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.

Belief is... the USA Women's Soccer Team

Some things you just can't explain. If you were with me and the rest of the nation in watching the 2011 Women's World Cup Final today, you know exactly what I mean. With all that the USA players struggled and persevered through, with all the tension and excitement they saw in their matches, with all their team chemistry and patriotism, there was always the belief that they could do it. The belief that they could take it to the finals and go all the way. Even after the dramatic match-up and near loss against Brazil in the quarterfinals, that hope was never diminished.

And now heartbroken is the only word fitting to describe those players who gave it their all on the soccer pitch. Hope Solo, still a hero in my heart. Heather O'Reilly. Alex Morgan. Abby Wambach. The whole rest of the team that gave our nation a chance to believe in victory. I know I was along for that ride, jumping up with elation each time the US took a lead, both in the 2nd half of regular time (69th min), and the first half of overtime (104th min). Bowing my head in agony each time Japan equalized. And then the disastrous penalty shoot out.

As Coach Pia Sundhage said afterwards, there's no explaining it. Those first three misses from the US were excruciating to watch. Even then there was still the hope that the US would, like before, miraculously come back and take a championship they all deserved. With such a close, back-and-forth game, the 3-1 loss to Japan in the penalty shootout was an agonizing loss. I could see it in the eyes of the US players at the end, watering and shining with emotion, probably not alone with the millions of the watchers who were biting their nails and tugging their shirts throughout the entire match.

And it just goes to show how much a national game like this means to people. Not just the people watching in the US, but around the world and military bases as well. It doesn't have to be soccer, but the World Cup only comes once every four years, and soccer just happens to be the game with the characteristic of producing the unexpected, no matter how tragic. From the sport's point of view, it was a good match. You can't deny that it was a game well played for most all the players.

The thing that gets me is that the US team was so close to completing the journey, having completely outplayed the Japanese team in the first half but not able to finish any of their scoring opportunities. Their passing was strong, but their passion stronger. And that's what a winning team needs. The passion to play for themselves and for their country. From the moment the national anthems were played, there was a patriotic edge to it all. Especially for viewers like us that, just by watching, felt a fierce sense of loyalty and attachment to the team for what they did. They were almost there. I'm still crying over it. There's nothing now that will be able to deter that empty feeling of loss after such a cruel defeat. But find some reassurance that we'll still mourn together, all 300 million of us, as one proud nation backing one fantastic team.

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.

I'm a Little Scared of Cross Country Runners

Cross country runners can't possibly be human. Every time I see one running on the streets, I stop and gape, feeling miserable about myself and the world in general because I can't do what they do. I do a fair bit of running, but not nearly enough to even compare to the distances that some of these alien robots cover on a daily basis.

Alright, not every human was built to run like these monsters do. It's just not natural. Occasionally I see people who are cross training or running to prep for a different sport, like myself. I would say that's fairly admirable. The really hard core ones might even run as much as cross country runners do. But to take the act of running- edit: the act of running really really really LONG distances- into a sport... man, that's just intense. And it's not just the short shorts, intimidating as they might be, but the way these guys and girls commit to their sport. One of my good friends (yes, I am friends with one of these strange creatures) once said that running was almost like a religion to him, and that he runs to keep himself true- physically, emotionally, spiritually. His whole mentality was focused around the fact that he ran for himself, and as long as he was satisfied and happy with himself he wouldn't care at all what others thought of him.

And in his words, cross country is truly a developmental sport. It requires a person to be brutally honest with themself. Every day of training requires commitment. And that's one of the things I admire most about my friend is that he gives it his all, and isn't willing to sacrifice his training for anything.

I wish I could be more like them. In all aspects of my life, not just athletics. I feel that self discipline and hard work, two very important aspects of cross country running, are necessary for any avenue of life. I see a cross country runner in a race and I know they are mentally focused, fighting through the pain and constantly willing themself to perform better.

There's a reason people have associated training the body with training the mind. Cross country can be seen as the apotheosis for this, the embodiment of a sport that is truly comprised of just a person, his (or her, plenty of female cross country runners out there I wish I were friends with xD) willpower, and many many miles of road. I probably won't ever have the patience or the discipline to take on cross country, but for those who are, keep running. You show the rest of us how to live.