Additional Post:2 Soccer Wednesday

"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching." -Anson Dorrance  

(In the picture to the left: I made my break away from the defender. I had already passed her up and the only way she would be able to stop me would've been a slide tackle, to regain possession of the ball. As I ran passed her she slid and was only able to get my feet causing me to trip and fall badly. The ref called it a foul because the defender did not go for the ball but for my feet instead. As a result I was full of dirt.)

Two weeks ago, my team (Spain) and I had a game, if we won we would make it to the finals. It was a tough battle as you can see in the picture to the left. We all had the determination to win. My team and I had so many chances to score, but as the minutes grew less and less, we finally scored a goal......winning the game!! 

Last Sunday we lost to the top team on our league, Chelsea. It was unfortunate, but we have to learn from our mistakes. We know what we have to work on coming into the finals, like finalizing or first and last touches and practice goal scoring plays.

               

    On Wednesday I had soccer practice with the Southlands Girls and Boys Soccer Team. We train together. In our practices we focus on training and conditioning. We started practice running to an adjecent soccer park from Southlands a couple of miles away.(but it felt like a 3 mile run.) As we arrived to our destination ( the soccer field) we did 5 sets of sprints, back and forth from the width of the field. To top it off we had to run back to Southlands and continued our exercise. We did 3 sets of suicides, which are sprinting as fast as you can from cone A  to Cone B, then back to cone A to cone C. All the way to the furthest cone. That's a set. We had to do about 3 sets.We then did lunges from the closest cone to the farthest cone. My mentor Coach Tipton, wants us to be fit and able to last all 90 minutes on the field. We will be doing conditioning/sprinting exercises for practice this month, before we get touches on the ball. I have learned the types of exercises I could do to become faster and being able to last 90 minutes in a soccer game. I will use it to my advantage and keep practicing for my team.                      

          

We practice with the guys...it makes us more aggressive

That same Wednesday, I had soccer practice with my other soccer team Spain. We practiced on changing direction quickly with and without a ball. Then we had a scrimmage with the guys. It was a challenge! My team ended up winning, I scored one of the goals. Every Wednesday my day will consist of two soccer practices for mentorship that will help my team and I improve.

Now on to the finals...(:

Blog 6: Second Interview

Content:

1. I'm still looking for a mentor. I wanted to adjust my topic a little bit, instead of doing athletic training I was thinking of changing it to improving or becoming a better soccer team. My mentor would be my soccer coach Jaime Fuentes. He has a team named Spain in the Pomona United League that plays every Sunday.

2. Questions I would ask for my interview 2 would be:

• What got you interested in coaching an all-girls soccer team?
• What process did you take to become a certified soccer coach?
• What do you like best of coaching a soccer team? What would you change, if you could?
• What is your coaching philosophy? How does it differ from other soccer coaches?
• What is your most rewarding moment as a soccer coach?
• What lessons do you try and teach your players to take off the field?

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ

Content:

1. One of the most positive things that happened was that I am now have some knowledge of what ligaments my sister tore from her injury and how that injury happened. She torn a little bit of her ACL and her meniscus which causes her knee to be locked when trying to straighten it. Everything I have learned is really interesting and I want to know more about my topic. The research I have found has helped me know the different types of injuries a soccer player can get.

2. One piece of research that has really helped is the book by Ronald P. Pfeiffer called Concepts of Athletic Training. It has helped me because it's everything you need to know about an athletic trainer, for example knowing the human anatomy, the laws of sports injury and evaluation. I haven't finished reading the book, but so far it's a good book.

3. What has worked for me so far in the senior project is finding good research every week and my topic in general because it is something I am planning on doing as a career.

4. Unfortunately what hasn't worked for me is finding an athletic trainer as a mentor. Also it's slightly hard to find research that doesn't involve trials or just reports. I have to go more in depth with my research which is good so it evens out.

5. Working EQ

•  What is the best way for an athletic trainer to treat soccer injuries among athletes?
• For mentorship I am trying to contact the athletic trainer from Diamond Ranch High School. Mr. Paulson also holds classes for students that are interested in Athletic Training or Sports Medicine, so it wouldn't be too impossible to volunteer there. If that doesn't work out as planned then I would ask the Athletic Trainer of Ganesha High School if it would be possible.