Alumni Game

Last weekend I participated in my Alumni soccer game at my old undergrad. I was excited and surprised to see that many of my former teammates were able to make it. It felt like old times for all the right reasons. The cleats may have been new, but the attitudes were not.

Although the current team has some speed and weeks of training on their side, the Alumni controlled most of the play to win 5-2. The current team had some things to learn.

The fact we have a former All-American on our side probably didn't help or the fact that most of the Alumni players are athletic twenty-some year olds, but our touch was off at first and our speed wasn't extraordinary. Some say the older you get, the smarter you play and I think that fact was part of the reason. Maybe it was because it was the last day of try-outs for the current players and nerves, soreness and selfishness took over. It could have been our height advantage or our experience in playing in national tournaments.

In fact, there were probably a million factors at play, but what I heard after the win from one of my teammates summed it up: “That felt good.”

“Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.” - William Shoemaker