Life as a coach
Coaching for TikiTaka has been better than I expected! I am
working with Tyresö, Vendelsö and starting a new project with Olympen Skolan!
My first day with Vendelso we were short one coach. I asked one of my best friends and my old
Swedish teammate at Florida Southern, Hanna Jansson if she could join. When I first sent the message out Hanna
responded right away and even left her work early. We arrived to the field, met the coaches and
worked with the Vendelsö girls. The players were awesome and Hanna was absolutely
incredible with the kids. The energy was high, the session was fun and it was
truly special. It had a nice Swedish
American twist that was unique because it was a session run by two girl
coaches. We received nothing but
extremely positive feedback and were on a high after the session!
We were waiting for the bus back and then the bus did not
stop for us… I guess the driver didn’t see us. It took my “high” away a little
bit because it was late, cold and I was ready to be home but then my wise
friend Hanna said, “If we are going to have to wait we might as well make the
best of it. Lets train!!” (My high came back) We started running sprints behind
the bus stop, did some quick feet on the sidewalk, squats and core. It was so much fun and it made me happy we
missed the bus! When something doesn’t go right something better might come
along. I am happy that bus did not stop for us.
I enjoyed every second of those 15 minutes we had to wait!
On the subway I could not help smiling thinking about the
session, “missing the bus”, and Hanna. My mind brought me back to when I first
met Hanna. She came on a recruiting visit to Florida Southern and stayed for a
whole week. Hanna and I hit it off right away.
When she was leaving to go back to Sweden I was also leaving to go on
Spring break. We were sitting in the terminal together and I was talking to her
about coming to Florida, soccer and everything. We probably talked for two
hours. Hanna came to Florida Southern and I have some of my best memories with
her. Now look at us. We are in Sweden
and get to coach together. It amazes me!!
There are some people
that come into your life that you don’t want to ever let go of. They are
special people that you know you will always be friends with no matter where
life takes you; friends that you know will always find a way to do anything for
you and will always be there… I am lucky to say I found a lot of those people
at Florida Southern and a lot of them live right here in Sweden; Hanna is one
of them!
Life as a player
Yesterday was our series premier!!! I was ready for the game and
I could sense my team was as well! Our
first challenge was against Tierp! I have played Tierp in the past and they are
a strong team.
The warm up was good and I felt ready to go. The first
whistle blew and Tierp was in control. They scored early on and 20 minutes into
the game it was 3-0. We regrouped and fought back and finished the second
half. I was nervous but I refuse to give
up and not go for it. What do you have
to lose if you don’t go for it? If you don’t put your whole self out there? Take
the chance? Fight until the very end? Give everything you have? I was focused on getting one goal; once we
got one, go for the next and so on; just take it one step at a time.
My team came out in the second half as a new team! We
created chances and scored an incredible goal. We combined to the end line, the
ball was cut back and it was finished perfectly by our forward Tyra. Tierp had
some dangerous corners but our keeper took control! With about ten minutes left
of the game. Fanny (our left back) and I ran a short corner and chipped it to
Isabelle who found the back of the net. My blood was really pumping at this
point. I grabbed the ball from the net and sprinted back to midfield. Tierp was
nervous now and they became quite frantic. We had a few more chances but did
not finish. The game ended 3-2.. I don’t like losing but in this case I almost
feel like we did not lose. I was so proud to be apart of my team. I was so
proud of how everyone fought back and really went until the final whistle.
Tierp is a solid team with some talented players I think it is an extremely
positive sign for the season. We are
one, we are one Gustafs and together we are going to go very far.
Before the game I got a text from boss Borje from TikiTaka.
He said, “Njut OCH känn Glädje” “Enjoy
and feel happiness” There were a lot of people at the game yesterday and a lot
of my old teammates from Gavle. It was so nice seeing them all!! After the game I felt like my team and I
could hold our heads up high. I really
enjoyed playing; it was an intense and exciting match. I felt a sense of happiness that just made me
love this great game even more! It is
about enjoying the game, feeling happiness, and spreading it so others such as
teammates, players, and fans can feel the same joy.
Extra
I was in the newspaper the other day. Here is the link to the article.
*I have been extremely busy and am behind on some of my
blogs but they are coming up soon!!
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