Saturday, July 18, 2009
A New Chapter and A New Country
At the moment I am currently sitting in my hotel room full of emotions. You see to weeks ago I was back home, enjoying summer in Central Oregon planning on heading back to Chiropractic School, content and happy with my soccer experience in Europe. I had given it my best shot, well God really has no intention of making things predictable, becuase just over a week ago I recieved an email from an agent I had been in contact with in Germany. He said he had a professional Opportunity for me in Estonia (now if you are like me I had to google that.......haha......it is actually just south of Finland in Northeastern Europe). They play in the Meistrleague in Estonia, the top professional league there. And the offer on the table if I could be there within a week was a flat and living expenses covered and 400-500 euro a month to start, with 1000-2000 euro a month possible later on if I make a serious impact. So as a result I am sitting in my hotel in Frankfurt Germany, full of excitement, full of nerves and full of wonder of what is to come. It is all on me now.......will I play well enough to earn the spot on the team and the contract on the table and officially start my professional soccer career? I truly thank God that I even have this opportunity in front of me, I would never have dreamed of soccer taking me where it has. I will find out soon enough as I am going to be flying to Tartu, Estonia in the morning set to begin training on Monday!!! I will keep you all posted.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Still Kickin!!!!
Hey everyone!!!! Hope everyone out there is excited for summer to be upon us. Seems like the good weather is finally sticking around here in Germany. Spring and Summer is really quite beautiful here.
Anyway.....Shoot....I am sorry it has been so long since my last update....I am sure you are all just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what is happening with me....haha. Well I am been through a lot of ups and downs over the past couple of months, it has been stressful and frustrating at times but am learning more and more about myself through these bumps in the road. But in all honesty life would be pretty boring if everything went as planned or expected and that has truly been the story of my life as of late.
The most significant and stressful event was about a month ago, I had to move out of my previous living situation, and only had a weekend to find something or I had to go home. I still do not know exactly what the reason was, it was very weird and completely out of nowhere. But God has a plan for everything and he showed that to me first hand. With the help of contacts through my team I found a room with a family who owns a Greek Restaurant. So I get a room food and a little bit of work, when I dont have training, about 80 euro a week, and I am not paying anything. So it is actually a better deal, and all in all far less stressful.
Well in terms of soccer last time you heard from me we were getting ready to start the second half of the season and that I was playing well in the friendly games leading up to that. Well I came off of the bench in the first official game, assist the goal that put us ahead 2-1 then 5 minutes later got a sent off for a late tackel....yeah a red card, I really had no malicious intentions but the ref saw it differently. So because of that I missed 3 games, which sucks cause there were only 12 games remaining, but on the switch side of things I did not have to stress about missing a couple games because I was invited on a trip to go to Belgium with a group of american players. So we spent a week and a half in Belgium and we play 3 1st division teams and a 3rd division team there. That was an awesome experience, and got some great exposure from that, and some awesome contact, and overall I had a blast!!!
Then it was back to Germany, I sat out the remainder of suspension, man anyone who has played soccer competitively can feel me on this when I say the time goes by sooo slow when you know you can play but you cant!!!! But I made it through. And have been playing well since. Often starting but when guys come down from the 1st team I am usually the first sub into the game. Till now I have played in 10 games and have 5 starts and 1 goal and 1 assist. Now I have been playing Outside Right Midfield which I do ok at but my postition is up front and it is there that I feel I am most effective. Now I do well and usually play up front in training but the coach does not sub either of our forwards out ever, they play 90 min every game. So that has been a bit frustrating, but you got to roll with it. And I love playing here and the atmousphere is unreal even at this level. But the season is coming to an end and I have to figure what I want to do with my life now.
There are some possibilities pending for tryouts this summer, through a few agents I have been in touch with the past few months, so I am waiting to hear if anything opens up through them. I could come back here, I have a pretty good living situation, and a possibility for a work visa and a job through the team if I want to stay, but at the same time, I am still not sure if I would be starting every game, which is important to me if I was to stay. Also at the same time, I have come to realize that it is a pretty long shot that I would ever make a real living playing soccer here. At 25 I am just a little to old and do not bring enough to the table, so there is a big part of me that in leaning toward heading back to school. So there is a lot of thing up in the air, but no matter what happens I do not and will not have any regrets, I truly gave it my all.
