Field of Dreams

After arriving in Japan almost one month ago, I expected some of my initial culture and soccer shock to wear off. Everything that once took me far outside my comfort zone would melt away, and just become a part of my daily routine. Or at least, that is what I thought would happen, and for some things it has proven true. For instance, I no longer think about riding the trains, or the sound of Japanese being spoken all around me. Eating foods I can't recognize doesn't phase me, and asking for help from people unlikely to know the answer in English is no big deal anymore. However, Japanese soccer and Beleza soccer more specifically, still keeps me up at night. I've spent my whole life playing soccer, or at least, as far back as I can remember this is true. I grew up in NY, in a small town called Larchmont. Soccer was common, but that's all it was, common. Everyone played, but no one played well. Don't get me wrong. There were standouts, or at least, there were people everyone thought were standouts. I know because I was one of them. However, I had to leave Larchmont to find out what a standout soccer player really looked like, and I certainly wasn't one of them. I was the quintessential big fish in a very, very, very small pond. I was twelve or thirteen years old at the time. I had been playing soccer for five or six years already. Leaving Larchmont seemed like a colossal decision, and later it proved to be exactly that. It took me five years and three teams to finally realize just how big that first decision really was, so let me try to explain. Larchmont was fun. The girls were great. I had my first experience with being a part of team. We won our league every year, and I loved it. I thought we were a really good team, but there were so many things I didn't know. In Larchmont, we never competed for state championships. I didn't know there were state championships. We went away to tournaments, and we even traveled far enough to stay in hotels overnight. The whole team would travel packed into team vans with four girls sleeping in each hotel room, and it sure seemed like a big deal to me. I was eleven years old, and I had no idea there were thousands of tournaments all across the country, with the best tournaments reserved for the most competitive team, of which Larchmont was not one. I don't mean to beat, batter, and bash my childhood soccer experience, but hindsight is 20/20, and I didn't happen to grow up in one of the powerhouse soccer communities of Long Island, Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia, or Southern California, just to name a few. Nor were my parents big sports people. This statement needs clarifying. My parents are very active, healthy, and sports friendly people, but neither one played competitive sports, and they don't have a favorite football team, basketball team, baseball team, tennis player, golfer, swimmer, or gymnast. I didn't grow up watching pro sports, and although my brother, sister, and I were all enrolled in youth sports programs, the idea of excelling at anything other than school was never part of the equation. Thankfully, working hard and having fun, two points my parents often hammered home, certainly applied to soccer and were instrumental in my soccer development. In light of my parents' inexperience with competitive sports and their strong focus on academics, they supported me and my soccer development in every way they knew how. That's why when a local Jamaican soccer coach, Winston Buddle, insisted that I train with him and his boys teams, my parents agreed to drive me wherever I needed to be whenever I needed to be there. It was their decision to open this door for me that that gave me the opportunity to become the player I am today. And it because of a long line of similar decisions that I am now in Japan trying to become the best soccer player I can be. When I was ten, my parents brought me to Winston, and Winston brought me soccer. He taught me skill, and he gave me passion. He told my parents I had to leave Larchmont if I wanted to become a true soccer player. They listened. Later, when it was time to change teams again, it was Winston who told my parents they had to drive me to Long Island to play for Paul Riley (now the coach of the Philadelphia Charge) if I wanted to play soccer at the highest level. They listened. Now that I am an adult, it is still Winston that I go to for training and feedback when I am in NY or need soccer advise. And, I listen. In Japan, when I am floored by the level of play and the skills of the players around me, it is Winston that I think of as I remember the things he said to me as a child. He used the phrase "Golden Touch" to describe expert soccer skill. It is the most important facet of the game, and it is how Winston determined the value of a player. Here in Japan, the Beleza players have redefined "Golden Touch" for me. They have painted a picture to go alone with Winston's word. "Golden Touch" is not an unattainable level of perfection. It is real, and the Beleza players are masters. Smooth with the ball, controlling it out of the air effortlessly, and dictating the rhythm of the game instinctively, the Beleza players inspire me with their style and creativity. At night, I lay in bed reliving their touches on the ball and the standout moments from practice earlier that day. I can't sleep. I am too excited. I want to learn as much as I can while I'm here. I want to play the way Beleza plays, and I want to control the ball, the opponent, and the outcome of the game the way they seem to control all of these things. It is a beautiful style of soccer, and I have so much to work on. I will end here, but before I do, Jo and I wrote a list of our goals in soccer while we are here in Japan. We would like to share them with you, and since many of them overlap I will compose just one list, but it is a collaborative effort. (1) First touch:

• move to the ball, and with the ball
• move the ball purposefully

(2) Awareness:

• note where opponents and teammates are around you
• note where the space is around you
• read the game to maximize time and space
• awareness increases your ability to both keep possession and be dangerous

(3) Body Positioning:

• keep your body between the defender and the ball, shielding the ball from the opponent thereby creating time for the play to develop
• body positioning affects your ability to watch the field and can improve awareness
• defensively - work hard to be within tackling distance of the player you are marking on the other team

(4) Speed of Play:

• making decisions faster and moving with the ball and without the ball
• analyzing the game and making quicker decisions gives you more time
• the faster you play the harder it is for the opponent to react and stop you
• it allows you to exploit the other team before they can adjust defensively

This list is always evolving, and we will keep you posted.