Injury and cramps

Had one of the worst sessions to date, as i struggled with my hip/thigh injury and somehow was quite lost on the pitch. There is a persistent twinge in my right thigh to hip and it didn't help that i collided with a striker while attempting to win the ball. 

After warm up rondos (where i was clattered into in a late challenge), we had circuit training where i  never thought i would be so out of breath, practically wheezing as we went through the six stations, which included a shuttle run and shoot station. I put my first three shots to the keeper (who was stationary) and then managed to slide one in the bottom corner. 

The match itself was 8v8 and it was tough since my legs were wobbly and the injury seemed to be hampering me to going full steam. Played mostly in defense in a team of more static players while the other side had all the speedsters, but the inbalance was cancelled out by Igor in our team, who has really quick reaction time such that all he needs is one touch and he's through or pass the defender. Wonderful to see in action and i had to jump out of his way a couple of times. On the way back, my legs finally cramped, but strangely the muscle spasms were only in the cord of muscles on the inner thigh. I guess i didn't warm up my groin properly? Best bit was i was still on the way home in the car, zooming along the expressway when it happened and i considered pulling over but decided to tough it out til i got home (where i tumbled out of the car and crawled on all fours to the door lol). The music playing on the radio may have helped because it was playing Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" lol

Out of puff

Was again feeling out of it because feeling unwell, but decided to go for training on a Monday anyways, in the hope that some exercise would do me good.

After the first set, i was thinking that this was too much exercise, and hoped that my body can take it! Was so out of puff that when we did the 1v1 exercise, i couldn't sprint for the ball, although i still managed to score =)

The match was interesting because we had 7v7 in half the pitch, which meant (strangely) a lot of space to run. I was playing in defence, but kept finding the space to run which meant i ended up in attack. Mixed bag in terms of my defending because i managed to win the ball a couple of times in 1v1 (take that young 'un!) even switching from defence to attack in a blink, robbing the ball and threading a through pass for our runners. There were quite a few times when i plain ran out of puff, especially after running up to attack (missed two long range open goals), and even jogging back was an effort. Paying for it today with all the aches and pains!

Just to make things more interesting, i went for a second training session this week (wife and offspring are away sampling the food and entertainment in NY), and my right leg felt off from the get go. My calf seemed to be on the verge of cramping, even though i had only just started my warm up run, and my thighs felt very tight. There was also a twinge in the hips everytime i stopped or turned. Ouch. Still it was good to go as Ivan was there so it was great to catch up again. Turns out he's heading out for a holiday soon.

After warm up rondo, we had circuit training again with Coach I (again!?!) which was 6 stations of alternating ball and non-ball exercises. Needless to say i was exhausted and even had to skip some of the rounds in the last exercises. Thanks to Ivan, who explained that after such a tough exercise we would skip the possession/shooting drill, we went straight into the 11 aside match and he even played in goal so that none of us would have to. =)

J played up front while i was paired in central defence with a rather large guy who was deceptively fast, either that or his anticipation of the ball was good and movement to cover was early. Either way, our defence managed a clean sheet, and this was also due to good midfield harrying and our strikers pressing, so much so that their pass in the final third was often astray. I was channeling my inner Sakho as i cleared any crosses that came in, mopped up all loose balls, and muscled the opposition attack off the ball or at least enough to throw them off the shot. Ivan was kind enough to tell me afterwards that he felt safe when i am in central defence, because i tackled only when i needed to, which was crucial after the other side decided passes weren't working and tried to carry the ball in. It led to quite a few one v one situations and our defence triumphed. I hope people learn that unless you are Messi or Ronaldo, there is no winning in these situations when you have the ball. Even if you manage to get through, there will be a defender to mop it up, so it is just obstacle after obstacle with the situation getting more fuzzy the amount of radar updates fall drastically. Apparently it looked to Ivan that I was always in control of the situation, never letting whatever they threw at me overwhelm me. =) J scored a beauty of a goal as he ripped their defence to shreds with good runs and excellent sense of space. Balls were played, either by him or our strong midfield, into space with no defenders and we really stretched them out. Aside from him, our midfield also had good forays into the box, so all in all a good game for us as we won 2-0.

Adding up the points

Another day another training session. Actually wasn't feeling too hot because of a bad bout of food poisoning the day before, but decided to go for training to try to shake of the lethargy, which worked. =)

Training wasn't easy though, with one of Coach I's infamous circuit training with 6 stations that really tested the muscles, specially the thigh (jumping) and calves (sprinting), with some stations even incorporating both! I managed to last up til the last station before collapsing after 2 rounds and didn't complete the third and fourth ones lol.

Even worse was to come! It was a 3v2 situation and i started on the defenders side and was run knackered by the pace of these youngsters. Funnily enough, i was the only defender to score, after pouncing on a loose ball and running it through the gates. My turn with the attackers was more uneventful although i managed to send a great diagonal through pass only for my left attacker to sky the shot. In this drill it was crucial for the guy in the center to remain at the center to control play and provide options, as opposed to running in because the guy with the ball on the flank is unable to track and pass. I actually disagree with this, and prefer to pass and move but i see merits in this approach.

The match itself was tiring, and i was really tired out by this point of time (that sprint to score really did me in) and played in defense. J was on the other side but on the other flank, so we didn't meet except for one incident where i was the keeper and he was racing through. Managed to get there to knock the ball away though (i think he stopped sprinting anyways). Even managed a nice control and turn to pass the ball which elicited a "good play" from the coaches, because i had received the ball from the keeper with my back to the oncoming tackler, and switched play out wide with outside boot sending him the wrong way, then passing onto my left wing (who promptly lost in by running out of play *facepalm*). Most of the time i managed to win the ball and then play my way out of defense, so those were nice little plus points for me. Also managed some last minute tackles against the usual speedsters, which then got some "good tackle!" from my teammates. Getting harder to keep up with these guys though, maybe i just have to build up my stamina.

testing times

As part of her music education, the offspring had to go through an examination at the end of her two year course, which at the tender age of 6, meant that this was her first of many to come, be it music or not. The amount of stress at we parents experienced was palpable though, and to be honest, being a musician myself, i knew that constant practice is key, yet with our busy schedules it can be difficult to implement on our young offspring. She did her best though, practicing regularly in the weeks leading up to the examination, and even though she had a few stumbles in the test, the examiner seemed pleased with her performance and enthusiasm. There was a point of amusement during the test when both her teacher (who was in there guiding her) and the examiner were exclaiming to each other how cute she looked. Offspring then had the chutzpah to tell everyone she passed her test, when we will only get the results in the mail a couple of weeks later.