I will keep you all updated and let you know where things end up in the next couple of weeks.
Take care and God Bless.
Anyway.....Shoot....I am sorry it has been so long since my last update....I am sure you are all just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what is happening with me....haha. Well I am been through a lot of ups and downs over the past couple of months, it has been stressful and frustrating at times but am learning more and more about myself through these bumps in the road. But in all honesty life would be pretty boring if everything went as planned or expected and that has truly been the story of my life as of late.
The most significant and stressful event was about a month ago, I had to move out of my previous living situation, and only had a weekend to find something or I had to go home. I still do not know exactly what the reason was, it was very weird and completely out of nowhere. But God has a plan for everything and he showed that to me first hand. With the help of contacts through my team I found a room with a family who owns a Greek Restaurant. So I get a room food and a little bit of work, when I dont have training, about 80 euro a week, and I am not paying anything. So it is actually a better deal, and all in all far less stressful.
Well in terms of soccer last time you heard from me we were getting ready to start the second half of the season and that I was playing well in the friendly games leading up to that. Well I came off of the bench in the first official game, assist the goal that put us ahead 2-1 then 5 minutes later got a sent off for a late tackel....yeah a red card, I really had no malicious intentions but the ref saw it differently. So because of that I missed 3 games, which sucks cause there were only 12 games remaining, but on the switch side of things I did not have to stress about missing a couple games because I was invited on a trip to go to Belgium with a group of american players. So we spent a week and a half in Belgium and we play 3 1st division teams and a 3rd division team there. That was an awesome experience, and got some great exposure from that, and some awesome contact, and overall I had a blast!!!
Then it was back to Germany, I sat out the remainder of suspension, man anyone who has played soccer competitively can feel me on this when I say the time goes by sooo slow when you know you can play but you cant!!!! But I made it through. And have been playing well since. Often starting but when guys come down from the 1st team I am usually the first sub into the game. Till now I have played in 10 games and have 5 starts and 1 goal and 1 assist. Now I have been playing Outside Right Midfield which I do ok at but my postition is up front and it is there that I feel I am most effective. Now I do well and usually play up front in training but the coach does not sub either of our forwards out ever, they play 90 min every game. So that has been a bit frustrating, but you got to roll with it. And I love playing here and the atmousphere is unreal even at this level. But the season is coming to an end and I have to figure what I want to do with my life now.
There are some possibilities pending for tryouts this summer, through a few agents I have been in touch with the past few months, so I am waiting to hear if anything opens up through them. I could come back here, I have a pretty good living situation, and a possibility for a work visa and a job through the team if I want to stay, but at the same time, I am still not sure if I would be starting every game, which is important to me if I was to stay. Also at the same time, I have come to realize that it is a pretty long shot that I would ever make a real living playing soccer here. At 25 I am just a little to old and do not bring enough to the table, so there is a big part of me that in leaning toward heading back to school. So there is a lot of thing up in the air, but no matter what happens I do not and will not have any regrets, I truly gave it my all.
I will keep you all updated and let you know where things end up in the next couple of weeks.
Take care and God Bless.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Back In Germany........
Hello everyone, it has been a while!!!! I was home in Oregon for a few months for the holidays and to save up some money. But I am now back in Germany. I flew in February 1st and started training with the team here February 2nd. Didnt waste any time....haha
And it has been quite a different experience coming back after having lived here for 3 months. Things are no longer foreign anymore, I felt like I even understood the language better than when I left. Oh and it is absolutely freezing cold and very wet this time of year here. But it does seem like the weather is starting to turn and get a bit warmer. It has been great to see and hang out with my friends here.
But most of all I am so excited to be back here in Germany in the pursuit of my ultimate dream......"PLAYING PROFESSINAL SOCCER".....But trust me as much as I love the sport this is certainly one of the most difficult and challenging endeavours that I have ever attemted. You see playing soccer at this level is no longer just for fun it's a business, although don't get me wrong I still have a blast when I am playing, but there are very high expectations and you have to be consistent and get results everytime you step onto the pitch. And I have to tell you, that is probably 75% or greater of the eaquation of whether or not you succeed at the professional level. I know I have the stregth, speed, and technique to play professional soccer, but can I perform well consistently, and can I perform best when the team needs it most. And being 25 years old that is absolutely essential to my success, because I am not worth the money at my age if the team has to wait for me to develop.
