Don't Take It For Granted

Hey Birds :) So this is one of my favorite quotes:

"Athletes: Don't take the sport you play for granted. Every time you play, you better be dang thankful that you get to do something you love. Don't show up to practice complaining about not wanting to be there; you're there hopefully because you love it. Work hard every moment. If you're not working hard, you don't deserve to play. Play every practice or game like it's your last because it very well could be. When you finally reach the day that you can't play, and you can only watch, then you will know how much you love something that you once took for granted."

We really need to remember why we play...because we love it. And yeah, maybe we've lost a few games...but that doesn't mean we can't win now. We can win and we will if everyone plays for each other and gives it everything they've got.

Remember...If you're not working hard...you don't deserve to play.

Anyway....

hug hug kiss kiss,
-Palmer

No Excuses

Stay positive, stay motivated....   there really are NO excuses .....

Conference

With conference play beginning in 5 days, I am very excited to see all of the hard work coming to fruition. Over the past 7 days, we have improved our overall record by 1 win (officially) and 1 tie. This of course does not include our performance on Saturday and culmination of a strong week. As of today, here are the official Big Sky standings. Now let me pose the question, what do the rankings really mean, with everyone sitting at 0-0 in conference? Simple answer: they don't mean anything. It's a brand new season for everyone, and those teams who prepare the best and stay vigilant in their pursuit of the ultimate goal shall lead the charts at the end of October. If we stay the course and keep preparing with our impassioned focus, I foresee the Thunderbirds perched atop the tables.

School	Big Sky	Overall
Idaho State	0-0	5-3
Montana	0-0	4-4-1
Eastern Washington	0-0	3-4-1
Northern Colorado	0-0	2-4-2
Sacramento State	0-0	2-4-2
North Dakota	0-0	2-4-1
Northern Arizona	0-0	2-5-2
Portland State	0-0	2-5-1
Southern Utah	0-0	1-4-1
Weber State	0-0	2-7

:)

On Friday we had a first win of the season, with 3 goals and a shut-out! Awesome to get a W right before our conference play. Let's keep the ball rolling! Saturday was the Alumni game, 14 of our former birds came back to Cedar City to play the current SUU soccer team. It was so fun to see everyone and play with all of them again! After the game all of the players and parents were able to talk, reminisce, and of course eat the yummy food at our tailgate. 

Overall I'd say it was a fun and successful weekend. Let's keep this goal scoring and hard work up :) 

I'll just leave you with the thought... 

"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 Devers

Amazeballs

Amazeballs is a phrase thrown around my house that describes things that are -simply put- more than amazing.  I don't know where it started or why I keep using this phrase, because in some ways it is off putting ... but for now, it will work.    This collection of players I have here at SUU is nothing short of amazeballs.  They work tirelessly on the field, they work even harder off the field, and they are first class human beings.   After a hard fought draw that lasted over 100 minutes we took to the field for a little free soccer clinic.   I'm sure that there were some moans and groans, but those were pushed to the side and smiles slowly came out.   I believe that this team is destined to accomplish great things.  Each and every day we work hard to create our future and doing things like this clinic is an example of just why I believe that something amazeballs is going to happen.   This team has earned it.   Our fan base is growing, we play great soccer, adversity causes us to step up, and there are many cheering for us.

Keep digging in, giving back, working hard, believing, striving for greatness, and it will come.   See the pictures below for examples of just what I am talking about.


Since I have an English degree I will throw out a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

 

 

:)

 

 ~Becky~

You know that's right .....

no explanation needed

 How Bad Do You Want It?

This week in practice, a quote was shared, simple, yet effective, "Why not us?" After having the team come back from California with two tough losses, that simple phrase really stuck with me. Why not us? Ever since last spring we've been sacrificing our blood, sweat, and yes even tears towards the ultimate goal of this fall, to win The Big Sky championship. And why not us? We've been working hard all summer long and continuing into preseason with that same work ethic. We've spent countless hours lifting, running, practicing, watching film, and eagerly waiting for the opportunity to finally show what we're really capable of.  We've done all the work and with the help and guidance of our coaches we're more than prepared for this win tomorrow. I think the new question we need to ask ourselves tomorrow, isn't why not us, but rather, how badly do we want it?

 WATCH VIDEO.




Before practice last week, Becky shared with us the news of the West Virginia vs Stanford game, in which West Virginia ranked 25th in the nation beat the defending national champions Stanford, 1-0. The only word that could describe that match: inspirational. I think tomorrow it's our chance to be the inspiring ones, but how badly do we want that?

LETS GO BIRDS!!!

- B.Brown

Open publication - Free publishing - More guide

Get to know the 2012 Thunderbird Soccer Team!

U.C. Riverside tournament

On Thursday the team left for the Riverside tournament. Everyone was excited. In Saint George the team stopped for sandwiches and bathroom breaks. We then continued out trip through Las Vegas, stopping for another bathroom break. We then went all the way to Riverside to arrive at the field for a light practice at 6. After the practice we went to the hotel and dinner from Olive Garden. 

The next day we woke up and had breakfast and then at lunch time the Bosen's fed us bbq pulled chicken sandwiches with fruits and veggies. At 3 we left for our game. The team fought hard, but unfortunately lost to UTEP. We went back and had dinner at the hotel. 

Saturday morning half the team stayed at the hotel to study and the other half went to the mall. Later that night we had dinner at Missy's house. After dinner we came back and took hot/cold baths to recover and get ready for the next game on Sunday. 

Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast and then left for our game against New Mexico State. The team opened the game out hard and in the other teams half. Towards the end of the first half, New Mexico sneaked a goal in. SUU worked hard the rest of the game to tie it up, but came up short. The team learned a lot this weekend and would like to say thanks to all the family, friends and fans that came out and supported us this weekend. Go SUU!!!!