Last night was my first practice with a women's soccer club just over the border in France! Our program's financial coordinator, Alex, and husband run the club and she saw I had some soccer experience and invited me out to play! There are between 20-30 young women aged 15-26 who come out and practice Wednesday/Friday and have games on Sunday. Apparently, in previous semesters, Alex has always found someone in the program interested in participating so as of now I am our program's recruit! She even brought me cleats--that had been worn by her daughter...who is currently 9 years old. HA! I spoke French with the girls and coaches the entire practice, having to quickly pick up on French football terminology, and enjoyed meeting another international student from Senegal along with all the French and Swiss players! After having been out of (real) practice for two years, it was such an incredible feeling being back out on the pitch! Definitely using muscles that haven't been used in a serious "soccer sort of way" for a while so needless to say I'm comfortably sore this morning...what a good feeling! We warmed up, did a circle warm up with a partner, "une binome," and progressed on to 4vs3 and 5vs4 offensive/defense drill. We ended practice with "la vitesse" or agility training that involved ladders, cones, and lots of sprints! There is such a fun, energetic, and inviting atmosphere so needless to say the 2 hours passed by extremely quickly! On our way home, the girl from Senegal finally spoke to me in French! Earlier in the practice when she found out I was American she immediately speaking in English...I persisted and continued using French so felt quite proud when she reciprocated and even commented on my accent and speaking abilities! After having been apprehensive to go in the first place, I am so, so happy I made the leap and tried something new and on my own! Depending on my schedule, I may even try and play in some of their games, which take place on Sundays! I will be sure to keep you posted on the status of that and will have to bring my camera to a practice in the near future :)
Sidenote, I got a 40/40 on my Art History quiz! Now, time to buckle down on the 2 papers and 2 presentations that are due in the upcoming weeks...
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