Now for all of you who may not be up to date with everything. When I was first here I was only training with the team, because I was waiting on my german players card, and I would be eligible to play by January 1. Well.......IT SHOWED UP......WOOHOO....no more waiting, except for the weather to get better so the season can start....there's always something else, isnt there? And the team that am playing with here is an amature team that plays at in the 6th league here in Germany, they are also the reserve squad for a 4th league/semi-pro team. So that is my goal by the end of the season, to be playing with or getting looks by the first team if I am going to continue to stay here in Germany.
BUT something new just came into the picture for me this last week, I have been speaking with and Pro Soccer Consulting agency for the past few months since I have been playing here in germany. And they have envited me along with 18 other players from the US to attend a soccer tour in Belgium. We will play 4 to 5 games against 1st, 2nd and 3rd League professional teams from Belgium and Holland. All which many coaches have been envited to attend. So this is an incredible opportunity to get some professional exposure and potentially open up even more doors for me or possibly even get a professional contract. No matter what I will be playing with and against players at a very high level of soccer, so no matter what it will be very good experience for me and give me a good idea if I have what it takes to make it at the professional level here in Europe and also back home in the US. And if nothing immediate comes out of it, I will continue playing which FC Bamberg in Germany through the end of May and see where that goes.
I have been working hard and am truly giving this opportunity everything I have. And I know that if professional soccer is in my future things will start opening up in the next few months. And if not, I am also looking forward to getting back to Chiropractic school and continuing towards my passion and career in Sports Medicine.
As always I will continue to keep everyone posted on what is going on and def fill me in on your thoughts and everything that is going on in your lives. I enjoy hearing from everyone.
And it has been quite a different experience coming back after having lived here for 3 months. Things are no longer foreign anymore, I felt like I even understood the language better than when I left. Oh and it is absolutely freezing cold and very wet this time of year here. But it does seem like the weather is starting to turn and get a bit warmer. It has been great to see and hang out with my friends here.
But most of all I am so excited to be back here in Germany in the pursuit of my ultimate dream......"PLAYING PROFESSINAL SOCCER".....But trust me as much as I love the sport this is certainly one of the most difficult and challenging endeavours that I have ever attemted. You see playing soccer at this level is no longer just for fun it's a business, although don't get me wrong I still have a blast when I am playing, but there are very high expectations and you have to be consistent and get results everytime you step onto the pitch. And I have to tell you, that is probably 75% or greater of the eaquation of whether or not you succeed at the professional level. I know I have the stregth, speed, and technique to play professional soccer, but can I perform well consistently, and can I perform best when the team needs it most. And being 25 years old that is absolutely essential to my success, because I am not worth the money at my age if the team has to wait for me to develop.
Now for all of you who may not be up to date with everything. When I was first here I was only training with the team, because I was waiting on my german players card, and I would be eligible to play by January 1. Well.......IT SHOWED UP......WOOHOO....no more waiting, except for the weather to get better so the season can start....there's always something else, isnt there? And the team that am playing with here is an amature team that plays at in the 6th league here in Germany, they are also the reserve squad for a 4th league/semi-pro team. So that is my goal by the end of the season, to be playing with or getting looks by the first team if I am going to continue to stay here in Germany.
BUT something new just came into the picture for me this last week, I have been speaking with and Pro Soccer Consulting agency for the past few months since I have been playing here in germany. And they have envited me along with 18 other players from the US to attend a soccer tour in Belgium. We will play 4 to 5 games against 1st, 2nd and 3rd League professional teams from Belgium and Holland. All which many coaches have been envited to attend. So this is an incredible opportunity to get some professional exposure and potentially open up even more doors for me or possibly even get a professional contract. No matter what I will be playing with and against players at a very high level of soccer, so no matter what it will be very good experience for me and give me a good idea if I have what it takes to make it at the professional level here in Europe and also back home in the US. And if nothing immediate comes out of it, I will continue playing which FC Bamberg in Germany through the end of May and see where that goes.
I have been working hard and am truly giving this opportunity everything I have. And I know that if professional soccer is in my future things will start opening up in the next few months. And if not, I am also looking forward to getting back to Chiropractic school and continuing towards my passion and career in Sports Medicine.
As always I will continue to keep everyone posted on what is going on and def fill me in on your thoughts and everything that is going on in your lives. I enjoy hearing from everyone.
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