Glad Påsk Happy Easter!!!!

Thursday morning I ventured back to Stockholm to spend Easter with one of my best friends Therese.  When I first arrived Therese, Helena, Linda, Patrick and I met for lunch at Wagamammas.  It is a Thai place and I have been to this same restaurant when I lived out in Boston. It brought back good memories.  The food was great and it was an amazing start with an amazing group of people.

Next Therese and I went to her apartment.  She lives about a ten minute train ride from the city.  It is such a nice place and the view from her balcony is awesome! It looks out onto two beautiful soccer fields. We also had the honor of having the great Puff (her dog) with us the whole time.  I have met him once before and I have heard so much about Puff when I was in Florida.  It was so great spending good quality time with him.  He is quite a character and just as great as I imagined. 

 
It has been an eventful Easter. Therese and I went to Spin class.  I loved it. It was a great workout and it was funny taking the class in Swedish.  We went to ICA (the grocery store) Therese's ICA was huge!! It was sweet because they were selling waffles outside and they had free samples all over the place.  I love Sweden! That night we made a lamb roast, with salad, potatoes and an amazing sauce!!! Therese is an incredible cook! In Florida she made some of the greatest meals. The food was delicious! We had dinner with two of her friends and then the next day had a Swedish traditional Sill lunch.  I met more of her friends at this lunch and we ate so much sill. Sill is raw herring in different sauces.  The herring is best with potatoes and hard bread.  The fish looks kind of strange but I actually really like it! It was a lovely lunch and a great night with Therese and her friends. They were all so nice and it was so cool to meet people that she grew up with! I met one of Therese's friends Louise   during my sophomore year in Florida; it was four years ago but when I saw her it felt like I had seen her just yesterday. It was so nice to see her again. It is so cool to see her now in Sweden.  You really never know where you will end up in the world. 

 

 

Saturday was a relaxing day which involved movies, a trip to IKEA and Chilis, tons of food and a trip downtown to say happy birthday to Patrik and catch up with Givi.

Overall, It was a great Easter weekend; One of the best I have had and I could not ask a better way to spend it over here. Thank you for everything Therese!!

To top off this amazing weekend.  Sweden is now welcoming Leah Blayney into their country today!!  Leah is going to be playing for Eskilstuna. When I was home we trained quite a bit together.  I love training with her; Leah is just as intense as I am. She is an incredible player; one of the best I have played with.  I know she will tear it up over here! Välkommen till Sverige!! Welcome to Sweden!!

Leah and I met a few years back playing for Soccerplus and clicked right away.  We both got sent out to play in Boston for the Boston Aztecs and I was invited to live with Leah and Karise's host family.  It was by far one of the most amazing summers I have ever had!!! We had a host mom (Cheryl) and we were constantly picking on her two kids Marisa and Maddie. Plus they had an amazing dog; Brady. Leah, Karise and I lived in the basement and called it the pig pen. I cant describe how much fun the summer was.  The soccer was awesome but the family we created out there is something special.  I love them all! Im excited for our new adventures to come!! Leah put a video together for me as a gift before leaving for Finland.  This video is just a small peak of all activities we created and all the trouble we may have caused out in Boston.

Now I am thinking back on Easter last year.. I usually don't go home for Easter because of soccer but last year I went home because it would be my last chance to before I left for Finland.  Martina my old roommate and best friend came to my house for Easter to celebrate as well.  She tried to surprise me but my mom spilled the beans.  She is not very good at keeping secrets like that.  Its pretty funny! The day before Easter my family threw a going away party; my whole town, the pig pen crew, old friends, teammates all came and it was one of the best nights I have ever had. When Easter day came my whole family was pretty tired to say the least.. My mom looked up some Swedish traditions for Martina and found that the Swedish tradition consists of a folktale where witches fly around to this blue mountain to meet the devil.  Swedish children dress up as witches with scarves around their heads, and their faces painted; they make Easter cards and go around to different houses in exchange for candy. Families will then have a bon fires at night to get rid of the witches and their evil spirits.  You can also find feathers on trees as a sign of Easter.  I have seen it everywhere here and it is really cool. The typical swedish easter food is Salmon, Patatoes and eggs.  My mom, being very creative, made a blue mountain decorated it with peeps and then in a vase we put feathers on sticks. I made some salmon and she had scarves at the dinner table. We wore them around our heads to represent the witches.  It was an unforgettable Easter.  It was so much fun learning how other cultures celebrate the holidays!

