how I feel at Yale. How I feel right now. Here. With all of you. In love, impressed, humbled, scared. And we don’t have to lose that.
We’re in this together, 2012. Let’s make something happen to this world.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ready Set Inaction
It's scary sometimes scared we are. Life is full of uncertainty. So, why do we worry about that which we cannot control? I read another blog today about inaction and "the fear" that immobilizes us because it will drag us into the abyss of the unknown. It is a place where we are scared and uncomfortable and out of place. However, that is where adventure really starts. That's the place where the true stories are told. That's the place where we find out who we really are.
I have only really been influenced a great deal by a couple of people in my life: My Grandpa, Lenhart, and MickeyG. My Grandpa showed me the value of loving God and the people around you. He showed me what it means to live a life full and free. Lenhart taught me to ask.. "Why Not Bro?" Might seem simple but too many times in life, we ask ourselves why should we do this?? We might get in trouble.. well life is too short so why not? MickeyG taught me that it doesn't matter what other people think.. i mean he owns a surfing goat now.. but in all reality his love of God is almost unmatched.. his love of life is unequalled..
My biggest fear in life is that I will miss an opportunity that will sweep me away on a grand adventure.. or worse yet, that I will be too afraid or scared to take that leap of faith.. sometimes it is important to take a step back and recognize what God is doing in our lives.. however, we can't do it too long or else we might miss what happens next.. and we might fall into "the fear" and become too comfortable in life and not recognize God at all anymore..
I have only really been influenced a great deal by a couple of people in my life: My Grandpa, Lenhart, and MickeyG. My Grandpa showed me the value of loving God and the people around you. He showed me what it means to live a life full and free. Lenhart taught me to ask.. "Why Not Bro?" Might seem simple but too many times in life, we ask ourselves why should we do this?? We might get in trouble.. well life is too short so why not? MickeyG taught me that it doesn't matter what other people think.. i mean he owns a surfing goat now.. but in all reality his love of God is almost unmatched.. his love of life is unequalled..
My biggest fear in life is that I will miss an opportunity that will sweep me away on a grand adventure.. or worse yet, that I will be too afraid or scared to take that leap of faith.. sometimes it is important to take a step back and recognize what God is doing in our lives.. however, we can't do it too long or else we might miss what happens next.. and we might fall into "the fear" and become too comfortable in life and not recognize God at all anymore..
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tebow
Uncompromising. Bold. Unyielding. Strong. Unwilling to give in. Courageous. Selfless. Competitive to a fault. To me, Tim Tebow is amazing. He continually, throughout all the media bashing and criticisms from other athletes, gives all Honor and Glory to God and his teammates. Humble. Yet he keeps winning. I have always been taught that if yoU Honor God with the gifts that he has given you, God will honor you. Ever Believing. I am not saying that divine intervention has been the reason that he has won but I do believe that God watches over those who follow Him and give Him everything that they are. Keep following Him wherever He leads you.
Friday, December 23, 2011
2743632000
My mom has an uncanny ability to predict the future. To those who know her and actually pay attention to what she says, like I have learned to do, she has predicted when I would get speeding tickets, get in car accidents, when girlfriends broke up with me, as well as when I was sucking it up in school. She had no way of knowing but she just had a "feeling." Whatever you want to call that, divine intervention, karma, fate, whatever it is, she is good at it.
Well to get completely serious now, we were at thanksgiving. It was my dad, my mom, my sisters, mark (my sisters husband), mark's parents, tim, jane, dale, brittney, myself, and my grandpa. My mom decided to try and have the "let's all say something that we are thankful for" speech. She said that she was thankful for her dad, my grandpa and that he was still here, alive and kicking. I remember thinking to myself, oh geez. I always get really mad at her when she tells me stuff like this or says stuff like this. I think she may actually have this as her spiritual gift. I don't know if she actually has control over it. But when she said that, it almost felt eerie. Unfortunately, three weeks later, my grandpa passed away. In no way am I blaming my mom. She said what she felt and it was well received. Luckily, her last words to him were that she loved him. However, it got me thinking about my grandpa.
