BHunterSEAL
07-06-2010, 04:41 PM
Back in youth soccer, the goalkeeper was usually the player who couldn't be trusted with his feet, or was too slow to be effective in the outfield. Rather than cutting him, the coach would stick him at goalie to keep his parents' money.
I guess that's how I got started. I was always a big kid, a bit taller or heavier than my peers. A tad clumsy and awkward on my feet, too--I never had the fluid footwork or flair of others my age. Eventually, I began trying out as a goalkeeper, and developing my skills at specialized camps from an early age--might as well get good at the position I had been relegated to, I thought. I never even felt soccer was my best sport--I also played hockey and lacrosse through high school, but I had played soccer the longest.
High school--what a time! I went to a prep school in suburban Maryland, but my heart wasn't in the academics. I was more interested in sports, and could usually be found in the weight room when I should have been doing homework. As such, my studies suffered, especially given the academic rigor of the school. Made varsity lacrosse and hockey by my sophomore year; it wasn't until I was an upperclassman that I began starting on the top squad for soccer. I never really thought I'd go anywhere with it.
It's not like I was going anywhere with other sports, though. I was a dependable but not outstanding lacrosse player in an extremely competitve league; making it as a hockey player from south of Pennsylvania is nearly impossible anyway. I had largely ignored the letters of interest from the schools that had contacted me with soccer offers--they were mostly smaller colleges that I had little interest in attending. By the time college application time rolled around, I was stuck: my grades were wholly unimpressive, and I hadn't pursued sports scholarships with much vigor. So one day, in the late fall of 2008, I attended an open tryout sponsored by the two-year-old Real Maryland Monarchs, a team in the USL's Second Division. I didn't really think I'd have much of a chance, as it was attended by many players with college experience and the team already had two keepers.
Somehow, I got lucky. I played the best soccer of my life, flying through the air in ways I didn't know I could. I made some incredible saves, and I think the team saw an opportunity--or rather, a bargain--in me: as a rookie straight out of high school, I could be picked up for pennies on a training contract that allowed the team to let me go at any time.
I started practicing with the Under-20 squad almost immediately, graduating from high school in the following spring. The money wasn't great, and my parents (both successful attorneys) weren't too thrilled, but I had a shot--maybe a long one--at earning a living playing a sport, something I hadn't thought possible only months before.
I trained hard through the winter and into the spring, concentrating on both keeper skills--handling, agility, and bravery--and my soccer awareness, playing in training matches with the other late teens. To my shock, I was called up to the first team before the start of the season, although my contract was still that of a trainee.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The starting keeper became enraged with the coach one day after coming drunk to a team function, and was benched indefinitely. I found myself in an intense competition with the former back-up (who also had yet to play in a game) for a relatively attainable starting position; I trained harder, supplementing myself with energy boosters and largely neglecting my friends and family.
When the manager posted the starting eleven for the opening game against Pittsburgh, I couldn't believe my eyes--in just six short months, I had gone from a prep schooler with few prospects to a starting professional soccer player!
Stepping onto the pitch for the first time, I was more than a little nervous. It's not like there were many in the stands--mostly friends and family, along with some die-hard enthusiasts. That we were playing in a high school stadium did not matter: I was still thrilled to be playing for my hometown team. I waved to my parents as I took the field.
My professional career got off to a rather rough start. After not touching the ball for the first 25 minutes, clever passing by Pittsburgh attackers left me out-of-position for my first real test, a shot from just inside the box that easily found the back of the net. Real Maryland equalized early in the second half, and I recorded my first save on a shot in anger about ten minutes later. In the 88th minute, I bravely punched away a dangerous late-game corner to maintain the score at 1-1. Coming off my first game, the newspapers were relatively neutral, noting that I should have saved the opening goal but that I showed good form in the second half with some crucial stops.
The season at Real went surprisingly quickly. Although the team was rather weak offensively, a strong back four and hard work in goal on my part kept us near the midway point in the division standings. I was given time to train, taking games off--sometimes more than one at a time--to work on my skills. For the first time in my life, I had a goal: to earn a full contract on a team, to earn my way playing professional soccer. I knew I had the skills and the physical ability; it would just take experience and performance to prove myself to others.
At the end of the season, I had racked up an impressive GAA of only .78, and figured I was a shoe-in for a full contract. Sure enough, I was offered one, for over $50,000 a year! Not great money--especially for suburban Maryland--but I was finally self-sufficient. I was now securely RMM's starting keeper, and, at only 19, had a bright future ahead of me.
The next season seemed to pass even more quickly than the first. I trained hard, but skipped fewer games, trying to boost my performance to gain the eye of scouts from higher leagues--or even overseas. My GAA dropped to below .6; I was being scored on in only about half of our games. The team seemed to rally around me as well, as I improved my relationships with my squadmates and their performance improved. We spent the first half of the 2009 on top of the table.
A late-season offensive slump meant that we finished in third overall, but it was agreed that the team had great potential. I was certainly a rising star of the league, but my ambition was great: I believed I was better than a league with six teams on the East Coast of the US. My contract expired, and I eagerly awaited offers that would take me into a higher league--or even out of the country.
Sure enough, Seattle Sounders FC offered me a three-year contract--at $4,800 a week--to play for them! I had seen them win a U.S. Open Cup against D.C. United and was impressed by their large and devoted fan base, unusual for American soccer. I was so excited to get an offer from the MLS that I accepted it right away, without negotiating a higher rate or even waiting for offers from abroad. I just wanted to step onto the field at a real stadium, not a high school sports field, and jumping at this opportunity was the quickest way to do it.
