Play for Her

As I sat on the examination table waiting for what seemed like hours, I was praying. Praying for good news, praying that somehow I would see a miracle. Soon the door opened and the doctor looked at me with a weak smile, then proceeded to tell me my ACL was indeed torn. The news hit me like a brick. My heart sunk and my eyes welled up with tears. How could this happen to me? Why me? I kept asking myself over and over again, why me? I'm still trying to figure out why it was me, but I know one thing for sure, I will not give up.

When the word got out that my ACL was torn, many people questioned why I was still pursuing soccer. I normally would just shrug my shoulders and tell them, "Yes the recovery is going to be rough, but it will all be worth it." It takes a true soccer player to understand what I mean. Yes coming back from injuries suck, yes you feel like killing yourself during conditioning, yes you've given up a lot of social time, and yes you can't always eat that brownie. But once you get on that field and feel the rush of adrenaline, feel the competitiveness, and feel the glory of winning, that's when it all becomes worth it. Sometime, somewhere, I fell in love with this game. Just like Mia Hamm said, "Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her."

Coming injured into college as a freshman has been no walk in the park. Here I am sitting and watching on the sideline. Day after day I sit and watch my teammates push themselves to the brink of exhaustion, and all I can do is encourage them. Encouraging them I'm sure has helped them a little, but what I don't think they have realized is that just from watching them I have been motivated to want to become better. It has changed my thought process from why me, to why not? Why not push myself to become better, why not take this injury as a fresh start, why not become the best I can be? I have finally remembered, why I did fall in love with soccer.

So thank you teammates and coaches, for your love of the game. Thank you for helping me find motivation to keep moving forward. This season is going to be amazing. Just always remember why you keep playing. Always play for that little girl who found love in the beautiful game.

Game Time.

About to play against University of Utah. Ready to play.
Beast mode on.

Game Day!

Today the SUU Women's Soccer Team takes on UC-Riverside for our first home game of the 2012 season! The Team has been preparing for months since our last game in the spring for this moment. Our hard-work, determination, teamwork, and passion for the game, bring this extraordinary team together with a goal of creating success in winning the Big Sky Conference! Our journey starts today, so lets win birds!

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
Gail Dever

Home Opener

Our first home game is just around the corner against a formiddable opponent in UC Riverside. For those who are unaware, we play Sunday, August 19, at 4:00 PM. We hope everyone can make it out to see the fruit of our labor blossom on Sunday. The atmosphere in Cedar City is electric in anticipation of the Thunder in the Big Sky. We quite literally had to cancel practice because of the crazy lightning. If the atmospheric conditions are foreshadowing what is to come, then bring on the Big Sky, because you are in for an excessive dose of Thunder. For everyone on the team, I have just one thing for you:

Get your game faces ready. This child's face is the epitome of intensity and everything we work for, and it's time for us to step up, clench our fists, and prepare for greatness!

Go Thunderbirds!

Utah State here we come...

After a long summer of hard work and dedication our first game is finally here.  Between the hill sprints, tire flipping, and many crossfits workouts we hope our hard work will pay off.

Team dinner at Adam's house.

The team watching the USWNT beat Japan for the gold!!! #greatnessfound
-Andy

Missy's blog :)

Season 2012 

As a senior  I am so sad to realize that this is my last season i will play soccer, but at the same time I am so excited to play with all of these girls for the last time. I cant wait to play, enjoy, and kick some but this year in the big sky! i am gonna miss these days ice baths, picture day, and the day to day memories with the team. I know that this will be a great last season :). 

Here we go BIRDS!! 

this is the beginning right before we started camp this year the whole team went on a hike to kanarraville  and it was awesome and a great way to kick off camp to this season. 

 Season has officially begun!! our mandatory ice baths after every afternoon practice and i know if it wasnt for these we would all be 10 times as sore than we already are. 

PICTURE DAY!!!

i love these girls forever!! 

Send up a prayer

On April 20,2012  Lexe Selman, a daughter, sister, teammate and friend was diagnosed with Leukemia (AML). She is determined to beat this cancer with her family, friends, soccer team, and supporters by her side. A blog was started so others can follow her progress and cheer along with her.   Please visit  http://lexekicksleukemia.blogspot.com/  for updates and to stay involved in her journey to 'Kick Leukemia!'.  

