"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Life the life you imagined"

I feel like so much happens all the time. Everyday something new and exciting happens. Where do I even start? This past Sunday was another Swedish Holiday.  The swedes celebrate the last day of April and the beginning of May. Everyone is excited because spring is here and summer is on its way.  In Gavle, they had a big Bonn fire and fireworks. All of Sweden was out! I love the different traditions;  Swedes always come up with a good reason to celebrate and really enjoy life!

This past week I got a call from the English school in town.  They heard about me coaching in the schools and they wanted me to come in for an interview for a PE position.  The school was beautiful; the facilities are great.  I met with the academic coordinator and the vice principle.  It was a nice conversation! They asked me about my background and wanted to hear in detail about some of my experiences.  They asked me what my philosophy was. I told them  that first, I want to challenge my players and  create an environment that will help them solve the different challenges thrown at them.  Then pick out points of success and then most importantly create an environment that is fun! My main focus is on the development of the whole athlete, physically, psychologically, and socially.  The academic coordinator agreed with what I said. She told me that their main focus is that they want to show the kids that they are capable of so much more than they think they are.  Their philosophises matched my own.  I really enjoyed this interview.  Who knows what could happen. I will hear in a few weeks if I got the job.  I think it would be a really good experience. 

While I was in this interview, all I could think about was my youth team.  There are some good players on this team but the biggest problem they have is psychological.  Why are people afraid to be great? Why is it that the person who gets in your way the most is yourself?  I had a meeting with my team Wednesday and I asked them "Why are you here?" "Why do you play the game?" I told them every time you step onto the field you should give it your best.  If you don't give your best, even in everyday life then why do it? Why waste time? I have this mentality ingrained in me and I get it from my parents.  They work so hard at everything they do; I learned from example. They showed me what hard work looks like and always believed in me when no one else did. They used to tell me, "Even if you are a garbage worker, you be the best garbage worker you can be!" I told my girls the same thing.  Wednesday's practice was a turning point. I want to change things around.  I'm treating this team as if they were professionals. I have many different ideas to help them get to the level I want them to be at. stay tuned for more.

In other news, my team tied our first game 1-1, now we have our first home game tomorrow.  Brynasvallen is the name of our field and I absolutely love it!! It is ours and I'm proud to call it home.  The field is real grass and our locker rooms are awesome! Everyone was so excited to be back at Brynasvallen; I love the pride of our home that everyone has taken on.  It has been a good week at practice. At training yesterday, it was cold and rainy but it was such a fun practice; We played, worked on some fancy free kicks and corner kicks, did some shooting and a few of the girls were speaking a lot of Swedish to me; I'm getting better but I still have a ways to go. My teammates are awesome! All I can say is that after the training I felt an overwhelming surge of joy; I get to do what I love everyday with some great people!  I'm having so much fun and I am excited to play at home tomorrow! We are ready for this game and are going to capture three points!!