Fans are awesome

Someone in the crowd brought a vuvuzela to our soccer match today. It was awesome. 

Fans are truly awesome. And by that I mean team supporters, not the electric ones you turn on when it's hot. Why do they call them "fans" anyways? For any sports team out there, it's always 100 times better when fans came to watch and support you. The feeling of being on the field or court or track and hearing familiar voices shout out encouragement while you compete has got to be the best feeling in the world for any athlete. And spectators- don't forget that your presence is always appreciated! It may not seem like people notice you out of the crowd, but the teams do. It's so encouraging when other classmates have school spirit and take time out of their day to watch a game or match. I had that honor this evening to have a sizable crowd at our soccer match. So you know what, fan-with-the-vuvuzela? You just made my day.

Forget scoring, I want the "assist"

Take a moment and reflect on some of the joys in your life. Think about the things that you love to do, the things that truly make you happy not because it will earn you money or prove advantageous to you in any way, but because you think it is a worthwhile activity. What do you come up with?

For me, playing soccer is one the joys in my life. I've played on my school team since 7th grade, and though at times there is stress and competition and pain involved, it's a sport I truly love to play. There's nothing quite like making a full sprint down the field for the through ball or solidly tackling an opponent to force the turnover, or beating a defender and just striking the ball in the perfect spot for that sweet upper ninety goal. But for me personally, the greatest joy comes from providing the key assist in the heat of competition for a teammate to score.

For non-soccer players, forwards (also called strikers) like to keep track of two things during the season: One is the number of goals that they score, the other is the number of "assists" they get. Whenever a goal is a scored, the "assist" is awarded to the player who passed the ball to the player who scored (the goal is obviously awarded to whoever last touched the ball before it went into the net). It could be a through ball that is placed neatly through the defense, or the brilliant cross that the scorer heads into the net. The "assister" helps directly before the goal is scored, providing the opportunity for the scorer to score.

So why would a striker like me rather get an assist than a goal? I played our first scrimmage of the year yesterday against a really tough team. We did well to keep possession and look for opportunities, but to tell the truth there weren't many. At one point during the game I was able to receive the ball and turn upfield against a few defenders. I pushed the ball through a gap to my teammate, who ran onto the ball and went one-on-one against the keeper. He neatly finished, slotting the ball into the lower left corner, and I just went crazy- I turned around and sprinted towards him, almost tackling him as I wrapped him in a big victory hug. That's what I love most, that feeling of elation of helping to score a goal, then celebrating with the scorer for a job well done. As the scorer in a game I don't like to celebrate that much. I guess I don't like to come across as boastful or arrogant. But when I celebrate with a teammate for an assist, it's the genuine joy of making a beautiful play and succeeding in what the game is all about- scoring a goal.

And the more I thought about it after the game, the more I realized I should apply that thought to real life as well. Oftentimes we don't "celebrate" enough with our friends and family, going crazy over the things that they do well in, whether or not you had a part in their success. I actually feel very satisfied whenever I can "assist" someone in life, whether it's contributing my time, effort, or knowledge to aid them in their endeavors, despite the lack of "fame." I mean, goalscorers always get their name in the paper. They are the ones that people notice and remember. This isn't always the case for the "assisters," key players who brought about the opportunity but just didn't participate in that final glorifying moment. Defenders, I'm sure, know exactly what I'm talking about. And it's the same in real life, we don't always get recognized for that brilliant pass or discreet aid. But that's okay. As Christians we should seek to serve others as Jesus did, supporting people in ways that aren't always noticed. We should share the joy of others who succeed, and truly being happy for them, not just offering them congratulations and a pat on the back. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being the goalscorer from time to time. But other times we must learn to be proud to be the washer of other people's feet, to be the goal assister or defensive MVP of a game that often goes unrecognized.

Be Confident

It was the week of try outs that were held for JV soccer at our school. I was an upcoming freshman, good but not a star on the field, and to be honest, I was a little bit nervous. Our JV consists of both 9th and 10th graders, and though I was friendly with most of the sophomores, I knew most of them were still stronger and faster than me. Try outs went pretty smoothly- passing, foundations, keep away, I held my own and was even looking pretty good. But I wanted to impress the coach during the scrimmage. We moved the goals in and divided into three teams that rotated in and out. My team went in first. I played pretty well, especially in front of the other team and our coach that was watching, but then came the defining moment. All I remember was that I beat a defender, cut to the right, was within shooting range of the goal... and then passed it to a teammate.

Whistle. Play stopped and everyone froze. (You ever get that moment of plummeting dread because you know you're in trouble? Yup, that was it right there.)

"Mr. Lee, why didn't you shoot the ball?" I was trying to think of an answer while everyone was looking on. I said something about my teammate having a better chance of scoring than I did.