Also on September 29th, CureSearch will be having its annual walk in Salt Lake City. The walk will be held at Sugar House Park (1300East 2100 South). CureSearch is a organization that raises money and awareness strictly for childhood cancer (most cancer organization only give 4% to childhood cancer). The walk consists of individual teams. Each of these teams are made in honor of a child who is fighting or has fought cancer.  Each team raises money, all of which  goes towards finding a cure for all types of childhood cancer.
    
A team has been formed in honor of Lexe called "Team Lexe Kicks".  It would be awesome to have as many team members as possible to support this great young woman!  To register for "Team Lexe Kicks", you can go to the team page which is www.curesearchwalk.org/saltlake/teamlexekicks.

To get more of the story, including a link to the most emotional goal being scored that I have ever witnessed, visit  http://fox13now.com/2012/06/06/draper-soccer-star-strikes-back-against-leukemia/

 

Hump Day

The SUU soccer team makes the most of hump day by running a series of hill sprints.

Why, do you ask, run hills?

Simple:


1. Hill sprints provide the perfect combination of strength and speed training.
It’s like lifting weights and sprinting at the same time.  The hill furnishes the resistance for the sprints, making them more difficult while remaining shorter in distance and duration.  It can produce great results in as little as 15 minutes once or twice a week.

2. Hill sprints build stamina.
Endurance is something that every player needs, but it has to be a special kind of endurance. The endurance training should mimic the demands of the game :  short bouts of intense exertion with periods of rest and recovery in between.
Hill sprints provide just this type of interval training.  They will take your players’ hearts and lungs to far greater intensities than those found in jogging or traditional types of endurance training.  Their bodies will become used to reaching these higher levels, and recovering quickly between the “sprints.”
More and more scientific studies are showing that VO2 Max (the traditional measure of aerobic endurance) is improved as much – or more- by using high intensity exercise like hill sprinting.

3. Hill sprints increase ankle strength – helping prevent one of the most common injuries in sports, the ankle sprain.
Ankles are strengthened because of the need to push off harder when sprinting up the hill.  More drive is needed than when sprinting on a flat surface.  Improved ankle strength also leads to the ability to push off harder during the game – benefiting the players’s important “first step” and the lengthening of their stride down the field.

4. Hill sprints increase players’ speed and explosiveness. 
This is because hill training promotes two key factors in running faster and jumping higher. First, it forces the proper knee lift, which is essential for driving the legs downward and back for more force.
Second, hill sprinting makes the sprinter dorsi-flex her foot while running.  The closer the toes are brought to the shin, the more force they can apply on ground contact.  Think of dorsi-flexing as loading the foot, then unloading it into the ground, pushing you forward.
Explosiveness is also shown in the way hill sprints can increase a players ’ vertical (and horizontal) jumps – a key measure of power. Jumping is really the same as sprinting – pushing your body forward (or up) against gravity.  The more power you can generate from your legs when pushing, the farther or higher you will go.

5. Hill sprints provide a way to safely train your athletes.
In addition to protecting the ankles, hill sprinting will protect against other types of injuries as well.  The last thing you want to do is to injure the athletes while conditioning.
Hill sprinting provides safety in two ways:  One, the slightly shorter stride length of the hill sprint is a great way to protect the hamstrings.  Most hamstring pulls and strains are caused by over-extension  improper firing of the glutes- something that rarely occurs when sprinting hills.
Second, hill sprints can decrease the pounding on the players’ legs.  Studies have shown that even a slight grade can decrease the impact on the runner’s legs by as much as 25%.  Shin splints, foot problems, and sore knees can be greatly reduced by getting on the hills for your sprints.

6. Hill sprints as mental training (my personal favorite!!)
Besides all the physical benefits, hill sprinting promotes mental toughness and goal-setting behavior in athletes.  Looking up at the hill can be daunting when players are fatigued and at the end of their sprint session.
By using the hill as a metaphor, you can understand the importance of having a goal (the top of the hill), taking the steps necessary to reach it (one step at a time up the hill), and celebrating success when you reach your goal.  Looking back down the hill after the workout, you can feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something that may have seemed an impossible obstacle.

SUU Soccer starts this Saturday at Utah State!

This is the type of dedication you can expect to see from the Thunderbirds!

BEST DAY EVER

Today was the first official day of practice and .........    it.was.awesome !!