I Can’t Wear Shoes

I was asked to play soccer the other day. Not the normal courtyard soccer, but the soccer at the field. Of course I was excited, it’s been months since I played on a grass turf. With the new soccer boots I bought, I was raring to go

It was for my hostel match, Hall 13 vs Hall 9. Of course, I told the captain I’ve not played for the longest time, but I was still chosen for the first eleven as my fitness was deemed ‘fitter’ than the rest. I was like OK lah, as I was just like a little kid, excited and waiting for the whistle, raring to play and chase that little small ball

I played central midfield. Well I was hoping to play the flanks. For one, I can use my speed, secondly the grass is not as muddy as the middle of the pitch. I tell ya, you cannot make passes through the middle of the pitch, the ball would just go splat and stuck in the mud.

Other than soiling myself all over with mud after numerous tackles, out of it, I got a good hair styling playing in the middle of the muddy field. I got brown streaks in my hair, from the mud. When I look in the mirror after the match, damn my hair look good. Haha … yeah I know, a bit off topic

Anyway the mud, really sapped my energy in the middle of the field. Now I know why I stopped playing soccer few months back. For one, its so damn tiring with the short burst running. Fitness in running is totally different for soccer fitness. You’ve got to condition yourself for either both, and here I am, slotted for the first eleven and expected to do miraculous things. But overall I think I did quite ok for my first match

I used my speed when needed and conserve it when not required. I don’t know how many numerous tackles I made, but it was fun. Secondly why I stopped playing field soccer is because of the all-out tackles. Some people can get carried away with their tackles, with studs and all

Well I got tackled bad the other day, my ankle was swollen and you can actually see the fading stud marks on the my ankle. I can’t walk, hobbling is all I can do for now and it just so happen the fella tackled my old ankle injury. Also I can’t wear any footwear for now, that’s for sure

The things is, during the match, I can’t feel the pain. It’s only after the match that I realise the extent of the tackle. Must be the heightened endorphin in me during play. Ah crap, this is going to need a week or two for recovery, and that means my off-season training will be put on hold slightly. I’ll be able to do just the upper body and conditioning only, no running

I guess my enthusiasm got the better of me, I should have seen the tackle coming. But that’s soccer. I still love it and can’t wait for the next match. And oh yah, we won 2-0