“Am I Ready?”

By: Melissa | August 30th, 2008

I’m posting a lot because my knee blew up yesterday so I’ve just been lying in bed with it elevated & iced. I’m currently in the middle of season two of 30 Rock on Hulu. Good Stuff. And I’ve got two breaking news items of the utmost importance: First, Riptide, the new Boston Breakers supporters group (anyone remember the tv show?), is hosting a tailgate at tonight’s Revs/Galaxy game. Tres Cool. Also, our fearless leader (Pia) recently declined an invitation to meet George Bush because she doesn’t support his politics. Now, no matter what you think about her decision, I just gotta give her mad props for sticking to her beliefs.

The WPSL combine is underway this weekend with the W-League combine starting next week. The folks over at the WPS Fanzone have Brooke O’Hanley and Katie Loomis blogging about their experiences. And if you click over there and read what they’ve written so far, I think the first thing you’ll note is the insane amount of dedication these women have for the game, that until recently, was pretty much only available to them on the amateur level. O’Hanley’s blog especially hits a nerve because she played for the Carolina Courage and writes about her time after the WUSA fell apart:

And you ask, “What did she do during this time to improve her game?” To give you just an idea, my training and dedication included the following over the past several years:

• Initially selected a job as an environmental consultant with URS Corporation in Santa Barbara, California, that allowed me the flexibility to train in the mornings and afternoons.
• Miraculously convinced the UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer Team Coaches, Tim Vom Steeg and Leo Chappel, to allow me to train with their team. I trained with the team getting up in the mornings for 6:00 AM runs and playing with them in the afternoons. This experience helped me to improve my speed of play and become more physical.
• Trained with two Men’s Mexican teams in Santa Barbara – Durango and Cruz Azul. This experience helped me to improve the creative aspects of my game.
• Trained with the Santa Barbara Men’s Community College Team. This experience helped me to work on my individual foot skills.
• Played the last four summers for Brian Boswell on the WPSL Ajax America team (2008 WPSL Champions!) in Los Angeles – traveling 4+ hours roundtrip for home games. This experience helped me to remember that soccer is a game to be enjoyed and loved.
• Trained with a private trainer, Dr. Marcus Elliot, in an effort to improve my strength, speed, and agility. Who knew that I could increase my vertical jump by several inches, shave-off seconds in my sprints, and lift more than my body weight?
• Moved in 2007 to New York to attend law school. Despite the academic load, I played for the New York Athletic Club under Coach Etsu Taniguchi and trained with the Columbia Women’s Soccer team under Coach Kevin McCarthy. These experiences helped me to understand the importance of being attack-oriented and the importance of winning.

Good God. Reading all that makes me feel extremely lazy and unmotivated. So O’Hanley titles her blog post, “Am I ready?” Um - does she even need to be asking that question?

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(I’m trying to install their beta software right now so I can start posting the results that rate the likeliness & non-likeliness the text is stupid. Getting compile errors at the moment.)