"I asked you why you didn't shoot the ball." I said I didn't know.

 "You do want to score?" Yes, I mumbled.

 "So why didn't you shoot?" I was probably turning bright red but I tried to remain stone-faced- I thought of the most reasonable and honest answer I could. I told him I didn't shoot because I wasn't confident enough.

"You weren't confident enough," my coach repeated. "Then get off the field," he promptly said. I walked to the sideline and sat out for the rest of the scrimmage.

That's still the story I remember to this day. A lot of things in life take confidence- taking a standardized test under time pressure, competing in any sort of sport, playing music at a concert, performing a solo, going to an interview... the list goes on and on. It's another "skill" that has to be trained because most people, like me, aren't born with it. Being a striker with a lot of skill but no confidence doesn't lead to goals. Likewise, a striker with confidence but no skill to back it up just comes across as arrogant. My JV coach made me a better player- harsh on me during try outs, but teaching me a lot throughout the season. He taught me how to be aggressive but not nasty. Confident on the ball but not cocky. And as a striker, I learned, it was okay to take chances. Be risky and mess up a few times. I started to shoot more, from farther away, and at every chance that I got. Some were terrible, going way over the crossbar or driveling on the ground for an easy save. But some were good- I scored goals. "The shot that you never take has a 0% chance of going in," my coach told me. "So have confidence and shoot the ball."

I'm remembering all this because soccer season officially starts tomorrow for me. Sure, I'm still a bit nervous about going through tryouts (even though it's my returning year for Varsity), but being able to hang out with my teammates again makes it a lot better. For anyone else out there who's starting a Fall sport, or even if you're daunted by another year of school, just remember to have confidence. In soccer, it's the one thing I have to work most on. It's something to remember on- and off- the field.

Kung Fu Soccer.... Volleyball?

Amazing. Just wanted to share how ridiculously good people can get at a certain skill or talent. In this case, it's doing flips and backward high kicks while playing volleyball with your feet. Kung Fu soccer? Most certainly in my book.

Music Memories

Music and memories... I still find it amazing how closely those two are entwined. It's like by hearing a song, you are immediately transported back to a certain event or memory in your life. You remember the exact emotions you felt during that time, and it's like the music has left an imprint on your life. It evokes a certain feeling every time you listen to it, something personal that is connected to the past.

I listen to "Gotta Get Thru This" by Daniel Bedingfield and automatically remember the summer of 2009, sitting in a crowded plane on the way to an awesome vacation in Taiwan. I had a headache, I was drinking ginger ale, and I vividly remember listening to the song. Or it's "Stronger" by Kayne West- whenever I hear the song played anywhere, I can't help but think of the summer of 2010, and the countless times it was played on my i-pod while at Gold's Gym, working out and fired up about the World Cup matches going on.

Songs like these will never be forgotten. And some songs you just associate with certain memories or feelings or time periods in your life. And that's why I love sharing music. A song can be personal enough to mean something really deep to you and yet sound completely different to each person. Just like people have different memories of the same event. So take a look back and find the songs that have really made up your life and are holding memories for you. Cry, laugh, hate, and love them as you listen to them again and pinpoint that one moment in your life. And even if you don't, at least you'll have the perfect soundtrack for when they make a movie production out of your life story.

PK Shootout- The Ultimate Test

There's not a lot of things that I can imagine being more stressful than taking a penalty kick in a shootout after two overtimes... in a World Cup Quarter-Final. Ok fine, maybe taking a PK in a World Cup Final.

But wow, I watched the USA Women's Team really step up in their match against Brazil today in the Women's World Cup. I'm sad to say that I missed the match, but I heard it was sensational... some poor officiating and a baloney call to allow Brazil to retake a PK that Hope Solo brilliantly saved. And talk about dramatic... taking it into the dreaded penalty kick shootout. I commend each and every player that stepped up to the line to take a penalty kick for their respective countries. With so much at stake and all those fans watching, not to mention teammates and coaches and family and friends, it's a wonder how they keep their cool.

I gotta hand it to the US though for beating Brazil 5-3 in the shootout. 5/5 is impressive. I went back to watch footage of the shootout and all of them were well placed. Kudos to Solo again for a great save on a decent PK. The fact that the USA triumphed without missing a single penalty kick, after being emotionally shaken up during the game for the bad officiating and being behind, really goes to show the extent of their training.

It's like anything else in life that deals with pressure. Musical performances and auditions, for example. You just have to practice enough so that you can calmly perform even under pressure. The hardest thing to do is t to not psych yourself out. You have to drown out any doubts that you have and have confidence. After all, trusting yourself in such dramatic moments is the test between victors and losers.