While he was in the hospital, he had numerous visitors and we unfortunately had to tell them to go away. He had so many people that he knew and not only liked him and respected him. They also loved him. He went out of his way for other people. He loved to serve other people. He loved to bring home the stragglers, the lost, the out of favors, the unfortunate, and the misfits. He would bring them in and treat them as family. He had a servant's heart. He was "Jonathan" to many. He embodied what it really meant to love people unconditionally. He went to countless soccer games to watch me play and even watch me coach. He went to dance recitals, took us hiking all over North America, took us to lunch weekly when he wasn't strong enough to hike, took care of us in whatever we needed, and was always willing to listen and give wise advice when asked. He was a man of mystery as well. He was a go to guy back in WW2. He never had to use a gun but had to secretly acquire secret plans from other countries. Later on, he was in a think tank, that had all of the brightest minds at that time, to try and decide how much dust was on the moon. The question being answered was how deep is the dust and if we land, will we be able to take off. He helped develop the radar that answered the question. He helped create another radar that came back with pictures in color. He was a husband. God came first and then his wife. Whatever she wanted or needed, it happened... The story on how he actually met her is quite funny...
However, since this is a simple blog, I will stop by saying that this man is my hero. He was an incredibly passionate man. He put others before himself. He is the description of a servant leader. He loved and feared God and I know where he now is. He allowed others to feel God when they were around him and that quality alone endeared him. He died 87 years young. Thats 274,363,200 seconds. Grandpa, thank you for setting the example and helping guide the way.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Avatar
One of my favorite things about movies is that most of the time the places cannot be real. It takes you away to a world that is different from what we know. It takes us to the impossible. It takes us to the creative. It takes us to the imaginative. Places like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Eragon, Captain America simply are and cannot be real. However, the stories are real. I love the feeling of almost hopelessness I get when it is the darkest before the dawn. I love when the hero triumphs. But the thing that I love the most is that most of the time, it is the most inconspicuous or most undeserving person that gets to be the HERO!
Captain America is a scrawny and weak little man. Peter Parker is the biggest nerd. Jake Sully is in a wheelchair. Eragon is a farmboy. Frodo is a hobbit, the smallest of all humanlike creatures. It is always the one that you least expect that gets to be the one to save the day. HA the funniest part is that they don't even want it! However, it is so easy to get wrapped up in that because I want to be them. I want to have a chance to be taken into challenges that will test me. I want to set the tone; set the pace. I want to be caught in an adventure that is bigger than me where there is real danger and excitement.
It gives me hope because I know that God chooses the least likely to do great things. In the bible, Gideon is a perfect example. He had to test God several different times to even believe that God was even talking to him. In the end, God used Gideon as a way to defeat the enemies of his people. David was a little shepherd kid. He was small and wasn't even strong enough to carry armor on himself. He went to face a giant of a man and killed him with just a sling and a stone.
Sometimes God does use the big strong man like Samson. However, I think most of the time he uses the opposite of what people think a hero should be. God is the master of the opposite. He gives strength to the weak. Courage to the scared. Rest to the weary. He makes something great out of those who are willing to give themselves up for it. It is a choice to be made. However, once the choice is made, there is no turning back. Do you want the blue pill to go back to where it is easy and comfortable and you can believe whatever you want to believe about God. Or do you want the red pill and see how far deep the God hole goes?
Captain America is a scrawny and weak little man. Peter Parker is the biggest nerd. Jake Sully is in a wheelchair. Eragon is a farmboy. Frodo is a hobbit, the smallest of all humanlike creatures. It is always the one that you least expect that gets to be the one to save the day. HA the funniest part is that they don't even want it! However, it is so easy to get wrapped up in that because I want to be them. I want to have a chance to be taken into challenges that will test me. I want to set the tone; set the pace. I want to be caught in an adventure that is bigger than me where there is real danger and excitement.
It gives me hope because I know that God chooses the least likely to do great things. In the bible, Gideon is a perfect example. He had to test God several different times to even believe that God was even talking to him. In the end, God used Gideon as a way to defeat the enemies of his people. David was a little shepherd kid. He was small and wasn't even strong enough to carry armor on himself. He went to face a giant of a man and killed him with just a sling and a stone.
Sometimes God does use the big strong man like Samson. However, I think most of the time he uses the opposite of what people think a hero should be. God is the master of the opposite. He gives strength to the weak. Courage to the scared. Rest to the weary. He makes something great out of those who are willing to give themselves up for it. It is a choice to be made. However, once the choice is made, there is no turning back. Do you want the blue pill to go back to where it is easy and comfortable and you can believe whatever you want to believe about God. Or do you want the red pill and see how far deep the God hole goes?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
blank
i hate when i have nothing to talk about. i feel dull and boring and unable to express myself because of my complete and utter lack of creativity of thought.
aside from that
life is going pretty well. God is good. my girls team went to nationals and got 3rd.. i have a job interview in less than a week in Kansas City. My girlfriend is amazing. my grandpa had a stroke but is getting better. my family is safe and in good health other than that. Christmas is two weeks away and i have all my shopping done. i have good friends but none that really challenge me.. however im not sure how challenging i am to them.. the weather just started to get cold.. no snow yet though which means no boarding.. trying to figure out what God has next which means waiting... and waiting... and waiting...