 

Wherever you are in the world and however you celebrate your Easter day, I hope everyone has an incredible day.  Happy Easter!

"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." Jim Valvano

This past Saturday was definitely an adventure! we had a game verse Gamla Uppsala.  A few of our players were missing due to school, injuries, and work so Friday night we only had nine players.  Helena and Linda were going to come watch.  I called them and told her that it would be ok if they did not want to come to this game because we were short on numbers.  Helena told me to ask Linda to play.  Shortly after, I got a few texts from my teammates asking if my friends could play.  I called Linda and she said she would play but she did not have any cleats.  I found her cleats and we were good to go.  We now had eleven players with Linda for the game.

I woke up Saturday morning and there was snow on the ground.  It was absolutely freezing; literally 0 degrees with wind.  We left for the field and got a little lost.  Helena and Linda got there before us.  While they were waiting, they were watching Gamla Uppsala's coaches shovel the field;  they decided to help.  When we pulled up I was trying not to break into hysterics when I found them both shoveling the field. They are the best!

We then tried to get into the locker room but the keys did not work so Linda, Helena, my team and I hopped in the cars again and went to another facility to get ready.  I was so happy Helena got to be in the locker room with us as well. After the pre game talk we ventured back to the fields. 

Linda told me she did not know how good she was going to do because she hasn't played in awhile, but I knew she was going to do great! She always does! My coach played her at right mid. The weather was intense; it was really cold and very windy, but the snow was all off the field (thanks to Linda and Helena) and the sun did come out. 

Throughout the game I thought we had the most possession; especially in the back. We created some good opportunities. In the start of the second half we went down early 1-0. Shortly after,  Mikis, our outside back made a good run forward and played me a ball, I then played a through ball to our left mid Fanny and she sent a great cross to Linda, who finished off a beautiful header!!! It was a fantastic goal!  She celebrated and I jumped into her arms.

 At the moment I had flashback from my college career.  Freshman year, Linda and I were roommates on an away trip.  In our room we were flying from bed to bed like superman; taking pictures and just having a great time.  The next day in the game Linda sent me this beautiful cross and I scored off of a diving header.  Right after I scored my coach took Linda and I out.  As he was coming up to congratulate me on my goal  Linda came running over to me and said "Jackie, Jackie its because of what we did in bed last night.." Without thinking anything of it I said back "Yes, Your right!" My coach looked at us turned around and said he did not want to know. We both got it then and just started to crack up. Later on, I told her what I thought after she scored and she thought the same thing!

 Linda is an incredible player. Its always amazing being on the same field as her.  She is very smart, easy to play with and we work so well together.  Some of my best memories on and off the field are with her.  It is so cool to me that we got to play in Sweden together!! I felt like we started where we left off; like we have never stopped playing together.

The game ended 1-1.  It was so cold but I almost did not want it to end. The game went by fast; I was having so much fun. My team went through a lot of adversity throughout this whole experience but I thought we dealt with it really well!

 Helena, Linda and I seem to always go on some crazy adventures and I'm glad we experienced this one together.  Martina's friends, Lara and Cecilia came to watch us play out in the cold as well.  I was so happy they came and it was so nice to see them all! It meant so much and it was great having them all there!

After the game Helena, Linda and I ventured to Stockholm.  We were all exhausted and passed out on the train.  We met up with my American friends Tessa and Katie.  They are both playing in Sweden as well; they are playing for Mallbacken.  I met Tessa in Finland last year.  She played on the other team in town; KF10 and we became friends.  Katie and I worked together at soccerplus camps for a few years. Now they are roommates in Sweden playing for the same team and they are going to meet me and my friends in Stockholm.  My worlds are colliding and I love it!!!!  It was an unbelievable night. 

 

Sunday we slept in, had good old American food at TGIF's, went jewelry shopping and then went to this museum. The museum had exhibits of different talented photographers.  I liked Steve Schapiro's work! He had a neat background and has documented pictures of Martin Luther King Jr, Muhammad Ali, and the movie The God father (my family favorite) The main exhibit was of pictures that depicted the story of the Kony soldiers.  It was intense...  I thought it was horrible when I read about it but when you actually see it, it gives you a whole different perspective on how bad the situation really is.

