"Nothing is learned from success" African Proverb

This past week we had two games; one against Stromsbro and another verse Bele Barkarlaby.  We tied both games. I'm glad we came away with the point but I felt like we deserved to win.

 After the game I had some flashbacks of certain events in my college career.  I feel like  my mind is like my own personal movie theater; sometimes I can just place myself in different events in my life. The images are so vivid.  I don't know why my mind works like it does but after the game  my mind brought me back to my personal finance class. My teacher always said to the class "Nothing is learned from success" Its an old African proverb. I could see myself sitting in the business building listening to my professor give us some life lessons.  There is so much truth to that quote and I have seen it within my own life experiences.  My mind then jumped around and brought me back to my Sophomore year in college.  My team at Florida Southern  was incredible!! I felt like my team was always special but I could not see anyone beating us my sophomore year.   We had a rough start and started the season 2-2..  we realized that it was a bump in a road. we came together and ended up going on a 11 game win streak!!! It was unbelievable.

I am a firm believer in the the thought that your actions are a product of your thoughts.  What you think and see is what you become! I think the psychological part of the game is so important.  I have created my own personal highlight tape in my mind.  I go back to different events within on my career when I was successful and I take in the environment.  I always notice the small details; how I felt, the weather, the fans, the ball, my teammates, etc. I do this in hope that I will be able to replicate and play my best game.  I believe if you can see yourself being successful you will be successful; the mind is very powerful!

I felt good thinking about that particular season at Florida Southern and it made me feel better.  I saw myself and my team as a very successful team. I saw us fail but then I saw us overcome the failure.  I remember everything, the environment, the people, the other teams reactions, and the whole feeling of each win. I can picture my self now playing in the middle with Christina Crooks and Erin Hopkins. I could hear our center back Ashlie Haas giving me direction after playing me the ball.  I can picture our speedy outside backs Lexie Bottomly and Kristen Volmer making runs up and down the flank.  The whole team connected so well all over the field.  I remember watching the highlight videos; a few goals we scored started from Martina our goal keeper.  Every person on the field was involved.  It was 'sexy' savvy soccer.  I remember Princess Haley our forward scoring the winning goal in double overtime to beat St. Leo for the first time in school history.  I remember  all my teammates, coaches, and fans rushing to her in celebration.  That feeling of the win gives me the chills right now. 

We may not have started to season as we liked but we regrouped and had one of the most successful seasons in Florida Southern history! Every time we stepped onto the field we came with the attitude that we were going to win.  Losing was not an option; If the other team scored three goals we were going to score four.

 IFK Gavle reminds me of my team Sophomore year. I see similar personalities all over the field.  We did not have the start we would have liked but I can sense we are on our way to a very successful season and it starts with the game against Hille today! Nu kor Vi!!! 

"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!!

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius

Monday.. What do most people think when it is Monday? For most people, Monday's  are a downer because it means the weekend is over and its time to go back to work.  So far in Sweden I have never had a case of the "Monday's" I wake up every morning excited for the new day's tasks and adventures.  I am enjoying what I am doing so much! This past Monday I experimented; I tried some new ideas on my school kids and it went extremely well and the girls seemed to really enjoy the session. 

  In my coaching course in Florida they empathized that exercises should be simple and game like.  I'm trying to use the progression and other things I learned in the course to create my practice sessions. My session was on speed of play with a focus on communication and movement off the ball. For this session, I set up a 40 by 40 grid and that's the space we worked with the whole time.

  Communication can make the game so much easier.  Girls (myself included) can talk all day off the field but once they are on the field its silent.  We trained the simple commands of "turn" and "man on." I expanded my vocabulary and learned that "turn" in Swedish is "vän" and "man on" is "akta rygg".

The session went from playing with no pressure, to adding a little pressure and then to two verse two.  They got a point if the were able to successfully get the ball from one side the other.  The  next step was having the girls combine with their teammate before playing it to the outside.  Throughout these exercises, I talked about movement off the ball and the importance of changing your speed when you are checking for the ball.  They all really grasped and absorbed everything I was saying; the intensity was high and the soccer was beautiful.  I almost wish I could have recorded the girls; they really put on a clinic.  I was going to end with a game going to goal but I lost track of time. We did not have enough time to play...  Time management is one thing I need to work on. I get so excited sometimes; I tend to lose track of time.

