|
April 2 2010
Boston ma
Happy Easter!
I’m just returning home from a 17 day road trip. I had preseason with the Breakers in Florida for 10 days then I joined the National team in San Diego and Utah for two games vs Mexico. The great part about it besides the soccer was that my husband and daughter were with me! It made such a difference to have them there with me. Plus Sidney loved playing with the girls on both teams and going into the training room to put pre-wrap on her legs! However it feels good to be home and get back settled for a bit.
Here is a short summary of my trip!
I first want to talk about my flight down to Gainesville. I sat next to the nicest lady ever, Linda; Sidney really took to her and at times was sitting on Linda’s lap. Thankfully Linda had raised kids already so I think it was a pleasant experience for her, or at least she made me believe it was. I do have to say though when you meet nice people it just makes you happy! So Linda thanks for being so nice and accommodating on the flight.
We spend 10 days in Gainesville Florida at the University of Florida. They were our host for the 10 days and we used their facilities and ate at their cafeteria. It has been a long time since I was on a college campus! While we were there we played in 4 games. We played U.S u-20, sky blue, Atlanta and University of Florida. We ended up 1-2-1. Thank goodness it is preseason!
The games didn’t necessarily go the way we hoped but we take the positive from them and move on and learn from the things that didn’t go so well.
It was a good 10 days for our team. The weather wasn’t as warm as we would like but it was nice to be together as a team down there and get to know each other. Sometimes these trips are all about bonding and coming together on the field but off as well. We got to know each other a bit more and that brings the team closer and helps with the evolution on the field too. All and all it was good trip for us and I look forward to getting back in with the Breakers.
At the end of the Breakers trip I left and joined the National Team in San Diego. San Diego was our first game vs Mexico. San Diego is beautiful! The weather was great and it was nice to be in with the team again.
It had been about 15 months since my last trip with them and I have to say I was a bit nervous. Yes I had been there before and played at that level for 20 years, but it was a whole new team, new coaches and new feel. My nerves were there but I think I brought them along on my own. After my first couple training sessions and the first game all was relaxed and I felt much better. The team was welcoming and everyone loved playing with Sidney. It was great. I could actually eat a meal because I had so much help, from Dave to all the girls.
We won the first game against Mexico 3-0. We had 3 nice goals from Amy Rodriguez, Shannon Boxx and Lauren Cheney. I had a couple chances that I missed but overall I felt good about my performance. It was really nice putting on that U.S. jersey again and stepping out on that field. I got subbed in about the 30 minute of the first half. Once I started to run around on the field, the nerves were gone and I felt at home again. My good friend Tish and her kids came to the game so I got to see them afterwards and our old masseuse and friend Kara was there too. So good to see her! Everything about San Diego was good and it all starts with the weather there. I think my husband wants to move there. As for weather, out next stop was nothing like San Diego and nothing like any of us had ever been a part of……
Salt Lake City Utah, here we come! We only had 3 days in Utah. One out of the 3 days it snowed. It happened to be on game day! So Wednesday morning we wake up and I look out the window and I say to Dave, “We are no longer in San Diego.” It was snowing….We heard the news that it would be coming but I didn’t really expect it to stay all day and night. Our game was at 7pm, so I figured by game time it would stop. Nope! Game time still coming down strong and there is about 3 inches on the field. Never in my career on the National Team have we ever played in snow!
We got out on the field and tried to do a warm up. A couple of snow balls were tossed some laughter and amazement but then down to business of getting warmed up and ready to play. It was cold but not too bad, but my feet were cold the entire time. The ball would get stuck in the snow so you had to serve longer balls and flick the ball up to dribble. It was incredibly cold when you fell in the snow but as long as you kept moving it wasn’t too bad! The conditions weren’t great but the crowd was good and loud. We all decided if we score that we have to do snow angels. So about 15 minutes into the second half we get in the attack, Boxxy serves a ball across the front of the goal and Abby taps it in. Some of us run over to Abby and others just dropped and we all did snow angels. I hope it looked cool, we had fun and that goal happened to be the winner!
So we leave a mark in history on Wednesday march 31st, first U.S. game in the snow and hopefully the last. All and all the call up with the National Team went well. I was happy with the way that I played and now I just wait and see if I get a call up for the next game in Cleveland in May vs Germany. Yes it is a different role for me and things are different but I am going with the flow and doing my best and that is all I can ask of myself.
I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!
Always Believe,
Kristine Lilly
|
