Wednesday … day arrival. The night was full of fun and laughter as we were finally all together to meet and get our jerseys. We met our coaches and the personnel who created this program, and over dinner, all the players sat together and we learned more about each other — finding out previous youth soccer clubs and where we came from.
That was really the first bonding moment.
Thursday … The first training was intense and very scrappy, everyone was fighting to show off their abilities. The second training was a stretching workout session which was intense and good for the body, especially as some of the players were just off a plane the day before.
The meals are good and healthy, but also different at the same time compared to what we normally eat in the US.
Friday … We had a morning session that ended in an open scrimmage —The small match had very high intensity and good quality, especially as we have only been together for a few days.
Before training, team pictures were taken on the park Stadion pitch. We also had our first Team Meeting today — It was good and we talked about our team being a family as we go through this journey.
Saturday … was game prep with training to figure out possible starting group since we had a match the next day. This was also a day where everyone tried fighting for a spot with intensity as well as scrappiness.
Sunday … Today was our first game. It was good to see how we played together, despite the result. For being only a few days in, our first game went well knowing we have months to train and play together to get better. We got to see each other’s abilities in the match, as well as how the team gels together. It is all new. And, it is exciting.
Christian Rodriguez, #31 Defender
