My First Official Cap

Since I arrived in Berlin in November, I have been fortunate enough to have started training with my friend Travis' Football team, British Lions FC. The team is a collection of Germans, Brits, Americans, and Canadians playing in a low-tier German league (I wouldn't call it a rec league, but I wouldn't call it a beer league either) here in Berlin. I had been anxious to get involved in something when I got into Berlin, both as a chance to exercise and as a chance to meet some people.

Growing up, I was never much of a Football player. I played a few seasons of indoor football in the winter, mostly as something to do while I wasn't playing Baseball, and mostly because my family couldn't afford to let me play Hockey. When I got to Florida State, however, I started to get back into the game. I was never very good at shooting, or dribbling, or running for that matter. But some friends I had needed a goalkeeper for their intramural squad. So I figured, why the hell not?

Turns out, I had was a half-decent goalkeeper. The position seemed simple enough for me. All I have to do is throw myself in front of the ball. I did the same playing Catcher in baseball all those years. Besides, most people usually don't want to play keeper, so it was the best way for me, as a shitty football player, to get some playing time. Maybe that's why I was halfway decent at it. I started to get more and more interested in playing, and as a result, began to have a bigger appreciation of the sport as a whole.

Which leads us back to now. Travis' told me that his team was in need for a goalie, so it seemed like the perfect chance to play and enjoy myself. I've been training since the end of November/early December with the guys. A good bunch of guys they all are, and some good players too.

Now the funniest part about trying to play in a German rec league is that as an American, you actually have to apply for a player pass (or transfer) from the U.S. Soccer Federation to play. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, especially for someone who never even sniffed an organized league. But in a way, it for some reason also feels pretty badass when your transfer comes through, because you almost feel like some sort of important player that the U.S. Soccer Fed has to push through (Not that they would throw me on the MNT anyway). It took all the way up to last week for me to get my player pass in and approved. So after practicing for that amount of time and not being able to play in actual games, I finally had a chance to play in an official game with the team.

That first game was last Saturday, and I'm happy to say that in my first official cap with the team, we emerged victorious 3-2. A crazy game at that, albeit a very sloppy one. I did alright in my first game. Made a few mistakes, including one which ended up becoming a goal for the other team, but as they say, you live and you learn, and in the end all that mattered was that we won. The pitch was slippery and wet as hell, so it wreaked havoc trying to field the ball, but for the most part, I was able to get some control of the ball. I also managed to get shoulder checked by a 250lb. guy on the other team while going for a ball, so my shoulder was killing me for a while.

All in all, It was fun getting out there and playing with the guys, and luckily, it will be something I get to look forward to now for the rest of the year.