Louisville

This past weekend my team went up to lousiville to compete in the annual Mockingbird tournament. We had a good showing, winning two games and tying once. However, we did not advance to the championship because of a tiebreaker that catapulted the team tied with us past us by one point. Considering we only had two subs and three players sick (me included), I would consider it to be a successful weekend. I scored 2 goals and had 4 assists in our three games. At times though, I felt myself struggling for air because of the inflamation in my lungs along with the fact that I'm still not quite cardiovascularly fit. Physically, I felt I was above par; I was able to body people off the ball with ease, and I won my share of 50/50 balls in the middle of the field. Weightlifting has really made a difference in my play, which some might find hard to believe since soccer is believed by many to be a "non-contact" sport. This summer will be crucial for me to further improve my muscular strength to the level of a collegiate athlete, as well as maintain a high level of cardiovascular fitness. It seems like as I increase my muscular strength, my cardiovascular strength is taking a hit; somehow I need to find a "happy medium" between the two. I have never been as excited, yet nervous, about anything like I am about playing soccer at Transy. I'm not exactly sure what to expect...

5 Weeks

It seems as if high school was flying by until these last couple of weeks. Ever since I began working, the days just drag by and I find myself hoping that school will end soon. We still have five weeks left, which means I have five weeks that I have to keep my grades up so I can recieve the full 500 dollars of KEYS money that we get every year we have a 4.0. As of now, I am in strong standing in every class. However, one slip up on an AP Biology or AP Language test could prove lethal. With my busy schedule, which includes soccer practice twice a week, thirty hours of work a week, and of course going to school five days a week, it is becoming harder and harder to find time to study for my classes as much as I was used to. So far it hasn't affected my grades and hopefully it won't. I have still been lifting and my MAX on bench is now around 165 pounds. I'm not quite where I would have hoped, but im still on track to get anywhere between 175 and 180 pounds, depending on how much energy I can excert every morning when I lift. Another benefit that I will be experiencing this summer is having more energy to perform my lifts. When you don't have enough energy to exort, you can't break down your muscles and form lactic acid as efficiently; therefore, your muscles are not rebuilding up to their potential. This summer I will only have to concentrate on work, lifting, and soccer. I am looking forward to summer, but I realize that high school is one of the best times of a person's life, which I will definitely miss.