 I ran this same session on my next school and made sure I had enough time to play.  I think the game is the best teacher and I wanted to see if my exercises would transfer in a game like situation.  I found that the movement off the ball was much better but the communication still needs work. 

I could feel myself develop as a coach during this session. When I evaluated the players, I noticed I still need to get the girls out of the habit of admiring their pass and to communicate on the field. I got really good feedback on the session;  now I'm going back to the books to create something that will help them reach the next level as a player and also to help myself reach the next level as a coach.

"What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights within us is so great!"

Last Friday the weather was crazy; it snowed all day.. We had practice and when we got to the field it was covered in snow! You could not see any green.. We still practiced! I had so much fun and I was not even that cold.  Snow balls were thrown and a snow man was built! We started out with some technical training, did some ladders and then played the rest of the practice.

 I felt like I was playing in the sand and it reminded me of beach soccer.  I love playing soccer on the beach!! When I would go to the beach with my family I would always juggle in the sand and jump in every pick up game I could.  It was great and I have met so many people.   In Florida, when I went to the beach with my friends, I always brought a ball and we always played.

 It is a different type of game in the sand and it was the same in the snow on Friday. When you would pass the ball it would get stuck or not go very far.  Juggling comes in handy and the snow almost makes it easier to do some crazy little tricks, flicks and adds a whole new creative element to the game.  I had a blast playing in the snow! Everyone was sliding everywhere, there were some fancy goals scored and a ton of laughter in the process. 


After the practice I took a deep breath and was just so happy I could take a deep breath. When I was in high school; every October I would start to go down hill when the weather started to get cold.  Halloween would always be a turning point for me.. It was like clockwork; my lungs would get the worst of me from October to March every year.  I did not do well in the cold. I was always fighting; it was a constant battle. I would have to take treatments at the half times of games and their were countless emergency room visits. When it was winter in Massachusetts; just walking to my car or up the stairs was like running a marathon. It was like their was an elephant sitting on my chest at all times.



 I went to school in Florida because I did really well in the warm weather and my lungs have healed. Now I can play in the cold with not one problem. I feel so healthy and strong!  I think I was on a natural high during this past Friday's practice.. I went from hoping I would be strong enough to make it through a practice or game to being able to play 100% without even flinching! It was cold out and I could breath!!!

"Dancing queen, Feel the beat from the tambourine,You can dance,You can jive, Having the time of your life, See that girl, Watch that scene, Dig in the dancing queen" Abba

I come from a family full of DJ's; there is always music playing in my house.  My whole family loves music and are always the first ones to start dancing at any party.  When I was younger I danced for nine years; I quit when I was 13 because I became extremely committed to soccer.  I think coming from a family full of DJ's and my dancing career was a big reason why I excelled in soccer.  In dance I learned how to use both sides of my body and have full control. I also gained some rhythm and foot work.  I brought all of this to the field.

  On one of my first club teams my my coach would bring out his speakers and play music.  It was these African drums and he make up a whole dribbling and juggling routine to the beat. He mixed my two favorite things; soccer and music. I feel in love with this!! One year at soccerplus we did "soccer aerobics" as well.  They had the techno music blasting and we were getting so many touches on the ball.  At Florida Southern we did "Soccercise" which was my coach's version of the dance.  I have learned so many different "dances" on the ball from all my coaches.  I have combined everything that I have learned to create my own routine to teach my players. 

Tuesday I brought speakers to the youth training.  The play list I made consisted of some Swedish music, techno, today's hits and some classics.  The girls saw the speakers and asked me "Ska vi dansar?" (Are we going to dance?) I said, "Ja, Vi ska dansa! (We are going to dance) They looked a little confused but I gave them each a ball, blasted the music and the great dance began.  It was an
extremely technical session and much of what I did with them they have never done before, but they seemed to love it! (I still think I was having more fun then them though) I was very impressed with their willingness to try the new things I was throwing at them and I think they really gained alot from this session.  The next step is to transfer this particular rhythm to the field! 

To me soccer is a dance; it is a beautiful dance! Games are full of improvisation and many different rhythms. There are passing rhythms, shooting rhythms, dribbling rhythms, etc.  If you can get a team on the same rhythm it will be a creative and fun performance to watch.

