For those who have not figured it out, I normally don't post a status on facebook after my team loses a game. I am a person who loves to win and I have found that in order to achieve things you can't sit there a dwell on the past, you have to pick yourself up and move on. And one way I pick myself up and move on is by not posting the fact that I just lost. I think that as an athlete you should try to never use words like lose, fail, give up, etc. when talking about yourself because it can bring down your confidence and make you not achieve as much. It's the same sort of thing about people who say, "Kill me." and other phrases like that. What are we always taught in school? If a fellow student starts saying things like that we are supposed to go and report it to someone who can help them. Everyone at some point tells themselves that they are going to probably lose a certain game, but I feel you should never verbalize that thought.
Now having said all of that, I will tell how our season ended in Atlanta this last weekend. (I guess this is contradicting myself, oh well. The whole point was for me to say that I hate to admit that I lost.) We arrived in Atlanta on Thursday and got to our hotel rooms. I felt very much like a professional because the rooms were extremely nice! Well, they were extremely nice for someone who has been an MK in Africa most of their lives haha. Friday our girls played against Georgia Perimeter College and lost in a golden goal overtime. I felt so sorry for them because they had literally played their hearts out and we had cheered so hard for them. I think their loss was the most dramatic of the weekend. If anybody deserved to move on to the finals, the girls should have. The next day we were facing GPC as well and I could sense in my teammates that every one of us was extremely focused and nervous at the same time. Finally we were playing in a game that truly meant something. We were all really focused and quiet in our warm ups but at the same time filled with energy. everything was quiet from our team until coached called us to huddle up before the game got under way. At that moment when he called us all of our players started yelling and screaming and clapping our hands and beating on our chest. It was like some one had just unchained the beast... For the first 30 minutes of the game our team totally dominated. We couldn't get a goal but we had all of the possession and it was clear that we had come to play. Then we had a goal disallowed because one of our players was "offside." That's what makes soccer so dramatic is that there is no instant replay and no goal line technology, once the ref calls it, it is done. He wasn't off, but the ref made a bad call. And for some reason, after that call our team attacking mentality was down. For some reason the scale started tipping to GPC's favor. I really have no way to describe what happened... I do truly feel that God did not want us to win that game for whatever reason. I still can't explain it and I may sound crazy but oh well, but I was praying the whole game four our team to have good attitudes and keep our heads up and all of that stuff and at some point I just felt at peace about the game. It felt like God was telling me, "Not this game James. You're starting over new. It's time for this season to be over."
So now I've begun a new personal season. I begin on Wednesday, a new workout schedule and I'm going to continue to become the player that I once was but way better. (That's my plan. Obviously God has His own, the story above should prove that.)
I labeled this post "Come and Listen..." after a song by David Crowder. It is amazing to me how God speaks to us while we go through out our day as long as we listen.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Go towards the light!
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
As an athlete of any kind there are certain things that you must do in order to succeed and go far in your sport. No athlete plays a sport because they genuinely want to lose. Every one who plays a sport has something that they want to accomplish. So what are your 10,000 faulty light bulbs? Some of mine are... 1) Thinking I can eat Zaxby's, Chic-fil-a, Ranchero's, etc. and then go and play a game the same day. It's just not going to turn out well. 2) Being dehydrated and drinking lots of sodas does not help a soccer player especially because of all the running. 3) On the way to the field telling yourself that you are feeling weak today, puny, slow, quiet, shy, or scared. It is not healthy to have those thoughts in your head any day of the week but especially game day. I have become extremely arrogant in my head before practice and games now. The whole way to the field I give myself positive "I" statements such as I am strength, I am speed, I am power, I am invincible, and many others. If people herd the thoughts in my head before I play now they would think that I am the most arrogant athlete ever but all I'm really doing is trying to get my light bulb to work properly and be focused for the next 90+ minutes.
This last week has been tough for our team. We are such a gifted team. We have the potential to be the best in the nation if we truly want to. But we are falling apart because of jealousy, and anger. There are different problems from our leadership that I will not get into for the sake of damaging any relationships with people that may read this. But as a team we are trying to find ourselves again and boost each other up. One thing I have noticed in my good friends Luke Adams, and Ryan Davidson are their professional approaches to all of the drama that has been going on lately. They know things are not ideal for our team right now but they are not giving up on playing their best individually just because things are not perfect. I am going to try and take this approach as well. I may not have had the best of seasons as far as getting playing time, or becoming a "favorite" on the team but I love this sport and I plan on playing it a lot longer than just this year. I also love God and I hope to reflect a good attitude on it all.
I have always heard that we are supposed to praise God in the good times and even more in the bad. It is tough to do but it makes life so much easier when you do that. I don't think that this means we are only supposed to sing praise songs to God but also honor him by doing what is right even though it is tough and hard. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." So I personally am going to keep focused and push through with the best attitude possible and know that if I keep going hard and working for the Lord then good things will happen. Hey, Edison did eventually come up with a pretty impressive invention right?
― Thomas A. Edison
As an athlete of any kind there are certain things that you must do in order to succeed and go far in your sport. No athlete plays a sport because they genuinely want to lose. Every one who plays a sport has something that they want to accomplish. So what are your 10,000 faulty light bulbs? Some of mine are... 1) Thinking I can eat Zaxby's, Chic-fil-a, Ranchero's, etc. and then go and play a game the same day. It's just not going to turn out well. 2) Being dehydrated and drinking lots of sodas does not help a soccer player especially because of all the running. 3) On the way to the field telling yourself that you are feeling weak today, puny, slow, quiet, shy, or scared. It is not healthy to have those thoughts in your head any day of the week but especially game day. I have become extremely arrogant in my head before practice and games now. The whole way to the field I give myself positive "I" statements such as I am strength, I am speed, I am power, I am invincible, and many others. If people herd the thoughts in my head before I play now they would think that I am the most arrogant athlete ever but all I'm really doing is trying to get my light bulb to work properly and be focused for the next 90+ minutes.