i am on His time.. im ok with that
aside from that
life is going pretty well. God is good. my girls team went to nationals and got 3rd.. i have a job interview in less than a week in Kansas City. My girlfriend is amazing. my grandpa had a stroke but is getting better. my family is safe and in good health other than that. Christmas is two weeks away and i have all my shopping done. i have good friends but none that really challenge me.. however im not sure how challenging i am to them.. the weather just started to get cold.. no snow yet though which means no boarding.. trying to figure out what God has next which means waiting... and waiting... and waiting...
i am on His time.. im ok with that
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Inside
I dont understand how sometimes it can be so easy to speak and sometimes it is so very hard to actually talk or communicate. Recently, I have realized that my life has become a predictable routine of mundaneness. I basically lost my mental capacity on someone I dont want to lose it on because I didn't fully understand how I was feeling or at least how to process it or communicate it. I realized that I hadn't gotten out or changed a thing and that I had been eating myself from the inside out. How do you break out of this absolute boredom? I keep reading another blog and it talks constantly about how easy it is to fall into the rut of sameness over and over. I love what I do. I will never make millions but I love doing it. However, there are other things I feel like I have to do in order to make ends meet that I hate doing. Is it worth it to lose myself to make it work for now? I don't want to kill my soul in order to get by or just survive. I don't want to feel dead on the inside and feel like I am not well rounded or am so single focused on one thing that I forget what is most important to me. What do I really want?
3 things I will demand/pursue:
1) I will continue to demand/pursue different ways of teaching.
2) I will demand/pursue passion in what I do
3) I will always demand/pursue love and relationships above all
3 things that I refuse:
1) I will not do something that I hate
2) I will not lose myself in the mundane
3) I will not stop loving
3 things I will demand/pursue:
1) I will continue to demand/pursue different ways of teaching.
2) I will demand/pursue passion in what I do
3) I will always demand/pursue love and relationships above all
3 things that I refuse:
1) I will not do something that I hate
2) I will not lose myself in the mundane
3) I will not stop loving
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sometimes I forget
In life, it is easy to lose focus on what everything is about. It is easy to get wrapped up in life's constant twists and loops that truly important things get swept to the side. Right now, in life, I am trying to figure out the direction I want to take in life. I want to start growing up and doing more than I am doing. However, I do not know what this looks like. I heard a quote that said "Not all that wander are lost." I don't think that applied to me. In an earlier post, I talked about how I think God has me here for a reason that I don't know and I think He is waiting on me to be patient and content. Sometimes I forget that ultimately He is in control and the more I try to go against my own advice, the more lost I become and I wander ever farther. I keep pushing myself farther and farther away and feel so inadequate. It is a terrible feeling. The worst part is I know it and continue to do it. It is like I know the stove is hot and I continue to put my hand on it! WTF am I thinking? I need more focus in life right now... I want to be able to see life the way I used to see it... I want to make a difference... But I can't because I can't even do anything right in my own life.. I am a wreck.. However, I know that I don't have to do it alone.. Hide me in the shadow of your Wings
One of the best posts I have ever read... Truth
It was the 3200. That’s 8 times around the track. 2 miles. It was cold. There was a decent crowd of people watching. The sun was going down with a strong breeze of arctic air blowing across the track and the field. On the starting line stood 15-20 kids ready to run their lungs out for 10-12 minutes. Within the first 3 seconds of the gun going it was obvious to see who wasn't going to win. I could see it, they could see it, the whole crowd could see it. And as everyone's eyes fixated on the few front runners, the lonely few faded farther and farther behind until they were eventually lapped. Not once, but twice.
I didn't watch the front runners. For some reason or other I wound up watching the kid at the very back. He was nonathletic looking. His form was formless. He looked like he was running under water. Frozen in time even. But he was moving. And as he came around turn four, the look on his face was pure distress and pain. And to think he had 7 more laps! But he kept running. He kept moving his legs. I thought to myself, "Kid, poor kid, do something else with your free time. We both know you have no chance of ever winning today, tomorrow, next week, EVER!" But he ran. Never stopped. Not once. I am sure at the next track meet he will run again. He will try his hardest to do better. And again he will come in last. But he will run. He wont stop. He wont stop for anyone or anything.
On the ride home I was talking to Kayla. I asked her, "Why would a kid ever subject himself to losing over and over again?" "Well" she answered simply, "He's out there. He's competing. He's doing it. And that is all that matters."