Sunday night I headed back to Gavle.  On the train back I was just thinking about everything that happened over the weekend and tried not to smile at random;  I felt like so much happened. Besides all the events, I got some important news from back home...My friends Christina Crooks and Jay Prock are now engaged!! I played with Crooks at Florida Southern.  She was the captain of the team and hands down was one of the best leaders I have ever had. What she has, you cant teach.  It was an honor sharing the midfield with her.  She was not only an amazing soccer player but an amazing person as well! She means so much to me and I am beyond happy for both her and Jay!Congratulations!!! I love you guys!

 I always try and make everyday my "best" day but there are some days that always tend to stick out in my head.  They are the ones that are above and beyond the rest. I cant even describe in words how great the day was on Saturday and how awesome the night was. The whole weekend was unforgettable! More adventures to come!

"Plagiarism"

Plagiarism, comes from a Latin verb that means, “to kidnap.” If you plagiarize "you’re kidnapping and stealing others work." This word is usually associated with a negative tone but I think when it comes to coaching it should have a positive tone.  I have plagiarised from every coach I have ever had.  As a player, I have had many different coaches with many different styles.  I have literally had some of the best coaches and the world and I think some of the worst.  I have taken something from every one of them.  I learned what not to do from some coaches and I copied the ways of the great ones. I have written down so many different exercises and brought them to my own teams and players. I have "kidnapped" many different ideas and used them to create my own unique coaching style.  
The second best thing to playing is coaching! I have been coaching for a long time.  I started with a U10 boys team my Junior year in high school. It was a travel team in my town; Hampshire United.  Before taking on the team I had heard many different things about this particular group of boys, but I was up for the challenge.  They were incredible; they absorbed everything I threw at them and each one of them gave it there all every practice.  The games were fun; they put on a show and were always willing to play outside of their comfort zone and try new things.  We ended up winning the championship and it was definitely one of my most memorable soccer moments.  I can remember it vividly; it was just a U10 game but it felt like it was a World Cup final. They were a special team.  Shortly after the season I left for college and I had not seen them in a long time.  I was home last Easter.. It was six years later and I saw all the boys... First of all, the last time I saw them they were shorter than me.. Now, they are in high school, have deep voices and are way taller than me.  It was great to see them and I was proud to know that they were all still playing! Its amazing how a moment or a season like that can impact someones life so much!

In Florida I started training kids one on one.  I started out with this eight year old at the time; Daniel.  Daniel is highly skilled for his age and I greatly enjoyed training him.  His family started giving my name out to his teammates and they all started to call me.  I went from coaching one kid one on one to coaching eight kids one on one. I then got involved with the Lakeland soccer club and was the head coach and trainer for the U14 girls and the U16 girls.  Later on, I got contacted by another club; Lake Wales soccer club. I was the trainer for the U14 girls and the head coach for the U18 girls team.  To say the least I was extremely busy when I was in Florida! I felt like there was not enough hours in the day to finish everything I wanted to do.  After training with my own college team, I was literally jumping from session to session every night. It was intense at times but I loved it!!  I got to use my coaching experiences for my senior seminar course. It also allowed me to pay all my bills and more! I could not of asked for a better job. It was extremely rewarding and a great way to try out new styles and techniques.  I experimented and learned a lot.

 I got really close to some of the kids and their families. I was in Florida this past February visiting, training and going for my next national coaching license.  While I was there I trained a few of my old players.  It was so nice to see them. I was proud to see that they have continued to invest in their development.  All of them have bright futures ahead of them.

The coaching course was great! It was in Palm Bay.  There were about 50 guys and only five girls.  A few of the girls went to Florida Tech.  We have played each other so many times! It was always a great game against them and it was neat to meet them in another environment.  They are going to be great coaches as well! It is cool how small the soccer world can be.

 In the course we had a few written exams, an oral exam and were given topics and the instructors evaluated our coaching. My first topic was "when and how to dribble" (my favorite) My session went extremely well and I got some great feedback from my instructor.  I saw many different styles and learned so much when the other coaches were coaching as well. We went over everything from field size, to numbers, to topic related activities. I made so many contacts and I will definitely keep in touch with all of them when I am ready to start my own soccer club.
    
