Challenging Myself

I have been challenged to elevate my game. I have challenged myself (although I am sure that my teammates would appreciate it if I became better as well). Therefore, here is my plan for improvement.
• Spin kicking is incredibly important. I always knew that, but I am realizing that I really need to become better at it to reach another level.
• Of course, I need to improve at playing in reverse. Since I have a limited range of motion, this is a slight problem, but many other players have overcome it so I will just need to work harder than most.
• One of my new pet projects that is sort of related to number one is a 180° spin kick. A little bit different than the average 90° spin kick and a little more difficult, but I think I can develop it.
• Ball control is an important part of the game. I have decent ball control, but I do fall into the trap of having the ball go too fast and letting it get away from me.
Now y'all know some of my main weaknesses (a Texan accent doesn't do much for me I guess). As you can tell, these skills encompass most of power soccer. Go ahead and exploit them tomorrow night. It will force me to develop them.

Fun at the Clinic!

I know I normally write in the morning. However, I wanted to write tonight because I figured I could write a little bit about what I did this afternoon. I made the trek down to Bethlehem, New Hampshire with my family to attend a power soccer clinic with Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country. Jerry Frick of the United States Power Soccer Association came up to introduce the game to the new team in New Hampshire, but I figured that I would go down to brush up on my fundamentals. I have heard Jerry referred to as "the Godfather of power soccer," so any time that I can go and learn more about the game from him, I am more than ready to go. It was a really fun time though! It is so great to be seeing another team coming together, and it brought me back to the excitement of when I first started playing power soccer. I didn't have any experience, but it was great to be able to finally compete in a sport. Similarly, I could tell that these players were excited to finally have this opportunity, so I hope that they're able to continue working and enjoying themselves. There is definitely potential there, and I look forward to playing with them more in the future!

A Death of a Legend

Finally it is Friday! I don't know about you guys, but it has been a good week, but I thought it went by very slowly. Anyway, most of you should be aware that Sparky Anderson passed away. The Hall Of Fame manager was 76 years old. To say that he was just another good manager is definitely selling him short. He was the first manager to win a World Series in both leagues and as I found out recently, he is the only manager to lead two different franchises in career wins. Apparently, I should have had a tighter bond with him. Again as I recently found out, he only played one season in the Major Leagues, but that one year he played in Philadelphia in 1959. Of course, his claim to fame was managing The Big Red Machine in the mid-70s with the likes of Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan patrolling in the field. Some people would say that it would be impossible to lose with that team, but managing a team of superstars has its own dilemmas, and he obviously handed them very well. Although he resigned in the mid-90s, Anderson is still remembered today as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Photo from http://detectovision.com/pics/sparky.JPG

Key to Growth

So if I think about the state of power soccer, I am very encouraged by what I see. New teams are growing around the country and if you watch the level of play from five years as compared to games from last year, there is such a difference. Sometimes we can fall into popular myth that games do not evolve and mature. However, the game is growing. It is not like a team will end up on top and then decide to stop working. They continue to elevate their game as well so there is a perpetual improvement that just comes naturally as the game grows. On a similar way, every team wants to challenge the champion. Therefore, they will continue to develop and hopefully become more and more competitive. This cycle is definitely not unique to power soccer. I think about baseball had a similar process. As pitchers became bigger and stronger with modern workout techniques and better nutrition, they threw harder. Because of this, the batters had to catch up and therefore raised the level of the game to level that it had not been not before. So that is my challenge for today, think about how you can elevate their game.

A Bit Random

Well, I think it is time to concede defeat in the Vermont gubernatorial race. After spending no money and creating one amazing slogan, I guess it wasn't enough. I'm not really sure who I am conceding to yet, but I didn't want all of my supporters to be in suspense much longer.

In other news, it looks like Randy Moss has gotten himself kicked off another team as he was waived by the Vikings. Not a great year in Minnesota in terms of football. Brett Favre has been definitely less than stellar. Well, they had a good baseball team for the year. Also, speaking of waived players, former UVM standout Marqus Blakely is now playing for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA Developmental League. Not quite the NBA, but since he was drafted 12th overall in the league, he should be one of the first players to get a call from the NBA at some point in the season. How awesome would it be to have a UVM athlete in the NBA? It has never happened before, but I think that this is the time. UVM has been improving every year, and Blakely was in the middle of it all.
Photo by Hotash on Flickr

Baseball Crowns Giants

Well, today is election day. By the end of today we will have all of our traditional advertisements back wanting us to buy products and services that we don't really need. Don't you miss those commercials? Anyway, everyone should write me in as the gubernatorial candidate. That would be pretty awesome. So remember, Get Sch-mart with Schmoll!

It is an important day in sports. A new champion has been crowned in Major League Baseball. The Giants have not won the World Series since 1954, so I guess they were due. However, I wish they wouldn't have had to go through the Phillies to get there. It seems like everybody folded as they played the Giants. The Rangers are a lot better than they played just like the Phillies are a lot better than they played. Oh well, now we just have to wait until next year to regain the crown of Major League Baseball. You know it will happen. The Phillies know that they're good enough to win it all again, so all they need now is to do it. That might be slightly more difficult without Jayson Werth, as I assume he'll sign somewhere else, but it definitely can be done!

Power Soccer Coming Up in New Hampshire

So, I think that everyone will know that tomorrow is Election Day. It is a pretty exciting day I will admit, but because of that, we can't have power soccer practice tonight. Seriously, what is more important, power soccer or politics? I think the answer is obvious, but most people in the government would disagree with this. Anyway, that is regrettable, but it's not too bad for me because my chair still needs a little bit of tweaking. Nothing too major, I just need the seat adjusted a little bit. It's too bad though that we can't practice because we are slowly becoming a team. I've noticed that people are beginning to understand how each individual player plays and how to best use each others' talent. However, we will pick up right where we left off I am sure. Also, I am not really sure where my readership is from, but our friends in New Hampshire are having a scrimmage next weekend at the Hamel Center at UNH. I'm sure they would appreciate the support. They're playing a game against a team from Canton, Massachusetts, and I have never seen them play, but I bet that it will be a very competitive game!