Talk about nervous.
Luckily it was an internal academy game but all the coaches were watching. I
played center midfield against some trialist from Slovakia. He was tall and
skillful but I held my own with him. In fact, I played quite well. I made some
tough tackles, I kept the ball well, and I had a shot with my left foot that
didn't trouble the keeper. Overall it was a great game. The speed of play was
high, the tackles were strong, and the kids were big. One player was extremely
good up top for my team. His name was Omar and he was so fast and strong. He
blew past some of the best defenders I had ever seen. He was our target up top
and set the pace.
After the game, Terry
West, the academy manager, came over and said "Will can I have a word." He
explained to me that he wanted me to play in the U16 game on Saturday against
Coventry. He also said that after that match he would sit down with me, my dad,
and my mom, and go over what we were going to do over the next two years. That
was one of the two exciting parts of the post game time. After heading down to
the locker room, Kristjaan came down and told me and a few other kids to get
their mom/dad and come to the office. I got my mom, and went down. Inside he
confirmed what Terry had said. He said that after about 2 more weeks they would
sit down with us and talk over my future at the academy. He said after they had
seen me play a few games, they would make a decision. He then asked me "If you
turn out to be an 8 out of 10, a 9 out of 10, or a 10 out of ten, what would you
do?" What he meant was, if we want you here, what will you do?
That was a big question
and I'm still not sure of the answer.
I'm training again
tomorrow and then the game on Saturday. I hope I play well.
FRIDAY - 2.16.07 - FAMILY TRIP TO LONDON
For the last two days I have been in London. It was a
planned trip and went well. We left Thursday right after
training at 4. We hopped onto the 4:50 train at
Birmingham International. The train took about an hour
and a half to get to London Euston. We arrived and
stepped off the train looking for a cab. We found one,
and headed off towards our hotel. As we passed
Buckingham Palace I looked out and saw the actual majesty of the old building.
The guards are all standing at attention for hours on end, the great fence of
wrought iron spikes, the flag flying to indicate that the Queen is there. It's a
grand monument to the power of Britain through the ages. Finally arriving at our
hotel we flopped down in the room. I went to have a shower, while turning the
knob, it came off... Perhaps the workmanship of the hotel wasn't quite up to
par. We went out to a friend of my parents for dinner. They were nice and the
food was excellent, we finally arrived back in the hotel at 12. I slept really
well and awoke to the sun shining through my window.
This morning we
planned to go to the Imperial War Museum. It turned out to be a huge success.
One part that stuck out at me was the exhibition on WWI. Given that we will
study it in school (I think), I thought it would be appropriate to go through.
It explained all about the Sarajevo incident which set Europe alight. It also
went over the major battles and fronts in the war. All the uniforms, the guns,
the generals, the tactics. All of it was explained. The best part was audio
clips of actual soldiers at the battle of the Marne. They spoke about climbing
up out of the trenches and into the hail of bullets. It was a moving experience.
Also in the museum was an exhibit on the holocaust and on crimes against
humanity. We didn't have time to see those but I presume they were excellent.
We did a little
shopping on Regent street and stopped in Lillywhites, the biggest sports store
in London. It was an excellent trip to London overall.
Now I have to prepare
for my big game tomorrow with the U16's against Coventry.
TUESDAY - 2.20.07 - "GET STUCK IN"
The last couple days have
been great. I had Monday night training with the U14's and I had training this
afternoon with the U16's. The Monday night practice was a great one. We warmed
up and played 3v3/4v4 for awhile. It was great to play 4v4 which could be my
favorite game. The game was intense and coach kept telling us to get stuck in.
Make tough tackles. I played the ball around, made some big tackles, and played
simply. It was a great training. This afternoon training was more difficult. The
u16's are fast, strong, and intense.
