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| The Fab Four/Seattle Crew (minus Tate) |
It was weird watching the game from the stands last night. Last season I was on the sideline helping with game stats, so I didn't feel like I was officially done. But being in the stands made me feel old, and made me want to play soccer so badly. While I was watching, I could see all the freshmen were so nervous, like they are every year. People were shoving people over...it's always intense because people are fighting for their spots. But I liked watching. And after the game was over, we said hi to all our friends and talked to the coaches for a long time. And we got free pizza so that was a bonus (especially since Josh and I hadn't had dinner).
Going to the blue and white game made me think of my first blue and white game. I want to write about it, so that I can remember my experience when I'm old. I was semi-recuited by BYU through high school. I was always on the fence on whether or not I would get a spot. I went to camp every summer and that was my biggest recruiting time and I sent in videos of myself (which are really embarrassing to watch now). The summer before my senior year I went to BYU soccer camp. I had been emailing Jen for a while and eventually it came to the point where she would look at me at camp and we would go from there. Here's the email I got from Jen before camp (yes I still have it saved in my email)
> Hi Nicole --
>
> I hope you are doing well. Today I received your letter and DVD. I really
> appreciate your interest in BYU and our women's soccer team.
>
> I definitely remember who you are..."Georgia". Aleisha and I were just
> talking about you and hoping you might be coming to camp again. I'm sorry I
> wasn't able to watch you over the Christmas holiday. I ended up having to go
> ODP national camp in Boca Raton and wasn't able to make it to the other
> tournaments.
>
> I was impressed with your DVD, and it looks as if you have continued to
> mature and improve. I wanted to update you on where we are in regards to
> recruiting. Over the past year our staff has been evaluating many potential
> recruits. We have been taking several issues into consideration including
> positional needs, future roster size, and many others.
>
> One of the major factors that has had an impact on our recruiting this past
> year and now into the future....is our roster size. The past three years we
> have been at 30+ players. As you can imagine, this is a difficult number to
> manage. We have recently discussed moving to a smaller roster size, and
> after experiencing all the success this past spring season with a roster of
> 23 players (no seniors), it has made it even more apparent that I need to
> move in that direction.
>
> We have currently filled five spots (4 field players & a keeper) for the
> class of 2008. We will hold one potential roster spot open. We may or may
> not fill it. We have passed on several talented athletes who wanted to make
> decisions on their future, but we are not ready to close all the doors.
> There are several girls like yourself that we haven't been able to fairly
> evaluate. There is still much soccer to be played, and we will wait to
> finalize our roster until the end of State Cup Tournaments, Houston
> Shootout, US Soccer Regionals/Nationals, and summer camps (end of July).
>
> I look forward to seeing you again. We will be able to watch you closely at
> camps, and I'll have you come play with the staff in the evenings. Let me
> know if you have any further questions.
>
> See you in July,
>
> Jennifer
After camp, the summer wore on and on and I never heard from her. Everyday was like torture because I would wait for the phone to ring and for it to be Jen and it never was. So I assumed the spot was filled. But I didn't let that deter me. I decided I would go to the open tryouts BYU holds every February and try to walk on. In October of my senior year during a club game I tore my ACL, which requires a long recovery time. Long story short I was able to recover in 4 months and play my high school season in the spring. I decided not to try out in February, because I wasn't recovered by that time and I planned on trying out the following February while I was a freshman at BYU. I emailed Jen at the end of my high school season, telling her some of the awards I had gotten (hoping that would spark her interest) and told her I would be playing in State Cup that summer if she wanted to come watch me play. By some miracle, she did. She came and watched me play in State Cup. It's weird because I was already graduated from high school and most everyone commits for college their junior year. A few days after State Cup I got a call from Jen asking me if I wanted to come try out in August during the team's preseason. I remember being in my room, alone, talking to her and being so nervous. I was so happy she invited me, but also dreading it because I was so scared to go tryout.
My mom and I flew to Utah a week or so before tryouts so I could get used to the altitude and stuff. I remember running around BYU and having my mom time me, because I knew there would be fitness tests, but I didn't know what they were. Those two weeks of two-a-days were some of the hardest in my life. I didn't have any friends on the team, I didn't really belong there, and it was awkward because I wasn't even on the team. Not to mention it was extremely hard. My mom would sit across the street in the car in the Provo High parking lot and watch the practices. Everything was awkward with activities outside of practices, because I wasn't on the team so I didn't go. So I wasn't in any team pictures that year because they took them before I made the team.
Jen said they would make their decision after the blue and white game. I was terrified. I really don't remember anything about the game. But I do remember talking to Jen after and having her tell me and my dad that I made the team. I'm pretty sure I cried a little and my dad said something about wanting to hug her. It's so funny to look back at that experience, because I never thought I would have met my my future husband or my best friends through soccer. And I never thought I would ever talk to Jen or Coach or Aleisha without being terrified, but last night we were laughing and talking and it was no big deal. This sounds so cheesy, but I believe dreams come true because mine did.
Yes, I also have pictures from my first blue and white game. Note the numberless jersey...
And of course some pictures of Tate
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