This last week has been tough for our team. We are such a gifted team. We have the potential to be the best in the nation if we truly want to. But we are falling apart because of jealousy, and anger. There are different problems from our leadership that I will not get into for the sake of damaging any relationships with people that may read this. But as a team we are trying to find ourselves again and boost each other up. One thing I have noticed in my good friends Luke Adams, and Ryan Davidson are their professional approaches to all of the drama that has been going on lately. They know things are not ideal for our team right now but they are not giving up on playing their best individually just because things are not perfect. I am going to try and take this approach as well. I may not have had the best of seasons as far as getting playing time, or becoming a "favorite" on the team but I love this sport and I plan on playing it a lot longer than just this year. I also love God and I hope to reflect a good attitude on it all.
I have always heard that we are supposed to praise God in the good times and even more in the bad. It is tough to do but it makes life so much easier when you do that. I don't think that this means we are only supposed to sing praise songs to God but also honor him by doing what is right even though it is tough and hard. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." So I personally am going to keep focused and push through with the best attitude possible and know that if I keep going hard and working for the Lord then good things will happen. Hey, Edison did eventually come up with a pretty impressive invention right?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
What have I become...
This is my first real blog so I hope it turns out okay. If you haven't guessed from the title of my blog, I am a soccer player. I've lived in Nigeria for 11 years, Ghana for 1 year, and the United States now for 6 years. My parents were missionaries and that was the reason for me being born and living in Africa. I learned a lot while living there and have great stories to share with people. But I think that the best thing that I learned and experienced over there was soccer, or football.
I grew up playing the beautiful game against grown men. My father had started a Christian soccer team that would go around and play against other teams in Nigeria and afterwards we would all come together as one family and do a devotion and eat together. It was great for me to get the experience to play against men like that. My father used to put me in defense, because obviously for a 5th grader I probably wasn't going to dribble through people let alone score, but I was good at reading people when they came at me and getting some part of my body on the ball to get it away.
Growing up that way taught me that size does not matter. And that little phrase people often say jokingly is actually very true... "It's not the size of the dog but it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Lately, I have not been the player I once was. The player that in my high school years got the reputation of "Game changer." The player that won awards for soccer both in America and in Nigeria. The player that came to America for one season in high school and earned the right to wear the captains band and be an influence on others. Lately... I have found myself afraid, to put it short. I think fear affects everything and if you live life with no fear then you will excel higher than a lot of people. The only fear I used to have was in the Lord. Now I not only have been fearing the Lord but other players, my coach, what people say about me, how strong other people are compared to me, how good people are with the ball, how fast people are... and the list goes on and on. Thank God, I have now realized it. I first realized what my problem was this week when my teammate asked me what happened to me. He had been going through my pictures on facebook and he saw the type of player that I used to be and it shocked him that I have not been doing that. So he confronted me. Thank the Lord for that confrontation and for my teammate to care that much to even bring it up.
I play for South Georgia College in Douglas, GA and it has been great but also a big struggle the whole way. So now this blog, to me, symbolizes a new beginning. A fresh start. I am going to get back to the old me and make improvements along the way. And I hope that people will read this and join in with me whether it is praying for me, or learning something new that they themselves can use in their life and hopefully we can all get back to where we started, fully confident and ready to go, trusting in the Lord all the way.
Mathew 7:7-12 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Just an added note, that is me the little white kid next to the truck. My father is there too. And the man next to me grabbing my shoulder is one of my oldest friends named Yakubu, he has known me since I was born.
I grew up playing the beautiful game against grown men. My father had started a Christian soccer team that would go around and play against other teams in Nigeria and afterwards we would all come together as one family and do a devotion and eat together. It was great for me to get the experience to play against men like that. My father used to put me in defense, because obviously for a 5th grader I probably wasn't going to dribble through people let alone score, but I was good at reading people when they came at me and getting some part of my body on the ball to get it away.
Growing up that way taught me that size does not matter. And that little phrase people often say jokingly is actually very true... "It's not the size of the dog but it's the size of the fight in the dog."
Lately, I have not been the player I once was. The player that in my high school years got the reputation of "Game changer." The player that won awards for soccer both in America and in Nigeria. The player that came to America for one season in high school and earned the right to wear the captains band and be an influence on others. Lately... I have found myself afraid, to put it short. I think fear affects everything and if you live life with no fear then you will excel higher than a lot of people. The only fear I used to have was in the Lord. Now I not only have been fearing the Lord but other players, my coach, what people say about me, how strong other people are compared to me, how good people are with the ball, how fast people are... and the list goes on and on. Thank God, I have now realized it. I first realized what my problem was this week when my teammate asked me what happened to me. He had been going through my pictures on facebook and he saw the type of player that I used to be and it shocked him that I have not been doing that. So he confronted me. Thank the Lord for that confrontation and for my teammate to care that much to even bring it up.
I play for South Georgia College in Douglas, GA and it has been great but also a big struggle the whole way. So now this blog, to me, symbolizes a new beginning. A fresh start. I am going to get back to the old me and make improvements along the way. And I hope that people will read this and join in with me whether it is praying for me, or learning something new that they themselves can use in their life and hopefully we can all get back to where we started, fully confident and ready to go, trusting in the Lord all the way.
Just an added note, that is me the little white kid next to the truck. My father is there too. And the man next to me grabbing my shoulder is one of my oldest friends named Yakubu, he has known me since I was born.
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