He Shoots . . . Oh what a save!

Hey all,
this past week I headed out to go try and train with the NUIG Football club. They train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 530pm at the Dangan Sports Complex, which I found out to be a 45 min walk from my house! After showing up late on Tuesday because I couldn't find the field, I found one of the coaches who told me to suit up and jump in the drill - field drills that is... Unsure of what to make of everything, and very nervous, I suited up in my cleats, only to look up and realize that everyone was wearing turf shoes on the field - an astro turf field! @#$%! Haha, so hence forth I suited up in my Nike Free's, which are not accustomed to soccer on a turf field. Let's just say I barely got through the drills, and then the rest of the night we played shortside games, where I was able to hold my own, but did not impress anyone. Overall the first training was very awkward, and I was very nervous; I also did not make many new friends either...

After considering, reconsidering, and extreme dilberation over the next two days, I decided to stick with the training - it's only 2 days a week for a couple of hours and I've been dreaming of playing soccer internationally, let alone playing again in general! So after harnessing my nerves and confidence with the determination to play, and a new pair of cheap turf shoes, I made it back to training on time, and with confidence. Thursday was a whole new session. I met some Irish players, I played well in the field drills, and I finally got to play some 'keep - it never left me! No warm ups, and straight into a half side game, I managed to do very well and was able to actually show some strong skills. I had a blast! It was a great session, and I can't wait to get back on the field to play more and meet more people. I was asked to play in one of the games this weekend, but I had plans for Dublin with my housemates. More to come!