Happenings

Good morning, tis the last and final day of the present decade. Crazy to think both macro and microscopically.. how much has happened in the world in ten years, and how much I have personally grown, both physically and mentally. If you would have asked me when I was 9, this time ten years ago, the day before the millennium, who do you see yourself as in ten years, I would have never dreamed of the life I have right now. I love it. Every little thing about it. Twists, turns, shoots, and long ladders.. life has taken it’s time on me. Now an ex-division 1 college soccer player? I would have never thunk-it. But I’m so grateful for everything.

College.

Well, as I have mentioned in previous posts, I am indeed transferring to the University of Georgia, effective January 7th (next Thursday). A (large) basket full of injuries, which were rehabbed and recovered, then re-injured, became very frustrating for me as a student athlete. I was forced to personally think about my college experience and prioritize everything in my life. Unfortunately, my soccer career at the highest level has now passed its peak. But man, oh man, what a sweet ride it was.

Soccer.

Soccer is one of the most influential (if not the most influential) single thing of my childhood, and has shaped my character and personality to what they are today. Ever since my Dad had a soccer ball in my crib as a one day old newborn, I was destined for the game. Going with my Mom to watch my Dad’s games every weekend as a toddler and older (and apparently walking on the game field at one game.. oops!), I grew up with a passion for soccer. I started playing at age three or four in the Mount Pisgah Fall and Spring leagues, and played rec-ball there until age 9. The last season, my team, who I had played with since around age 7, won the league by such a huge margin, that they asked us not to come back for the next season.. we were kind of good. (My team also had a current soccer player at Virginia Tech and a  current guard for the Clemson Tigers). Fun times. At age ten, soccer changed for the best. Starting at U-10, select (or travel) soccer begins. I tried out and joined the Alpharetta Eagles soccer club as a play up (meaning I was really a U-9, but played U-10).

I played with The Alpharetta Eagles until U-12, and then my team transferred over to the Norcross Fury because the Eagle club disbanded. However, in other soccer endeavors, during my U-13 season, I was eligible to try out for the Georgia ODP (Olympic Development Program) team, which is essence, is just the state team. ODP, at the time, was the official program for identifying and selecting the best youth players around the country, for a chance to play with the US National Team. My Dad and I had talked about ODP since I was probably 7 or 8, and now it was finally here. I remember my try out so vividly. A cold night at the Lovejoy soccer fields. The ODP coaches had us do twenty to thirty minutes of pretty difficult fitness at the start of the tryout, I was very fit, but I guess my nerves got the best of me, because right after the fitness, I upchucked everything in my stomach. However, after that, the coaches put us into groups of 5 or 6, for about two hours of small-sided games (which is the best way to identify players at a tryout, the small-sidedness puts a “light” on each player, because it’s much more condensed and compact). The next night I got a call from the coach, and he told me I had made the team! It was a dream come true. I continued to play with the Georgia ODP team until my age groups’ final year at the U-16 level.

I stopped playing up at the end of my U-13 season, and stayed to play U-13 again, at my own age group. I had to leave my select team that I had played with for many seasons. I looked at two different clubs at my own age group, and played with both before selecting GSA (Gwinnett Soccer Association), who had just won the State Championship in Georgia at the U-12 age group. I consider my GSA team, the primary team of my youth. I spent more time traveling and training with this team than any other. The golden years at GSA were quite golden. With a very deep and talented team at the time, we won two State Championships in a row, a state semi-final appearance, and then a state final appearance. We won three consecutive Atlanta Cup championships, and travelled to the prestigious Jefferson Cup, Disney Showcase, and Raleigh Shootouts. We played many, many games, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be coached by awesome coaches and play with such great soccer players. (The likes of UCF, UAB, Michigan, Wake Forest, Vermont, Memphis, and many others). My U-17 season was the last season in select soccer. I decided to change clubs for the last time, in an effort to get more noticed by college coaches (as my new team was playing in the Red Bull National League, a college coach hot spot), as well as practice and play closer to home. After many phone calls, emails, and a couple of visits, I decided to commit with The Eagles of Winthrop University, who at the time had just made an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Throughout my club soccer, I was also the center midfielder for my high school team, the Northview Titans. My senior season, I was a co-captain, and our team went to the State playoffs for the first time in school history, and even beat the eventual state champions on our way.At my last state cup, my team the Atlanta Fire, played up an age group at the State Championships, but lost in the championship match 2-1.

Sorry for the long long post, but I just felt like sharing a little glimpse of my soccer career, as I played many many games throughout this closing decade, from 2000-2009.

The New.

So, as life continues, I move in to my new apartment in Athens this Saturday. My Dad and I made a trip yesterday, and signed the sublease, which runs through July. It’s about 2 or three blocks from the UGA campus, and I’m PUMPED! I’m rooming with a guy I know from high school, who is also a transfer this semester too. It’s gonna be so sweet.