Something new, Something Old and Something Continued

March 16, 2019

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”

Bill Bryson

Growing up I have always been super active and involved in team sports, If I traveled back in time and told my past self that I would be playing a sport and college and soccer none the less I dont think she would of believed me. I have always loved soccer but it kind of got pushed to the side for hockey once I started playing, until my Junior year in High school when I was told that I might not make varsity due to my skill level. Something changed within me and I wanted to make the varsity team my senior year more than ever, I begin to put in hours of extra work on the side of practices and that paid off, I made the team. Once college came around soccer was definitely not main focus in choosing a college, but once I fell in love with Plymouth State University it became a top interest. Again though I was told my skills would not be good enough to make the team in the fall. So I pushed in deeper and worked harder everyday that summer to prove them wrong. Once the day came around, I made the team at the walk on tryout. Soon after soccer became one of my major focuses in school and even though waking up at 6am for practice is definitely not my favorite part of the process, once I step on the field with the girls that have become like another family to me it didnt matter how tired I was because I found a passion and love that has become a part of me and shaped me. There is not one regret I have these past three years being able to play for Plymouth. Of course I am studying abroad and instead of just sitting around being sad that I am missing the spring season with my team at home I choose to get involved here at La Trobe with their club soccer team. Now I have been able to continue to grow within the sport and meet some incredible people here in Austrailia. A few of us even meet up 1-2 times a week to run conditioning and work on foot skills.

The quote I chose for this post I feels fits perfectly with this post because soccer is something that is very familiar to me and has become routine (the favorite part of my day). It has been hard to readjust here to how they run everything from practices to warm ups stretching and even coaching games. This has given me a whole new look on the game. The club team I am playing for is very new and has a few players who have never played, often times I am coaching them on the field and off. I have to slow everything down and really think about the game and how to explain it to someone who dosnt know anything about the sport. I am always happy to share my passion with everyone but this has given me a new love for the sport as I someday hope that I can coach later in life. I am grateful to be able to play in a different country and meet the incredible people who are on the team. Every single one has taken me in and be so warm and welcoming even though I have only been playing with them for a month they are becoming some of the closer friends here at Bendigo. I can not wait to go back to the states with all the stories and finish out my senior season strong. Shout out to all the girls at Plymouth to kick ass this spring season and get ready for the best season yet coming up this fall!! Cant wait to be back playing everyday with you all!