Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Click 'Listen Online' at the top of the this newsletter email and enjoy our Audio Newsletter feature 🎧

Good evening 👋

Kick Off Your Week with the Latest from the Soccer World! 

1. NWSL - All Goals Week 23

2. English Premier League - All Goals Week 8

3. History Making Match (Oct 2018) - Jamaica v Panama Qualifying World Cup Match 

For detailed match schedules and further updates, keep an eye on popular networks like beIN Sports, Fox Sports, Sky Sports, YouTube, ESPN+.

Here’s what you’ll find in this week newsletter :

• 😶Barefoot Player Community: New Ball Mastery Series Available on Skool

• 💪 The story of keeping your promises

Dive in and enjoy the latest updates and insights from the beautiful game. Happy reading 👋

What to look forward to in November:

Podcast with Asha James: beach soccer player and footballer who plays as a midfielder for Valadares Gaia in Portugal and for the Trinidad & Tobago Women’s Football Team. Her college soccer career took place at Florida International University and West Texas A&M.

Juggling Tips: Learn basic juggle patterns and touches to better your ball control through a new video series.

Foot Speed Series: Develop faster feet with our new video series. Drills can be used for all ages.

It was a brisk night on a beautiful pitch in Corvallis, Oregon. I laced my Copas and was thrilled for the task ahead. It was my freshman year and one of the most anticipated games of our non-conference season. Oregon is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. With towering pines, lots of cheerful people, and lights that made night time look bright, it seemed to me like Christmas arrived in September. I remembered having a lovely feeling inside as I stepped on the pitch at Oregon State. I was excited to work. The whistle blew and before I knew it, 90 minutes went by, the whistle blew again and it was 7-0. My world was rocked. I don’t even remember what happened in the game. All I knew was that everything felt off and we got played around like a bunch of cones. It seemed like goal after goal was coming and there was nothing we could do to stop them. Usually I remember what our coach says to us as he was never shy to deliver his thoughts about our performance, but oddly I didn’t remember anything. Maybe I was too lost calculating the events that unfolded in the game.

The next day at practice our seniors called us forth.

We all agreed that our performance was nothing short of awful. We all agreed that Oregon State was a top team and the game was challenging. We all agreed that no matter what happened in that game, we would move forward together as a team. We knew we had more in us. All of us understood this and agreed upon this.

Our senior captains let us know that they have our backs and that in order to move forward in a positive direction and get results, part of our play needed to be for one another. Our captains looked at us sternly and made us own up to our own individual responsibilities and help each other with their responsibilities as a collective.

On that day…

We vowed to die for each other on the field.

That was our mentality and commitment to each other and our play reflected that.

We had a wonderful relationship all around during my freshman year and it was quite a blessing. We made a promise to ourselves and to each other that we would play our hearts out. In honorable character, we could never break a promise. We left the field refreshed and refocused as the following day we faced the University of Oregon. Another tough team. We didn’t care about the scouting reports and results on paper. We didn’t know what the result of the game would be.

We did know that we made a promise to leave everything on the field and give everything ounce of what we had to ourselves, each other, and the game. I don’t remember the details of the game. I remember being physically exhausted and it was like I was fighting for my life, as many games felt that way. Right now, I had to search up the stat sheet to see exactly how the game played out. (I didn’t remember I scored but that was pretty cool to find.) We were up 2-0 in the first half. One goal scored against and it was anybody’s game. No wonder it felt like I was fighting for my life because we kept the game in our favor for an entire second half. Allowing one goal from the opponent in the 62nd minute, it was crunch time and one more goal would mean we gave the game away. We ended up winning.

I remember feeling so proud and so accomplished because we came together as one body and mind, and delivered on our vows.

The feeling was indescribable. Powerful. Before the whistle blew, we circled up, put our hands together and said, “I promise.” And, we have done it every game since in my freshman year. 

Source: https://static.fiusports.com/custompages/Stats/WSOC/2011/fiu08.pdf

One person can make a difference in the game but it is all players contributing together that make the biggest difference.

No matter your position or your role, if you’re a starter or a non-starter, if you are injured, or an equipment or team manager, you are one part of the whole body. The whole body cannot function without every part involved. You can have a head, but if you have no eyes, you cannot see. You can have arms, but if you have no hands, you cannot grasp. All parts must come together in oneness to become a driving force. Think about this the next time you step on the field with your teammates. Your spirits fused with one another make powerful moments happen in games. It seemed like we changed a team culture overnight because we were all connected to a single purpose.

I believe chemistry is one of the most important parts of a well-functioning and successful team. I remember literally having nothing left in me but knowing the soldier next to me needs me to recover for her, so I run 40 yards back to defend a ball when my legs have nothing to give and my mind is carrying my body weight. On the flip side, I knew that my teammates had my back and I could trust them when I needed help. You need to play for yourself first but understand that playing for something bigger than yourself opens another force within you and wills you to finish the task at hand.

Playing not only for myself but for my teammates did exactly that. In my freshman year at FIU, I was placed in the Sun Belt All Conference team and was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. I had no idea I was going to get those awards and they were not in my sights. I was just keeping the promise I made and these things came to me out of the blue.

Source: https://fiusports.typepad.com/the-prowl/2011/11/fiu-womens-soccer-wins-1st-round-5-on-all-sun-belt-team.html

Make a vow right now to yourself that you will give your heart in every game.

There is no measuring this. You will feel if you are dying for the game or if you are just counting the minutes that go by. You may be able to fake your heart to your parents, to your team, to your coach, to the spectators but deep down you know you cannot fake yourself out. You know when you have given everything that you literally have nothing left to give and you know when you left something on the table. When you don’t go all the way, there is a lingering sense of guilt that most of the time we try to push away and pretend that we don’t care or that it doesn’t bother us, but it does. And, that’s a weak response.

Don’t leave anything on the table.

Go big, get after it, and give your heart. Start the initiative within your team to make a promise to each other and hold each other accountable.

No matter what situations you will face, you are in this together. No one on my team was afraid to make each other own up to their own mistakes. We called each other out when we knew things weren’t right and could be done better. We held each other to a higher standard and we held ourselves to the same standards. Individually, we weren’t afraid to admit that we made mistakes ourselves. Be inspired to make and keep promises to die for your teammates. Your teammates need to know that you have their back–that they can count on you. And, you need to deliver on that promise and show up for them. Give it everything you got, watch your team dynamic change, and your individual growth skyrocket. 

(Thank you to all of the 2011 FIU women’s soccer seniors who bitched and barked at us and loved us hard. To April, Vicky, Kelly, Deana, Carly, and Courtney.)

I want to hear some stories about your experiences with teammates who ignited a fire in you or whom you were to die for and your relationships with them. Email me at [email protected] and I’d love to share your stories with others.