Im still learning so much.  I feel like coaching has made me a better soccer player myself because I have to really dissect all the different aspects of the game to teach it.  Im learning just as much as the players.  During my summers in college I worked as a staff coach for Tony Dicicco's soccerplus camps.  I played for their club, I was a five year camper and coached for three years. As a player I knew how the club was run in and out.  I also worked in the office.  I experienced every aspect when it came down to how a club and camp is run. It was neat to be on the other side of it.  When I started coaching for them they helped me find the "coaching moment" They have an incredible program and a lot of my coaching philosophy comes from them.

 When I was out in Boston with the Aztecs, I also had a few one on ones and ran some clinics.  The sessions out in Boston were always fun and intense.  I revised the new drills I had learned during my own trainings to compensate for some of the younger players and it was successful.

In Finland I coached at the GBK soccer camp and ran a weekly clinic for a middle school.  It was great and a rewarding experience because I had to teach kids that could not speak a word of English.  This was probably one of my favorite sessions because; very few words were spoken but we completely understood one another.  Soccer is a universal language.

Before I came out to Sweden I helped out my old coach Chris Bart Williams with Western United extreme.  I trained with the girls and I observed his sessions. He uses the same methods on the younger girls that he had used on my team when I had him as a coach on the Soccerplus CT Reds. It was great to be around him again. I gained so many new ideas. I used his different methods in my coaching course and I am going to use them in Sweden as well. 


I feel like I could right a book on my coaching experiences alone.  I have so many stories to tell. They will all be in my book one day. Now I am in Sweden and I have started coaching the youth team for IFK Gavle, and I am coaching in three different schools.  So far it has been awesome! My first time coaching for one of the schools  I put both boys and girls through a creative warm up I learned throughout my playing career.  They loved it and seemed to really enjoy themselves.  At each of the schools I take the girls and the other coaches take the boys. The other coaches are great and all the players seem really into the game. I think I can help them get to the next level .  I hope I can give back what has been done to me and make a positive impact on all of the players here!

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it."

This past Saturday we had a friendly game verse Gustafs GoIF.  Gustafs is a good side and they are ranked pretty high in D1.  It was a home game and I thought it was perfect soccer weather.  In the first half we connected well at times but did not get to many chances on goal.  Gustafs had very few chances as well but ended up finishing of a corner kick making it 1-0 at the half. 


In the second half I thought we really turned it on.  We had chance after chance. We were holding possession all over the field.  I had a few looks at goal, I hit the cross bar.. (I should stop playing crossbar in practice)  Gustafs could not get a hold of the ball and they rarely crossed into our defensive third.  We created numerous scoring opportunities but just could not find the back of the net.  The game ended 1-0.  I never like to lose but I have to say this game was just a fun game to play in.  I felt like it went by so fast; I did not want it to end.  I thought everyone played really well and I thought we played well as a team. 

The girls told me they lost to this team last year 7-1.. Gustufs won 1-0 this past Saturday but I thought we were the better team and should have won by a few goals. Soccer is a crazy game sometimes but I absolutely love it. This game was a good sign for us, we are continuing to develop as a team; everyday gets better and better.  I'm proud to be apart of this team; they are such an awesome group on and off the field!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure..."

Last saturday I had my first friendly game with the team. It was an away game against Tierp. While we were driving to the game I was looking out the window and just listening to my ipod.  My mind was clear and I was in the moment.

 We got the locker room and the coaches brought in all this gear.  They had warm up jerseys, warm up jackets, pants, winter jackets, leggings, gloves, hats, and of course our uniforms.  We give all this stuff back at the end of the game so they can wash it. After the game they brought in food for sandwiches, yogurt, fruit and juice.  I loved it! The quickest way to my heart is through food.  I know this may seem like a minor detail but I thought that was pretty cool.

 

I started at defensive center mid.  The game was pretty intense.  We scored first and then they scored shortly after.  We scored again and they tied it up making it 2-2. These first few goals came one after the other.  Ive learned from many coaches that goals are most likely to be scored in the first five minutes of each half, the last five minutes of each half and the first five minutes after a goal is scored.  I have experienced this first hand and that is exactly what happened with the first four goals of the game. 