<<At this point, my demo expires. I owned NSS4 and received a NSS2010 download link, so as soon as I play more I'll keep the story going. I know I wrote a lot but I'm quite bored at work.>>
I guess that's how I got started. I was always a big kid, a bit taller or heavier than my peers. A tad clumsy and awkward on my feet, too--I never had the fluid footwork or flair of others my age. Eventually, I began trying out as a goalkeeper, and developing my skills at specialized camps from an early age--might as well get good at the position I had been relegated to, I thought. I never even felt soccer was my best sport--I also played hockey and lacrosse through high school, but I had played soccer the longest.
High school--what a time! I went to a prep school in suburban Maryland, but my heart wasn't in the academics. I was more interested in sports, and could usually be found in the weight room when I should have been doing homework. As such, my studies suffered, especially given the academic rigor of the school. Made varsity lacrosse and hockey by my sophomore year; it wasn't until I was an upperclassman that I began starting on the top squad for soccer. I never really thought I'd go anywhere with it.
It's not like I was going anywhere with other sports, though. I was a dependable but not outstanding lacrosse player in an extremely competitve league; making it as a hockey player from south of Pennsylvania is nearly impossible anyway. I had largely ignored the letters of interest from the schools that had contacted me with soccer offers--they were mostly smaller colleges that I had little interest in attending. By the time college application time rolled around, I was stuck: my grades were wholly unimpressive, and I hadn't pursued sports scholarships with much vigor. So one day, in the late fall of 2008, I attended an open tryout sponsored by the two-year-old Real Maryland Monarchs, a team in the USL's Second Division. I didn't really think I'd have much of a chance, as it was attended by many players with college experience and the team already had two keepers.
Somehow, I got lucky. I played the best soccer of my life, flying through the air in ways I didn't know I could. I made some incredible saves, and I think the team saw an opportunity--or rather, a bargain--in me: as a rookie straight out of high school, I could be picked up for pennies on a training contract that allowed the team to let me go at any time.
I started practicing with the Under-20 squad almost immediately, graduating from high school in the following spring. The money wasn't great, and my parents (both successful attorneys) weren't too thrilled, but I had a shot--maybe a long one--at earning a living playing a sport, something I hadn't thought possible only months before.
I trained hard through the winter and into the spring, concentrating on both keeper skills--handling, agility, and bravery--and my soccer awareness, playing in training matches with the other late teens. To my shock, I was called up to the first team before the start of the season, although my contract was still that of a trainee.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The starting keeper became enraged with the coach one day after coming drunk to a team function, and was benched indefinitely. I found myself in an intense competition with the former back-up (who also had yet to play in a game) for a relatively attainable starting position; I trained harder, supplementing myself with energy boosters and largely neglecting my friends and family.
When the manager posted the starting eleven for the opening game against Pittsburgh, I couldn't believe my eyes--in just six short months, I had gone from a prep schooler with few prospects to a starting professional soccer player!
Stepping onto the pitch for the first time, I was more than a little nervous. It's not like there were many in the stands--mostly friends and family, along with some die-hard enthusiasts. That we were playing in a high school stadium did not matter: I was still thrilled to be playing for my hometown team. I waved to my parents as I took the field.
My professional career got off to a rather rough start. After not touching the ball for the first 25 minutes, clever passing by Pittsburgh attackers left me out-of-position for my first real test, a shot from just inside the box that easily found the back of the net. Real Maryland equalized early in the second half, and I recorded my first save on a shot in anger about ten minutes later. In the 88th minute, I bravely punched away a dangerous late-game corner to maintain the score at 1-1. Coming off my first game, the newspapers were relatively neutral, noting that I should have saved the opening goal but that I showed good form in the second half with some crucial stops.
The season at Real went surprisingly quickly. Although the team was rather weak offensively, a strong back four and hard work in goal on my part kept us near the midway point in the division standings. I was given time to train, taking games off--sometimes more than one at a time--to work on my skills. For the first time in my life, I had a goal: to earn a full contract on a team, to earn my way playing professional soccer. I knew I had the skills and the physical ability; it would just take experience and performance to prove myself to others.
At the end of the season, I had racked up an impressive GAA of only .78, and figured I was a shoe-in for a full contract. Sure enough, I was offered one, for over $50,000 a year! Not great money--especially for suburban Maryland--but I was finally self-sufficient. I was now securely RMM's starting keeper, and, at only 19, had a bright future ahead of me.
The next season seemed to pass even more quickly than the first. I trained hard, but skipped fewer games, trying to boost my performance to gain the eye of scouts from higher leagues--or even overseas. My GAA dropped to below .6; I was being scored on in only about half of our games. The team seemed to rally around me as well, as I improved my relationships with my squadmates and their performance improved. We spent the first half of the 2009 on top of the table.
A late-season offensive slump meant that we finished in third overall, but it was agreed that the team had great potential. I was certainly a rising star of the league, but my ambition was great: I believed I was better than a league with six teams on the East Coast of the US. My contract expired, and I eagerly awaited offers that would take me into a higher league--or even out of the country.
Sure enough, Seattle Sounders FC offered me a three-year contract--at $4,800 a week--to play for them! I had seen them win a U.S. Open Cup against D.C. United and was impressed by their large and devoted fan base, unusual for American soccer. I was so excited to get an offer from the MLS that I accepted it right away, without negotiating a higher rate or even waiting for offers from abroad. I just wanted to step onto the field at a real stadium, not a high school sports field, and jumping at this opportunity was the quickest way to do it.
<<At this point, my demo expires. I owned NSS4 and received a NSS2010 download link, so as soon as I play more I'll keep the story going. I know I wrote a lot but I'm quite bored at work.>>