Don't Tread on Me.

You might not know this about me, but I LOVE soccer. Seeing as I don't have Fox Soccer Network, and my ESPN3 doesn't work at the house, the only times I can watch soccer is at a bar (which is always a nice excuse to get out and about) or when it's on ESPN (which is rare, since right now it's basketball + NFL season). I'm probably also a very weird soccer fan, in the fact that I really don't have a favorite European team that I cheer for. I tend to cheer for the Americans that are playing overseas. Don't get me wrong, I'm just like everyone else when it comes to catching the Man U, Chelsea, Barca, Real Madrid, etc. games. It is soccer at the highest level. However, there is something about watching the US Men's National Team (and WNT for that matter). You can't help but get excited watching these professionals represent our country in a sport that we, as a country, are just starting to support. 

That lack of support comes from a couple of places. 1) Why would anyone watch soccer when you have football (American), basketball, baseball, (all which we excel at, and people from different countries would jump at the chance to play here) and there is a team that you can cheer for in your regional area? 2) Expanding from the 1st point, having these popular sports, that's what kids watch, and they grow up wanting to play those sports instead of soccer. 3) Most people truly do not understand soccer. I don't know how many people I've watched a game with that said after the final whistle, "How do you watch this? It's so boring! No one even scored!" 

Soccer is such a complex sport. One where the best play may not start by moving the ball forward. A back pass opens the field up for more opportunities for spacing, runs, etc. Every pass has to have the correct placement and force on it, or that play will be broken up. Most people talk about quarterbacks throwing the ball in such a small pocket, and how the pass has to be perfect for a receiver to have a chance to catch it. Same thing with soccer, except EVERY player has to be like a quarterback AND be a receiver. Each pass, each shot has to be placed perfectly, and each touch has to be good, otherwise the play is changed. The possession: that is what MAKES soccer the sport it is. Seeing how players shift on the field, when they don't even have the ball; the crisp one-touch passes; waiting for the precise moment to strike... that is what soccer is all about.

I can't get enough of the USMNT, I really can't. I watch highlights, interviews with the players, games, etc. I get goosebumps watching an amazing goal being scored, or a keeper make an incredible save. Most of all, I remember what it feels like to be out on the field, playing with people that you have to trust so fully, that they will give you their all in return for your hustle. Having that competitive nature, trying to win every 50/50 ball... there's nothing in the world like playing soccer.

It is that feeling from soccer that I am so grateful for. You have to work so hard to be successful, and if you don't give it your all every day, you might not make it. But if you do, regardless of bumps that come along the way, you will get what you really need (and usually it's what you want as well). You listen to professional soccer players say how they are always training, always giving the best they can, always trying to improve. Because they love what they do, and they want to be the best they possibly can. They want to have the chance to represent the team they're playing for, and maybe even a chance to represent their country.

That feeling, of working hard, being the best you can, it can be expanded into any facet of life. I've been frustrated the past few weeks, feeling a bit overwhelmed with the workload this quarter (only about 7 more weeks... thank god.). Putting it into perspective with soccer, you can make correlations with it. You work hard to get where you need to go (aka where you are at this moment), but you can't revel in the fact that you made it. You have to continue to achieve things that you may not thought to be possible. You represent your university where you study, where you research, where you make new discoveries. You represent your country with what you do, whether you think about it that way or not. Don't think of it as pressure, think of it as motivation. You want to be the best you can, because at the end of the day, you are representing yourself.

I can find motivation in small things, whether it is role models and their work ethic, or it's a dream I want to accomplish. I've gotten this far, why not go as far as I can?

And on the days that seem too dreary, seem to just take the wind out of your sails, just remove yourself from the situation for a minute. Think of what you want to achieve, and what it will be like once you do. Then get back in there, get training, get motivated. The opportunity is yours for the taking: just do it.

What has motivated you to get to where you are today? What continues to motivate you? Where do you get your competitive nature? What drives you to be better than you were yesterday?