The second half we exploited Tierp's weaknesses and finished every chance we got.  We scored some really classy goals and ended up winning 6-2. Tierp was a good test and I felt like it was a really good first game. Everyone worked hard and played well. There were moments throughout the game that we connected extremely well. I think once we keep getting to know each other and figure out how everyone likes to play we will be able to connect all over the field.  You could see it transpiring just from the first half to the second half.  I feel like every time we step on the field together it will get better and better.  This was an exciting game and a very good step for us as a team.  I'm excited to play again on Saturday.

After the game I took a trip out to Stockholm for St. Patricks day to spend the rest of the weekend with my college friends; Helena, Linda and Therese.  I arrived to an amazing dinner and had an incredible night. St. Patricks day is celebrated in a big way in the U.S. and now the Swedes are also joining in on the Irish festivities. I had a ton of fun with them.  It was a great ending to a great weekend!!

Last Friday I got the official word that I was headed to Sweden.  My new adventure is in Gavle. I'm playing for IFK Gavle. Its about two hours north of Stockholm. I packed up my things and I was on a plane Sunday night.  The flight was great. I only had one very short layover in Frankfurt and I arrived in Stockholm Sunday morning.  Two girls on my team  met me at the train station and brought me to my new temporary home.  I am living with a family.  The family lives down stairs and I am living upstairs with two other students. The students are really nice!  We each have our own room but share a kitchen and a bathroom.  I rarely see the family, it is basically like our own apartment upstairs. I will be living here for a few weeks until my apartment is ready.

Monday night I went to my first practice.  It was a fitness practice; we went through a circuit.  It was pretty good and it felt great to run around after traveling for so long.  The girls on my team are great! There is another American on the team as well. She is from San Fransisco and her name is Jamie. Everyone is so nice.  I have to say I have never met a mean Swede; I don't think they exist.  Besides playing in Sweden, I will be coaching the U15 girls in the youth club and I will be the "football" trainer in three of the schools.

 Tuesday I went to introduce myself and observe the girls I will be coaching.  The other coach of the team came up to me in the middle of the practice handed me a ball and said he read my blog.  He saw my video and wanted me to juggle in front of the girls.  I thought it was funny.  I took the ball and performed. Here is my old video from Finland.

 The girls all seem really into the game and from what I see they have a lot of potential.  I have my first session with them next Tuesday.  I'm excited to coach them! I had practice right after the girls practice.  We started out with a fitness test.  We had to run 30 meters and back.  Down and back was one and we had to see how many we could get in seven minutes.  I take great pride in my fitness and I thought everyone on the team did really well. 

Wednesday we had practice at the Stadium; Strömvallen.  It is beautiful.  We started out with one vs. ones (my favorite) and did a lot of playing afterwards.  It was pretty cold but we were moving around so much I did not even notice it.  It started snowing on us towards the end of practice. The practice was great! I had so much fun!!



Thursday we had a day off so I took a trip to Uppsala to visit my lovely friend Helena! She is studying there.  We met for lunch, walked around and then had a "fika" before she had to go to class. A fika is a midday coffee break from work. (I love the Swedish lifestyle)  It was so nice to see her! All of my Swedish friends from Florida Southern are some of the greatest people I have ever met; they are my best friends and like family to me.  I am so happy that I am living so close to all of them again!!

After the amazing visit I went to a Hockey game with a few of the girls.  Brynas IF is the team in Gavle, they were playing forlunda.  It was an incredible game.  Brynas scored in overtime making it 4-3.  I had so much fun. The Swedish cheers were awesome and the whole environment was incredible. It was truly an amazing day.

We have practice again tonight and an early scrimmage tomorrow in Tierp.  I think the team is looking good and I can not wait to play in a game. This morning I went to the stadium and juggled and kicked around a little bit.  The weather was beautiful and I was juggling in this beautiful stadium.  I stopped for a moment and just looked around.  I absorbed it all in and I am just so grateful to be playing. I'm living a fantastic dream. I have seen this before; At that moment knew I was in the right place and I could not be happier.

I feel like I have so much to write and I have a lot of more stories and updates coming very soon.