LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2016 VARSITY SOCCER SEASON 

Soccer is one of the best things to do in the world. The beautiful game is one of the best if not the best thing that have happened to me. Playing the beautiful game makes me and hundreds of millions of people around the world happy. I enjoy every single aspect of the game-maybe not so much the conditioning part- and I always look forward to playing whether it be in my room, garage, living room, backyard, club and especially High school. One of the worse things I hate about the beautiful game as referred to by the greatest player ever, Pele, is the fact that I can't play it all time. Myself and other lovers of the beautiful game always look forward to the upcoming season. As there are only 6 weeks left until the 2016 season starts, it feels like the season is so far away but yet so close. 

              As they say, the moments that lead up to the main event are always the most fun parts. It's true that its fun but it also could be very frustrating. Having sleepless nights thinking about all the hype, determination, and commitment all  the players will bring in to the table is phenomenal. I often sit and think about the previous season and all of its ups and downs. I think about how we all did as a team, which includes our record, poor games we could learn from, great performances, team chemistry, players we lose to colleges, and players we welcome from middle school. I like to look at my progress to see where I stand from the previous season to the upcoming one. I watch our previous games to analyze all the aspects of my game. I analyze my difference in effort from start to finish, pass completion rate, off the ball movement, defending, offensive threats I created, and defensive work. I mostly focus on my weak parts of the beautiful in order for me to initiate some drills in my practice sessions to make my performance better.  

Every year as the season comes up, I put on my big boy pants and stand up to lead my teammates. I always try to keep as much people as I can in shape, by getting them to come out during open gym to work on some technical sessions, conditioning, speed and agility, and most importantly, build team chemistry. We try to hold regular meetings at least once a week in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes down to information, things we need to work on in practice, and sometimes just to hang out and get to know each other more. We put a lot of emphasis on the conditioning component because of a couple reasons. For one, conditioning is a character test. I personally do not enjoy conditioning but it is such a vital part of the game that I need to set my mentality right and see it as just any other drill. Two, when the whole team is in good shape-at least for game level- new players can fit in easily due to the fact that their mentality is set right from the conditioning and they are forced to believe that anything in life can be achieved with hard work, dedication and commitment. What I enjoy most about the "pre season" part of the regular season is the hype, love, and commitment all the players bring in to training everyday.  

We talk about regular soccer stuff such as going against a defender, scoring a hat trick in a sub state final, scoring the equalizing goal on a state championship game, or assisting the game winning goal of the championship. We're big on talking about the fans and running into them after scoring the game winning goal against a rival. One of the things we think about the most is debating whether or not we're getting new jerseys and other equipment for soccer, and not to forget on pitching ideas on what the new soccer posters are going to look like.  After all the fun chatter and hype, it all comes down to one thing, making varsity and actually earning a spot on the starting lineup. We never let out our true feelings on a goals of starting during the season, or who our main opponents (teammates playing the same position hoping to earn a spot on the starting lineup) are and what work needs to be done in order to achieve that goal. It is true that everyone on the team wants to win state and have a good record but we tend to neglect the fact that we fell in love with the beautiful game by playing. Everyone wants to have as much playing time as possible and contribute to the team's success to the best of their ability. 

My teammates and I look forward to the upcoming season and all the ups and downs it will bring along with it. We hope to end the regular season with a great record, win our sub state division, win the state championship, and get a couple of players on the first team all state roster. It will definitely be a hard season due to the amount of competition we have this year whether it be in our own team or opponents. The 2016 soccer season is going to be our year to shine and we are going to redeem what we've worked for. 

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