Summer Soccer League

I have joined a soccer team and I love it. After realizing that I hate kickball and that I think volleyball is stupid, I was ready to give up on the whole club team sports thing. But then I met Lauren from my office and she invited me to sign up for NYC Soccer. This is not regular Lauren who I have a borderline unhealthy relationship with, but rather the girl in the photo.

Tonight was our first game. I hadn't played soccer since I was 14, but I think I was able to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. The rule is that two women must be on the field at all times so Lauren and I played the entire game with no subs. Good thing we're both long distance runners.

 I played right fullback because that's what I played in middle school. I'm actually not very good at soccer, but I'm fast and I have no problem using my body to block the ball or the opposing team. I took the ball straight to the chest (which made an awesome sound by the way) and it knocked the wind right out of me. I guess I didn't tighten my muscles before it made contact and then I thought I was going to hurl and it felt like I might have swallowed my tongue. I was able to walk it off and I believe that the play ended in a goal for us.

I'm going to buy a pair of cleats (there was some miscommunication around if we were allowed to wear them or not) because I'd prefer the traction over crosstrainers. I also found blood blisters on my feet after the game.

I really like my teammates, even thought I can't remember all of their names right now. Our team name is Just For Kicks - clever huh?

Our game tonight was at 9:45 PM in Williamsburg, effectively putting a damper on any postgame celebrations. We're going to go out for drinks after the earlier games but I hope it doesn't turn into NYC Social level of celebration. I was so hungover the morning after volleyball every week. I'm really psyched for this summer and looking forward to our next game.

Now if I can only avoid sleeping with the goalie.