For the first half of training we warmed up and played some 2v2 with end players
to hit. The warm up was a big square with 6 players in the middle. they had to
run and get a ball of an outside player, turn and play to another outside
player. After that we had a diamond of cones, playing around the diamond and
moving to the left. The stress was on crisp passes and well timed runs. After
that and the 2v2 we played a bigger game about 7v7 with keepers. That was the
most difficult part. Space was tight, and I was matched up against an excellent
player named Mitch. I had to pass really quickly As well as tackle hard. One kid
kept getting fouled (I hit him once as well), but the coaches were just laughing
and making a joke like "AHH DIVE DIVE," even though he got hacked. It was a
great match. I didn't play particularly well in the final match but before that
I was top class.
I'm training with them
again on Thursday and I plan to be the best out there.
SUNDAY - 3.4.07 - ACADEMICS
First
off, sorry for not writing in so long about the soccer
situation. I have been SO busy with looking at schools,
thinking about soccer, and playing soccer. I have looked at
two schools in the UK so far. I checked out Solihull School
as well as Bromsgrove School. Both were excellent but
Solihull was not a boarding school and so it wouldn't work
out. I'm focusing on getting into Bromsgrove right now. I
took the entrance exams which turned out to be rather easy.
It looks like it is going to work out but I'm still not sure
yet. Bromsgrove is an excellent school. It has half boarding
half day environment and is huge. It's about the size of
Andover.
Bromsgrove is an ancient school. It was established around
1400 or so but it seems like it is moving forward. I don't
want to be in a school which is stuck in the 1400's. The
facilities are useless compared to Andover/Middlesex, but
for English standards they are excellent. Rugby is the
biggest sport but that doesn't really matter to me. I
wouldn't be able to play any sports for the school in any
case.
There's more to this England idea than the school. I
wouldn't have much time to do my studies over the next 4
years. The problem is that I would have to miss Monday
mornings and all of Tuesday school.
That's about 9 classes out of 29 in a week. Missing those
classes isn't all. When I turn 16 I would only go to school
for 1.5 days A WEEK. My goal is to complete high school by
the time I'm 18 under these conditions. It's going to be
very difficult and one necessary implication would be summer
school. I don't want to go but it seems unavoidable. So far
this is the toughest challenge in my path to the
Premiership. I hope it all ends well.
FRIDAY - 3.9.07 - AN OFFER
I am
finally back home in Concord after 6 weeks in England. It
was an amazing trip. The soccer was excellent, the ability
of the academy players was astounding. I have played and
worked and sweated for 6 weeks straight. I started with the
U14's and ending with a combination of U16 and U18. My goal
was to be the best. To be the best at U14, and at U16, and
at U18. I succeeded at U14 but not at U16. Even though I was
not the best in all the
groups, that mentality is vital to being a soccer player. I
have loved the trip and hopefully will return.
On
that note of returning, I was given an offer. Terry Westly,
the academy manager, called my family and I into the meeting
room. He first congratulated me on my play, then added some
big news. He said that the club wanted me to move over to
England at the start of next year or sooner. The initial
shock went on for almost a minute. He went on the explain
the schedule I would be under. I would play soccer on Monday
mornings, all of Tuesday, Thursday nights, and Saturday
games. Monday morning and Tuesday would be with the U18's...
Slowly we started to understand the situation. I am so lucky
to have this opportunity. I can barely believe it is
happening.
Up to
this point we (my family) have been hard at work trying to
make this opportunity happen. The main dilemma is that of
schooling. Missing 1.5 days of school A WEEK is almost
impossible to do. My parents have made it clear that if I
can't get good grades they won't let me play soccer. I would
need to have tutors to teach me the material. That way I
could keep my grades up. We have looked at Bromsgrove
school, so far it is the perfect place for me to go. It is
boarding so I would have a place to
stay and it also has excellent academics. Hopefully they
will let me go. This whole idea of moving to Birmingham has
changed my life. It has given me the opportunity of a
lifetime. My dream to be professional is actually happening.
Hopefully it will work out for me in the future. GO HERE FOR RESIDENCE
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