Journey to Aussie

Well I've had my second game and my second official yellow card..I can't seem to get the hang of the referees over here..or I guess they can't seem to get the hang of me..probably the second one.  Thankfully, we were able to pull off a 4-1 against Murwillumbah Football Club.  The scouting report told us that they were a pretty physical and direct team, and it could not have been more spot on.  I mean just walking onto the field..their starting line-up looked like they all could have been American football players.  I'm not one to ever back down from a challenge, but I'm pretty sure their two center backs looked like they belonged in a boxing ring...not to mention they were both over six and a half feet tall.  After a pretty balanced first half, we were able to get back to our normal possession and started to break the lines of their defense.  All of our four goals came in the last 15 minute period of the second half.  It wasn't our cleanest game, but w...

One full week of practice finally under my belt and a 4-3 win against Palm Beach FC.  Very exciting to start our first game of the season on a high wearing the red and blue stripes.  It was not an easy win as the score line changed favor many times throughout the game.  Not until the last 5 minutes of the game when we were able to score a goal off a set piece to put us in the lead was the win starting to become a reality.  I played defensive mid the entire game and managed to assist the first two goals with my head...of course my head, no surprise there.  Although I did pick up my first yellow card of the season as well.  According to the ref I had a "very dangerous tackle"...no idea what he was talking about, it was a perfectly clean challenge. One of the perks of being able to play soccer in different countries is the chance to experience different types of training sessions.    In Australia, one of the main themes of a typical sess...

The Grind: Jumping off the plane after a 27 hour flight and onto the field for a 90 minute game... I didn't mind too much though when I realized that we got to play on this beautiful grass cut pitch👍 We played a pre-season game against an NPL team called Brisbane Lions FC.  Originally the plan was for me to just warm-up with the team to get the blood flowing in my legs.  However, 15 minutes into the game, after a bit of frustration and our coaches realization of how much I hate sitting on the bench, I found myself playing the next 75 minutes of the game... Was it worth it? Absolutely. How did I feel after the game? Well according to the coach, Sam, I should plan on "faffing around all day tomorrow and make a trip to the bottle-o because I won't be able to feel my bloody legs" Translation: I should plan on doing absolutely nothing, make a trip to the liquor store to calm my body down because I won't be able to feel my legs..I'd say he was pretty accu...

⚽ This last week has been crazy. Getting things ready with my flights, trying to find out information I’ll need when I’m over there, and most importantly, PACKING. If I have learned two things when it comes to packing for a 6-month long journey, this is it: 1. I literally hate packing.  It is exhausting, draining, and honestly I don't really care too much what I bring.  All I need are my soccer cleats. 2. Never ever underestimate the thought process of a mother… ( Notice how this one is bolded) My checklist: Cleats, Shin guards, toothbrush, underwear, socks, and some training gear Her Checklist. Every single type of clothing material(x3), first-aid kit, medication, 3 copies of all important documents (passport, driver’s license, prescriptions, credit cards), warm and cold weather coats, shoes, and dress attire, every single toiletry item imagined (including 2 different types of sunscreen for my pale skin), and most importantly, a reminder note of what times in t...