Skills coming back

For the second time in my life a short stint away from playing soccer has improved my game markedly. I took a leave of absence from the game for almost a year when I was about 20. When I came back to play the beautiful game my skills were so much better than before that I couldn’t believe it. I could strike the ball harder and more accurately. I could bend the ball well with powerful shots and my dribbling skills were beyond anything I had displayed in the past. It renewed my love of the game and I had the best 6-7 years of soccer I’ve ever played. Perhaps if I had done this earlier in my life I would be espousing ideas on ESPN.com instead of this personal blog space.

While moving across state three years ago, getting a new job and moving into a new home a couple years ago and going back to school this past year, I lost touch with play-mates. I didn’t get injected back into a local pick-up scene until last fall. The short re-introduction last fall and the lapse over the winter (and prior to the fall) did something to my game. I’m now extremely confident on the ball and my weak foot, well isn’t weak at all. In fact, passes with my left foot are as crisp and accurate as ones with my right/dominant foot. My shots are not nearly as powerful with my left, but that is something that takes a lot of devoted time to master. I’m “nutmegging” players at will right now with moves I envisioned/invented years ago and I’m almost back to top form. I find myself regularly beating 2-3 players and making passes or goals that amaze my play-mates and leave me wondering how I did it.

As I continue to play and get back in shape my game will only improve. Right now I am still getting winded rather easily, but with endurance and strength will come the ability to work my magic for more than a few minutes at a time. I’ve always jokingly said that I was the greatest American player that never was. I peaked too late because I didn’t get enough structured development throughout my teenaged years and I gave up the dream because MLS didn’t exist. The best I can hope for at this point is to pass all of this on to a prodigy. Chloe shows signs, even at three years of age, that she has potential to carry the banner. Will I be able to impart my knowledge and experience without detriment to her development, should she choose to play? I don’t know. I hope that I can help her to become the one-name wonder of sports in her era, but she has to want it. I’ll just wait and see for now. If not, perhaps there will be another.