I thought about it for the rest of night and into the next day and even up to now really. The kid was obviously running for something other than winning. He must have had some other motivation. Maybe it was personal. I don't know. All I know is that when I was in high school I would have never attempted anything I knew I had no chance in. Eventually, the next day my heart went out to the kid. I finally realized what he was actually doing.
He realizes there is something much larger than himself. He is risking all that he is, in knowing that the reward will be so much more than what he can imagine. He knows there is a bigger picture than himself and that certain pieces to the puzzle are required. Courage and hope are quite possibly the most valuable character traits a person can posses. And when those two traits are realized impossible things become possible. And when they are put into practice mountains are moved, giants fall, waters part, people come alive, college kids win Olympic gold medal hockey games, people survive cancer, needs are provided, people are fed, sins are covered, what is lost gets found, etc…
The consequence of courage and hope is nothing short of victory. For victory sometimes shows itself in the most uncommon of forms. Isaiah 53
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Confession to make
Today, as I woke up late to even get to church late, I came to the realization that something needs to change. I am not being challenged. I am not going anywhere. I am not being pushed. I am simply... There. I don't want to say a waste but sometimes I feel like it. I know that I am capable of whatever I want to do. The problem is I am picky and sometimes I do not get the breaks I am looking for (i.e. my professional soccer career). However, as many times as I fall away, I know that the Homie G has my back. He always reels back in and tries to set me on the right course. I was talking to my roommate tonight about where we are in life. He voiced how I had been feeling in the fact that I am comfortable yet very discontent. John Piper states that "God is most Glorified when we are most Satisfied in Him." I think that has been God's challenge to me. He will bring something my way that will really bring new and exciting challenges when I stop being so restless and just sit and rest in His peace. I think it might be one of those topsy turvy upside down things that God does where it is about the opposite. Be still and know that He is God is alot easier said than done sometimes. If I can be patient and faithful in the little things, I know He will open new doors or even possibly a window or even better a bungee cord...
Looking up or down depending...
Today was interesting. There is a massive tournament going on in AZ this weekend. The Food City Tournament. Friday night, we tied 1-1 and should have won. The other team, which was full of Juco kids, tied the game with about 2 minutes left in the game and we were not able to regain the lead. Frustrating... I wake up the next day and get the time wrong and show up 2 minutes before half time. We had 10 men on the field and went into half tied at 0. We ended up winning 3-0 while ending the game with 10 men. Fantastic. I had to coach during the next game. My 94s lost 1-0 while kicking the crap out of the team we were playing. Officially, they are going into high school so I don't have to do any training for like 3 months now. We get to play soccer tennis for the next couple of weeks so that will be fun! My mens team ended up losing 3-1 while getting screwed by the ref... we ended up not going through and thus we are back to frustrating... However, it is coming into snowboard season! Exciting! and yet, it is in november and it was 95 degrees today! wtf...
Keepin it close
Why are people afraid? What is it about fear that people do not like? Is it Change? The going away from the status quo... An inability to change with the times or adapt to it? Is it Control? The fear of not being able to handle your life and control every little thing in it? Could it be not having enough control or could it be not having any control that makes people afraid? Physical and emotional pain could be a reason for people being afraid. An inability to let things go. Spiders, snakes, and bats are also things that make people afraid. There are so many things in life that can make you afraid. My question is, at the end of the day... it is going to happen anyways... isn't it better in life to experience all you can experience.. the good and the bad.. the ups and downs.. the loves and the fears...
Psalms 56:11
The people around you, your community, your support group, are what help keep your way. Good company corrupts bad morals. In this life, it is too hard to do it on your own. There are not very many cowboys out there anymore. They are what help with fear. They are what help get you through the tough times. They are what you remember at the end of the day. They help keep you on track and focused. They are what help you keep on keeping on.
