10. Games, Changes and Fears.

Thursday, May 2, 2013


HoH Family Portrait.
[THE PITCH]
“Games, changes and fears
When will they go from here
When will they stop.”

Last year, when my family and I visited Stockholm during a break in the season, we made a point to see The Changing of The Guards at Sweden’s Palace in Gamla Stan. Official uniforms, a band, and synchronized movements are all a part of this ritual, celebrating national pride. A large crowd of tourists come together to, quite simply, watch the guards switch shifts. I’ve seen the Changing of the Guards in Oslo, Norway and London, England as well. It happens in many different countries throughout the world. And so it seems that I am not the only one to make a big deal out of change. To gain perspective (but mostly to make my case for being melodramatic) I have enlisted the wisdom of those far more astute than myself to play the role of provocateur.

TFF v Vittsjö
So many of my blogs have referred back to that moment when I decided to move to Sweden. In that instant, I changed my career path, relationships, and home. It seems to be the pivotal point in my life. After years of developing a style of play that I was both comfortable with and proud of, I was forced to change my style in order to fit a new role. Ugh!!! Noted neurologist, Viktor E. Frankl might argue,When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.Good point… While all that changing happened to me, something changed within me.  To find happiness in Sweden, I had to change my perspective. I’m not sure of which I am more proud: taking the leap or growing the wings.

And then, I changed teams again. New job…Bang…New relationships…Bam…New home…Boom! One might think that after I’d garnered all the benefits of change so many times before, the process would get easier. But it isn’t. I continue to miss. I continue to resist. “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” You’re right, Dr. King so I better stay tough.

TFF @ HoH
My head coach Tony has made a point to tell me that he doesn’t want to cut off my edges to fit me into the team. “No need to change you,” he says, “we can find you in our system.” Hmm… But with these new players, this new system, and a totally different style around me, I’ve started to see the steadfast truth in life: Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Truth President Obama! If I am going to grow, I have to change.

No, I’m not saying that I have to force this “square peg” into a circle,—getting away from my strengths as a player—would be a mess. But I am not opposed to a little nip and tuck…here and there. (I am an LA girl after all!!) They say that football is a game of inches, and the small adjustments in timing and positioning transform the game entirely. If so, then maybe my role last year and my role this year are not so far apart…or perhaps they are colossally different.

In the past, it seemed as if change was something that happened to me. I, in turn, had to change to survive. But now as I look toward the season ahead of me, I can make the choices myself. I can choose to change; I can, for the first time, actively seek out the adjustments that will allow me to thrive. As of now, I don’t know much for certain: not what these changes will look like or when I will make them. But to that end, I think I’ll just let Winston Churchill have the last word here. To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.



[Stoppage Time] The season is underway. It feels good to be in the swing of things. Preseason is long, hard, and here in Sweden…a liiiitle bit chilly. We are the favored team to win the league. So, automatically, that makes things ten times harder. We are the only team to have three wins in our first three games. But all three games were …well… hard.

To finish at the top of the table, we are going to have to find all sorts of different ways to win games. Our last two games are prime examples.

After squeaking out a 1-0 premier win against Umeå, we traveled down to Vittsjö. We played the game against, (arguably) Damallsvenskan’s most physical team, on (arguably) the worst grass I’ve played on in quite some time. In light of the pitch conditions and to minimize the risk of “bad field bad luck,” we changed our game plan to a very direct style, similar to how our opponents played. Our 2-0 win meant more to us than the box score, however, because we had to step outside ourselves to beat them at their own game.

And, then, this past weekend at home in our game versus Linköping, it was one of those games…one of those games… where you are playing really well, but can’t score. One of those games… where you are doing everything right… but can’t score.

Just moments before the end of the match, when the emotions of the game started to swell up in the stadium, I let out a deep breath and tried to remind myself, for the 1000th time, that I was sure that we were going to score. A teammate looked over to me and said, “you’re going to have one more chance” but I could see in her eyes she meant, “you’re going to score.” While the media would comment about another close game for a team that, perhaps, should be winning by larger margins (c/o Google translate and their oh-so-doubtful intonations,) the steadfast faith demonstrated by my teammates seems remarkable to me.

To remain unwaveringly confident when you’re playing against a strong opponent is no easy feat. To remain calm all the way into the final minutes of a match in spite of all of the pressure and expectations is no simple task. To ignore the soft whispers of self-doubt that grow louder as every scoreless minute passes is something of which we can be quite proud. And to score in the 88th and 91st minutes, snatching all three points… well that’s just fun!

Highlights here.

[Off The Post!] #ThatAwkwardMoment on the field when…

@knowles1313: getting sniped, missing the ball, and getting a turf burn on my face... see picture (i'm in white) http://bit.ly/107XjKo

@CaitlinKyaw: scored a goal and went to hug my teammate, and both of us didn't know which way to face, and ended up kissing. Awk

@rootchino: Broken thumb, had a metal splint. Ref tied 2 big shinpads on my hand. Ran around for 90mins with a giant ghetto oven mitt :(

@dquicky: tried2 intercept a pass, foot rolled on top of th ball n i smacked myslf in th face wth my own knee, tried callin 4 a foul...

@megkuch: getting caught off sides 14 times in one game #notpayingattention #oops

@joenooft: scored my 1st career goal as sweeper the proceeded to high knee/sprint back to my spot arms in the air, holding up duces.

@suth: I was about 4 years old. While taking a breather I ended up standing in fire ants. Coaches had to strip me down on the field.
-only because I picture this happening to max. and then him running around naked.

@ANNA_gram: Corner kicks gone wrong (I'm in white) http://bit.ly/ZDvhdh


RFL, 

3 comments:

  1. Insanely well written and so insightful! Looking forward to more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Christen,

    Let me tell you one thing right ahead:
    I love reading your blog.
    It's always interesting to read.

    The Changing of the Guards is always interesting to look at.
    I saw it in Prague and in London as well and I was both times impressed and amazed.

    I think that a change is never easy.
    As time passes by everything gets easier but at the beginning it isn't.
    Not only in soccer but everywhere. I think I'm not telling you something new. But as a human being most of us are caught in routines and repetitions. We have a fixed daily routine and we stick to it. Go to work, come home, eat something and get to bed. Sometimes you have time for activities.
    Of course this can vary.


    I made the experience that a team can be successfull if everyone keeps his personality and fights for the other ones. One for all and all for one!

    “Be the change you want to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi)
    It may be a bit large but this quote can be refered to all kind of situations.

    Now I'm gonna wait for your next blog entry!

    Thank you! :)

    Greetings
    Dia K

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Christen,

    Let me tell you one thing right ahead:
    I love reading your blog.
    It's always interesting to read.

    The Changing of the Guards is always interesting to look at.
    I saw it in Prague and in London as well and I was both times impressed and amazed.

    I think that a change is never easy.
    As time passes by everything gets easier but at the beginning it isn't.
    Not only in soccer but everywhere. I think I'm not telling you something new. But as a human being most of us are caught in routines and repetitions. We have a fixed daily routine and we stick to it. Go to work, come home, eat something and get to bed. Sometimes you have time for activities.
    Of course this can vary.


    I made the experience that a team can be successfull if everyone keeps his personality and fights for the other ones. One for all and all for one!

    “Be the change you want to see in the world” (Mahatma Gandhi)
    It may be a bit large but this quote can be refered to all kind of situations.

    Now I'm gonna wait for your next blog entry!

    Thank you! :)

    Greetings
    Dia K

    ReplyDelete