We've been practicing and training indoors because of the freak snowstorm we got Saturday night and Sunday night that dropped 5-6 inches on our fields.
I LOVE indoor soccer... but after training 4x the past two days, with GK training each session, the concrete floor is taking its toll on us. The Maryland SoccerPlex indoor arena is fitted with concrete floors, with 8 full-size basketball courts in it. For soccer, they simply roll out a VERY, VERY, VERY thin layer of turf right on top of the concrete. It's not nice and soft-ish like the turf fields with the rubber pellets (or, what I like to call, turf turds)... it's just the mat with the grass sticking out of it. And the grass is what sticks to us : )
But, like I was saying, we have GK-specific training each and every session. I LOVE IT!!!! I'm so used to 1-2 times a week of GK-specific training. Now, it's more consistent, and I absolutely LOVE it!! And, in each session, we do diving--and a lot of it. Therefore, the concrete floor is not forgiving.
Sunday was nothing. Never even thought about it. Monday, we did more diving, and the players did 1v1's (striker v defender, to GK in goal), so we did a lot of diving. Today, our GK coach, Nicci, told us we wouldn't do much diving because we were doing more 1v1's, 2v1's, and 3v2's to goal, so we'd get enough later. However, we still did a good amount, and by the time our training was over today, Kati Jo and I looked at each other and said that tomorrow, we're going out and diving in the snow before we dive on this floor anymore. It's not that we can't get to a ball in a drill... it's now to the point that we don't WANT to dive for it because we know how much it will hurt.
The girls have also been complaining about their feet hurting and their lower backs being sore from the floor as well.
So, please pray for us as we'll have to be inside for our ONE session tomorrow (Wed) and mostly likely inside for Thursday's sessions as well. We're iching to get outside, and the weather's looking promising for the end of the week as temps get up to 65-ish :)
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement! I had a rough day today, and it was so re-energizing to hear from many of you today! I love you all!!!
Love, Joyful : )
www.womensprosoccer.com
www.washingtonfreedom.com
I'm so excited for you in this opportunity, Joy. I pray you will have good weather soon, that you'll hold up well under the punishing circumstances, that you'll be able to do your best, learn as much as possible, and MAKE IT!!! (no, I'm not biased!) God bless you!
ReplyDeleteSteve H.
Go Joy!! Yay, we're so excited for you! Hope everything goes well, that your goals are met, and even (cough cough) that you can still be one of the backup GK's so you can continue to learn from Brianna (is that the right name?) Maybe we can even come watch a game? That'd be so much fun! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteTama Shoemaker