From AYSO to a Mens Indoor League - My Soccer Journey
Posted by En Fuego | Filed under Uncategorized
After a 12 year break I have returned to play the game that I regrettably quit. Growing up soccer was a major part of life. My youth soccer days were split between California and Utah. While in California, although I was young, I remember taking the game very serious. Why? because I knew at the end of the season, if I scored a lot of goals, I would make the all-star team and they would give me a cool sweat suit with my name and number on it.
My dad coached every one of my teams and I will forever remember those moments we shared together. I remember the team banners my mom would make that we would proudly hang behind our bench each game. I remember trying to decide what our team name should be, we always came up with something unique like Orange Crush, The Fighting Shamrocks, or the Purple Dragons. And their is everyone’s favorite memory, sliced oranges at half time. I remember scoring the winning goal and having my dad carry me off the field on his shoulders, and of course who canÕt forget the pizza party after the game. It seemed to be a sport I excelled at and one I could see myself playing for a long time.
When I moved to Utah I continued to play but found it more difficult because soccer season conflicted with baseball season (my true love). Before high school I was able to get away with playing both even though the seasons happened during the same time of year. However, my freshman year I was forced to make a decision between soccer and baseball. As I weighed the pros and cons the major reason that lead me to chose baseball over soccer was merely the fact that you ran a lot less. I preferred shagging balls over running wind sprints. Having the baseball field right next to the soccer field in high school I remember watching the soccer games between plays in the baseball games wondering if I had made the wrong decision. I loved when soccer balls were kicked onto our field during a game and I was able to show off my leg and boot it back. At the end of my senior year my doubt was put at ease when I received an offer to play college baseball, not to mention our high school soccer team ended up having the first defeated season in school history. My first year of college baseball I dislocated my shoulder, forcing me to have a surgery that would end my baseball career. Shortly after I left to live in Argentina for a couple of years.
While in Argentina my love for soccer was rekindled. I loved playing with kids on their dirt fields with nothing but a rag ball. In our spare time we would organize pickup games with locals. One of the first things people would want to talk to me about was the world famous Argentine National soccer team, and of course, their savior Diego Maradona. By the time I left Argentina I had come to realize soccer was much more than game. It was passion, a way of life, for not only for the Argentine people, but for the millions of players, and fans world wide. When I returned to the states I couldnÕt wait to get out on the soccer field and wear my Argentine National jersey with pride. I quickly got involved in weekly pick up games and have been trying to play whenever possible.
ItÕs been four years now since I returned home from Argentina and although the past years have been filled with countless pickup games at parks and churches, tonight I make my glorious return to competitive futbËœl. A group of friends and I put together an men’s league indoor team. There will be no team banners, no sliced oranges, and most likely no team pizza party after our 11:15pm game. There will however be an overwhelming feeling of excitement as I return to the game IÕve fallen back in love with!
Tags: AYSO, Baseball, futbol, indoor soccer, pick up soccer, pickup soccer, soccer, soccer fields, Soccer Team
5 Responses to “From AYSO to a Mens Indoor League - My Soccer Journey”
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kkirkland Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 6:44 pmThat is funny. I had the same experience only I chose soccer over baseball. Also its too bad you had to learn about soccer in Argentina when you could have just crossed the border and learned from the experts in Chile.
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ckirkland Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 6:52 pmLa mano de Dios
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Zane Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 7:16 pmWow! How emotional!
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Christian Hansen Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 10:06 pmGreat story and good luck tonight. I think both of my little brothers, who both decided to play high school baseball, play for your team. So like I said, “good luck.”
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DJ Conner Says:
November 11th, 2008 at 11:14 pmYou should have stuck with soccer bro.
