Learn to Adjust

Lately, my soccer coach has helped our team learn how to adjust to any situation in a game. It's amazing how one small thing can change the entire outcome. We are supposed to expect the unexpected, which is easy to say, but not always easy to accomplish, especially if you have other things working against you. First, we arrive at the field. Sometimes, it is perfect soccer conditions, the sun is shining, but it's not too hot, the field is freshly groomed and bright green. However, a lot of the time the conditions aren't as well as we would hope they would be. Therefore, we know we will have to get used to the ball's weird bouncing and funky, dry fields. When the first whistle blows, we have almost no idea of how the team is going to play. Will they be good or bad, a "boot-ball" team or a controlled passing team? There are many reasons to have butterflies in the beginning, but once we figure out what we need to do in order to win, we transition. Together, we move around our opponents, making BEAUTIFUL plays and combinations. Of course, that's the easy part. We all have to be in the game mentally as well. There are billions of things, it seems like, that will mess up a player's head; poor quality referees, violent players, or letting a goal go in, just to name a few. Any little thing can change our mental states in a split second, but we must let it go and keep pushing. After all, we are on the soccer team for a challenge and a learning experience, and how are we supposed to learn if we don't change and get rid of everything that holds us back? Together, we can learn to adjust to any condition and use that to our advantage. Together, we can succeed and win dazzling medals!