Psalms 56:11
The people around you, your community, your support group, are what help keep your way. Good company corrupts bad morals. In this life, it is too hard to do it on your own. There are not very many cowboys out there anymore. They are what help with fear. They are what help get you through the tough times. They are what you remember at the end of the day. They help keep you on track and focused. They are what help you keep on keeping on.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
History
If I could go back in history to any point... I think I would go back to either Rome or Greece. There are certain aspects of their cultures that are awesome and yet terrible. The Spartans, the Macedonians, the Romans were all ahead of their times as far as militarily as well as politically. They Spartans fought as a unit. Shock and awe and brutality were their ways. The Macedonians and specifically Alexander the great were really the first group to use tactics. Alexander would retreat then turn on them as they pursued. or retreat on one side and have them overpursue and cut them off by flanking from the other side. The Romans used both of them. However, it was their name that caused their enemies to tremble. The battle/war was already over because they had an invincibility aura about them. The enemy knew that they were not able to win before the battle was even fought. Fear is something that can either work for you or against you. The ability to understand it and use it for your advantage is something I think can be very effective.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wooden
Four things a man must learn to do if he would make his life more true:
1) To think without confusion clearly
2) To love his fellow man sincerely
3) To act from honest motives purely
4) To trust in God and heaven securely
1) To think without confusion clearly
2) To love his fellow man sincerely
3) To act from honest motives purely
4) To trust in God and heaven securely
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Control Play
Sometimes I feel like I am so lost. Football has always been a part of my life. For the past 3 months, the only thing I have been doing is coaching. Stressing... Gray Hairs... Thinking is non existent except about the pitch... No Escape... I am really starting to like my day job. It forces me to think... do different tasks... it is a great change of pace... also, the last couple of days, I have been playing.. for me.. it has been a blast.. i actually have control over my little world on the pitch while over half the time im not sure what or where i am in life.. do i even want control? am i grasping for it? or am I just trying to avoid it? what is right? what do I want? am i doing what i do to make people happy or am I doing what I want...???
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Incomplete yet so close
today, my girls team played against chandler gilbert. we scored 2 goals in the first 12 minutes and were close for a third. however, right before half, they put one in. 2-1 at half. after the first 8 minutes, we came out and started playing.. and put a third one in. 3-1... we kept at them but slowly the ball kept coming down to our end. they got a pk... our goalie blocked it.. it seemed as though it was meant to be.. in the last 15 minutes... they finally broke us down and put one in.. 3-2.. after pushing up and with about 5 minutes left they got a corner and put it front post on a dummy.. they knocked it in.. 3-3.. we end up losing on a long ball that a girl puts far post upper V... lose 4-3
the thing that is hard to swallow.. we were up 3-1.. couldnt find a way to hold on to the lead even with us playing well.. it felt like a playoff game.. it was so much fun.. it was what you play for.. that type of atmosphere where you live for.. it was unfortunate because we had it in our hand.. we just couldnt hold on and we let it slip.. we need to learn how to hold on and fight/push beyond what they think they can.. the season is intense and seems long while it happens.. however, in all reality it is only about 2 months long.. we just didnt have the ability to be mentally strong enough to last the season to be strong enough at the point it mattered the most.. it is a learning curve for me as well as the team.. for the team, we must learn to find ways to win games.. to be strong and together for the length of the season.. for me, i need to find a way to keep the girls in it and driven for longer in the season..
overall it has been a success yet because something bigger was hanging out there waiting to be snatched, i feel so incomplete and yet so close...
the thing that is hard to swallow.. we were up 3-1.. couldnt find a way to hold on to the lead even with us playing well.. it felt like a playoff game.. it was so much fun.. it was what you play for.. that type of atmosphere where you live for.. it was unfortunate because we had it in our hand.. we just couldnt hold on and we let it slip.. we need to learn how to hold on and fight/push beyond what they think they can.. the season is intense and seems long while it happens.. however, in all reality it is only about 2 months long.. we just didnt have the ability to be mentally strong enough to last the season to be strong enough at the point it mattered the most.. it is a learning curve for me as well as the team.. for the team, we must learn to find ways to win games.. to be strong and together for the length of the season.. for me, i need to find a way to keep the girls in it and driven for longer in the season..
overall it has been a success yet because something bigger was hanging out there waiting to be snatched, i feel so incomplete and yet so close...
IF
| If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same:. If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss: If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much: If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! Rudyard Kipling |
The Truth
I think it is crazy how you can go through something and it seem so long yet in reality, it is a very short period of time. You can truly find out someones character... Who they really are, when things go wrong or bad. There are very few times I look back on and say that I wish I would have done things differently. I don't have very many regrets. However, as I look back on my second season, there are many things I can say that I am proud of such as a better season than last year, a 15-3 record, as well as getting to host a semi-final game in the conference tournament. However there is only one point that I wish I could take back. It is amazing how sometimes wins and losses get to me and I only remember the losses. I lost it. As I look back on everything, that is the only point that I would have changed and done things differently. Sometimes, as a coach, it is very difficult for me to remember that it isn't the game of soccer that I love the most, it's the people involved. They are what make it and I epically failed on that particular day. I keep reading about John Wooden and how he demanded so much... excellence... perfection... from his players that they will remember him for the rest of their lives. That is the legacy that I want to leave; not one of someone who gets caught up in winning and losing. I need to keep remembering that if I teach the right values that wins will come because of the character.. however.. I also must be willing to live by it..
We only truly find ourselves when we face the Truth.
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