Here is a fun video I found of the "great dance" Enjoy!

There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present." -Oogway

 This past Saturday we had our last training match before the premier. It was a home game verse Hudik.  The game was at stromvallen; the beautiful stadium in Gavle.

I woke up Saturday morning, look out my window and saw that it was snowing... The snow gods must have known we had a game again! Luckily it cleared up for the game and it was not to bad out.  April weather in Sweden has been crazy.  One minute it is gorgeous outside and the next minute there could be hail and snow. 

I had a good feeling about this game and I was excited to play at home.  In the first five minutes of the game I thought Hudik came out fast but we came out faster and harder.  The possession we had in the game was unbelievable! We were finding each other and making each other look good.  Defensively, we were working together all over the field.  We were playing with a very high pressure and moving together as one.  Hudik had very few chances. 

The first half ended 3-0. In the second half we scored early and the goals kept on coming.  You could tell Hudik was beaten and they just gave up.  The game ended 8-0.  It was a great win! Everyone all over the field was involved in every goal and it was just an overall great performance for IFK!!

After the game, our team went to the University in town to watch the Hockey game.  Brynas is the professional hockey team in Gavle and they are in the final series right now! The last time they won the championship was in 1992.  It is very exciting and the whole city of Gavle is behind them! It was so much fun watching the game with my team.  The food they had for us was incredible as well! The way to my heart is definitely through food! Brynas won the game! It was a good day for
sports in Gavle!

As I was sitting there eating this amazing food and watching the hockey game with my team I could not help but stop for a second and just take in the moment. I did not know what to do with myself.  The girls on my team are awesome! I'm just having so much fun. This was just another one of those great days.  I started to think back and flashback on different events in my past and I am just so happy with where I am in my life right now!

"Life is filled with peril, but somehow, with all the danger and prospects of failure, we have to maintain a reckless optimism. So lets dream the impossible dreams, a 'never-ending ascension' even when there is little evidence supporting it"

  Saturday we had an way game verse Edsbyn.   Edsbyn is a few hours north of Gavle.  It was sunny in Gavle but when we got to the field it was snowing.. We had a good warm up, everyone was focused and ready to play.  Right when the whistle blew we brought the intensity.  Sandra (our forward) started us off and scored a great goal with in the first five minutes.  The goals kept coming and every player was involved in every goal.  We won 8-0 but the goals we scored were quality finishes.  Everyone all  was composed and played well all over the field! It was a good result and a good performance. 


Some of the youth players I coach were called up to the game.  They did very well and I was proud that they stepped out of their comfort zones and played at a higher level.  It is great for their development as players.

 I see a lot of potential with the girls on the youth team.  They have the opportunity to train with my team as well.  Not many of them come to my team's trainings though.. Technically, they are very good but the biggest area they need to improve on is the psychological part of their game.

 I think the reason some of the youth players do not want to train with us is because they are afraid to look foolish and afraid to fail. Some of the girls are now starting to come to my team's training and I am proud of them.

 When I was younger, and even now I always wanted to play with older or better players because it was a challenge and I knew I would become a better player by doing so. Ive never learned anything from success; everything I have learned on the field and in life has been taught through failure. If you fall down you just have to get back up.
 
So my main message and goal to all of them  is to have the courage to try new things and  fail. I want them to get rid of their fear of failure. I want them to go out and express themselves; not care about what anyone thinks; just play with a sense of reckless abandonment. 

Here is a quote I found from Anson Dorrance awhile back.. I want to make a team out of the youth; no one is greater than the team but I also want to create "rebels" within the team.  I want each player to rebel in their own way.

"We all admire the individual who acts as a hero, fighting the other team on her own.  Team games are an attempt to suppress individuality, and yet the classically great soccer player is kind of a rebel against structure and cooperation.  In variable, the type who stands out is not the cooperative team player that athletics purports to admire. Its the Michelle Akers gimme-the-ball-and-Ill-get-it-done.  This shatters the classical concept of the team. Yet in order for an individual to demonstrate this type of rebellion, it must be done within the context of total team cooperation. Its a wonderful aspect of our sport, yet very bizarre!"