Preseason Begins!

So its late Thursday night and the team has been together for the last week now. Words can't truly explain the pain and exhaustion our bodies go through but to recap the last few days:

Saturday- We all had to get our physicals and medical evaluations out of the way. After that it was Christmas time! Coach buys the team a ton of gear for the season and we all get spoiled. One of the guys counted up the goods and its roughly $600-$700 dollars worth of free goods! Shoes, Shirts, Jackets, Blazers etc... Later that day we had our media photos taken and the senior class had their annual photo shoot for the media guide/program.

Sunday- Tuesday - The team went to a wilderness resort for some "team bonding" The place was pretty nice and we enjoyed it. The resort offered us a high ropes course, lake, water zip line, water slide, and full regulation wiffleball stadium (legit). Overall it was a fun experience getting to know everyone and having fun as a team.

Tuesday-Present- As of now, the team and I have trained 3 times a day beginning with fitness in the morning, small sided games in the afternoon, and full size 11 v 11 games at night. the heat and humidity is really tough and with all this playing it truly is Eat, Sleep, Soccer and nothing more.

The trainers are making us weigh in and out before and after every session to watch our weight and to make sure that we replenish what our bodies lose. So far, i am averaging a 3 pound weight lose PER practice and 9-10 per day. That sounds crazy but I must "refuel" my body with the proper liquids in order to have energy for the next day.

Its been a great first week and were back on the field bright and early tomorrow morning. Im proud of the team and the work the boys have put into so far, we are excited to have two possible scrimmages next week and I will post what happens! As always thanks for reading this in my bad attempt to explain the past few days!

-Hayden

Seconds - I Am Second

Well tomorrow is the big day. I begin my keeper training tomorrow night. Officially "preseason" starts on Sunday when the team finally gets together and goes to a wilderness resort for some "team bonding fitness," but I figured it would be a good idea to start a week in advance and get a head start on perfecting techniques and building on last season. My goalkeeper coach and I will be training every night this week so that once actually/legal preseason starts the kinks will be out and the fundamentals will be perfected. We also are bringing along the newcomer this year, Braydon, and he will also be working and competing in the goalkeeper position. I'm looking forward to a new face in the GK crew and I'm excited to work and help teach my teammate.

As most of you know, this is my senior year. The last year for 99% of every athlete. I am determined to give it my all so that I am not apart of that statistic. I understand however that overall in life, there's always a plan. A plan laid out by God before you were even born. He knows everything and anything you'll every do or become, so if soccer isn't in my future then so be it, its out of my hands. Of course God wants me to succeed but that doesn't mean that it has to be professional soccer. He has the blueprints. He knows best. The minute you start to believe that your first and He's second and what you think and what you have planned is more important than what He has planned for your life, thats the minute that your life starts to go the wrong way. My point is that all i want is for my plan to be fulfilled. I do not understand why things happen but I'm a firm believer that God has life under control. He tells us that He will never give us more than we can handle. So I happily and gladly accept the fact that I am second and God is first.

I found this website last year and it has truly been awesome to watch these testimonial videos and I fell in love with the message. Ironically the website is called iamsecond.com. I highly suggest and reccommend that you go to the site and just watch some of the stories. It's not a sports site, nor is it about music, drugs, addiction, or abuse but instead its about ALL these things and lots more. Just go to either the featured films or even click on the struggles portion and choose a topic that may hit home for you. Here is a short clip of Sam Bradford and his testimony. (Sam is a professional football quarterback in the NFL. He played for Oklahoma University, where he won the top award, the Heisman trophy.)

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/sam-bradford/

I am proud to say that for this season, I will be wearing a "I Am Second" wristband over the top of my glove as a reminder that God is in control.

"I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his All, All the time."

-Hayden

Thanks for reading

Summer of Surprises

So long sweet summer! The summer's wrapping up and preseason officially begins in about one week. This year is a bit bittersweet to say the least because it's my last year as a college player. Trevecca has been good to me and I am very thankful for the opportunity to represent this institution for the last four years. This summer I have been motivated like never before! You hear of the phrase "GO big or GO home." well that has been the case for me this year. Coach Danny and Ben put together a workout plan for every single day in the summer and i am happy to say that I have stuck to it more so than ever. With Nashville being as hot as it has been, these workouts have brought on blood, sweat, and tears to say the least (Not really tears, come on). Needless to say that in about a weeks time my fitness will be pushed to the max by our coaches and weirdly enough, I'm really excited about it.

The Summer has brought on some very surprising opportunities for me, I recently found out that I have been invited to a "Professional Showcase" in which the top 100 players (8 goalkeepers) all get the unique opportunity to show off their talents in front of numerous professional scouts. Teams for Europe, Japan, Australia, and of course America will all be in attendance picking out talented players for their respective teams.  This showcase is by invitation only and as if I didn't need anymore pressure this year, I have it. In December I will be traveling to Orange Beech in pursuit of my dream!

I say all these things because if your reading I'd love and appreciate any kind of love and support you may have. Basically I am asking for your prayers. Please pray that God's plan works out, whether soccer is in or out of the picture. Pray for God to use me in any way he may seem fit. And finally, Please pray that God gives me courage to pursue this dream. I am very frightened by the opportunity because I know that its a once in a lifetime chance. I thank you so much just for reading and listening to me ramble about what God's doing in my life. Only one more week until I can officially say that my journey has started!

-Hayden

"May the Competition Begin, May the Glory be God's"