I joined a summer league soccer team, and today was our first game. We tied 2-2. We were down 1-0 at half, then went down 2-0 twenty minutes into the second half, but then Alex scored two goals within the last 10 minutes to bring us back level. In fact, he narrowly missed the game winner with about 3 minutes remaining.
Alex is an inspiration to me. He's 42 years old, and what he's lost in speed with his age, he's gained in wisdom. He's so smart with the ball. He's always in the right position to make a difference in the play, he makes sublime passes, he keeps himself out of trouble, and occasionally (as in, when we're down 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining), he turns it up a notch with sudden bursts of speed and/or amazing dribbling displays that leaves even young players picking up their shorts. Simply amazing.
I played 30 minutes each half. In the first half I played very well: didn't make any mistakes. I made a couple good passes, came back on defence, had a shot on net (it was blocked), and was always in position to contribute. I came off, sat for about 30 minutes (including halftime) and by the time the coach asked me to go back on I was cold and stiff. My passes were off, I couldn't trap a simple ball, and my marker consistently beat me to the ball. I was completely useless out there. It also has to do with positioning. In the first half I played centre-mid, my favourite position (and the one I'm best suited for). In the second half I played on the wing, where I felt completely lost and isolated.
I really want to keep playing, but I'm worried about my knee. I can handle casual soccer saturdays with the soccerinos, but this league is a couple notches up, and I'm not sure I can keep up with these guys. My knee is just too weak.
Alex is an inspiration to me. He's 42 years old, and what he's lost in speed with his age, he's gained in wisdom. He's so smart with the ball. He's always in the right position to make a difference in the play, he makes sublime passes, he keeps himself out of trouble, and occasionally (as in, when we're down 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining), he turns it up a notch with sudden bursts of speed and/or amazing dribbling displays that leaves even young players picking up their shorts. Simply amazing.
I played 30 minutes each half. In the first half I played very well: didn't make any mistakes. I made a couple good passes, came back on defence, had a shot on net (it was blocked), and was always in position to contribute. I came off, sat for about 30 minutes (including halftime) and by the time the coach asked me to go back on I was cold and stiff. My passes were off, I couldn't trap a simple ball, and my marker consistently beat me to the ball. I was completely useless out there. It also has to do with positioning. In the first half I played centre-mid, my favourite position (and the one I'm best suited for). In the second half I played on the wing, where I felt completely lost and isolated.
I really want to keep playing, but I'm worried about my knee. I can handle casual soccer saturdays with the soccerinos, but this league is a couple notches up, and I'm not sure I can keep up with these guys. My knee is just too weak.
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