Soccer Manifesto, Part 3

Two very different teams, both a lot of fun...

I wrote Part 1 and Part 2 of the ongoing series "Soccer Manifesto" having just arrived in Germany. Then, I barely knew my training schedule, the names of my teammates, and exactly what to expect from the German brand of soccer. I still sometimes get that feeling of not knowing what to expect come training, but after over a month with two different squads through DJK Bad Homburg, I feel completely comfortable with my playing situation. Let me explain...

In any given week I have the opportunity to play soccer six times. Sundays are always an off day, and I split the others between my U18 team and the First Team. I can train all I like with the men, but since I'm not eighteen yet, I can't play games with them unless they want to pay a large amount for an exemption. I can hold my own with the men, but it would take a very special seventeen-year-old for the First Team to give him a jersey. 

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are with the men. I've found the coaching to be excellent--there's a lot of stress put on possession and style of play. We get anywhere from fifteen to thirty players at practice, depending on whether the coach wants to scrimmage full field or not. And we do scrimmage a lot. I've found myself playing center back for the second team, matched up against the quickest and most skilled strikers in the club. They've started to let me go forward on corners, too, after I hit the crossbar with a header. When we're not scrimmaging, most of the drills involve agility, technique, and shooting. It's almost a given that there will be some type of finishing drill every training session. A fitness coach comes on Wednesdays, too, so for the first half of those practices, we spend little time with the ball and a lot of time out of breath. 

On my other team--the one I'm allowed to play games with--there have been a lot of ups and downs. The initial coach had to part ways with the team two weeks in, and now our new trainer is just settling in and getting a feel for the players. Our new coach Mark is an incredibly nice person. He's a teacher, and he definitely takes that mindset onto the pitch. Practices are usually very good and never too difficult. Still, it feels very much like a high school team, while playing with the men is college level. The team is small, so sometimes there are only ten or twelve guys who show up to training. If everyone came we would have around eighteen, but so far there hasn't been a practice or match when someone wasn't missing. This I don't mind too much; in an ideal world everyone would be committed to the team, but then I might not have quite as much flexibility to travel. Most of my teammates work or are enrolled in apprenticeships, which can get in the way of training. I definitely see a different side of German society than the wealthy kids whom I teach. 

There are a couple guys that speak good English and who have reached out to me. Though I haven't gone to hang out with any of them too much, I would definitely call them my friends. Leo and Luca are probably my closest friends on the team--both really nice guys who love the game of soccer. 

Games have been up and down as well. We're probably in the middle of the pack in our league, but we've faced two of the strongest teams already. They put up big numbers on us, but we turned it around last week and won 6-1. We went to what seemed the middle of nowhere for the game, though they did have a nice turf field carved our of the forest. Now I know how the Albany kids feel when they come to Williamstown for game against our Ajax team. Since I play center back, I don't get a chance to score too many goals, but in that game I did manage a nice lefty strike for my first goal of the season. 

It's not really a group that's fond of taking photos, so I don't have any pictures of the team yet. I've had fun so far, it's a great group of guys, and I think we're heading in the right direction with the new coach.  Nothing is better than playing soccer every day, and no matter how my day goes, I always have a training session or game to look forward to in the evening.

Hopefully it won't be too long until I add a new piece to my soccer manifesto.