Conner's Journey

2011-09-05T23:58:00.001-07:00

I am going to discontinue this blog on blogger and move over to tumblr. I am able to have it directly as an app on my phone and it will make things easier and allow me to get more posts out. I will have a link to my new blog from my twitter account (@connerbrady) and I will make sure the link off of www.kinesiologists.ca is changed as well. I will still have this one so if I don't like tumblr then I will com back on here but we'll see how it goes and have some fun with it. Ciao for now. New blog should be going soon.

2011-06-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well I always forget to come on and write something on here because I don't go on my computer that often but now I realized that I have an iPhone and can do it from my phone so will try my hardest to get more posts on here.

So, I am done at Gold's Gym and I am going to be doing some landscaping for the rest of the summer. I love training and I love my clients but it is just not something I can do for a summer job when I only have 4 months to make as much money as I can before I go back to school. I'll get back to it once I am done school and I'm a bit more settled and only have to worry about work and can stay somewhere where I don't have to leave my clients a few months later. Until that time I'm going to just keep doing jobs to make money and just worry about school and soccer.

School is a major focal point for the next little while because I need to do as well as I can and not be a failure with it. As well as university I need to get my couple upgrading courses out of the way so I can be on track. My goal was to be done by June but that didn't happen so now it is the end of the summer but it's going to be tough. I have a full year from when I started them to finish so if I get them done by January then I can be on track with my university courses for the spring semester next year.

I am on my way to becoming a bigger, faster, and stronger player but my ability with the ball is where I'm lacking. Along with training in the gym I need to make sure I do ball work on my own and at training I'm doing everything I can to improve. There's no point to it if I'm not giving myself goals and working to be getting better. Sure I could just go with what I've got and be comfortable butwhat the fuck is the point? It's reasons like this why I train as hard as I do. Something that has been pissing me off lately is my lack of intensity in training and games. I get in my head and worry about getting hurt and crap like that an I don't play to my full potential. I know that when I wa preparing for university I kind of toned thing down because I wanted to be ready to go when I got here but I honestly just think that made me soft. I need to start playin like I have a pair and it starts right now. I'm done with playing half assed. This is my time to make big improvements and become a way better player. Be a top CIS player and try and turn some things around at lethbridge.

"I've always believed that if you put in the work, results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly, because I know if I do, then I can expect a half-hearted results" -Micheal Jordan

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-06-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

I went to that concrete place the other day to drop off a resume and when I looked at my iPod I realized it took me just under an hour to ride there. I decided not to apply because I can't be riding for 2 hours everyday and not expect to be burnt out fast. So now my plan is to just giver at the gym and get as many active clients as I can and make a bit of coin. I have a chance to do some landscaping starting in July too which will be good because it will be steady cash flow.

This last week I have crashed twice on my bike riding to work. The first time I was going pretty slow so that didn't hurt that bad but yesterday I was probably going about 35km/h and the pin on my breaks dropped out so I had no breaks and had to jump off my bike basically; that one hurt a lot.

I'm now at 205 lbs and I'm feeling stronger than I have before. I haven't lost any speed with my size but I haven't gained any either. That is the next phase of my training; speed, acceleration and vertical. I can't wait to see where I am in a couple years with my training and playing. All that takes care of the off field training so I need to work at my on field abilities as well. I feel like I am constantly improving though and always moving forward.

Last weekend our games got cancelled due to the rain here in Alberta, apparently everyone is made of sugar here and can't play in the rain, what a joke. But, we have our first games this weekend in Edmonton and I couldn't be any more stoked. Apparently one of the teams we're playing has a wicked striker that runs there team so I cannot wait to be challenging him tomorrow afternoon. This first game here is what I fucking live for! Through all the tragedies throughout time there has always been an understanding for sports. Tomorrow when that first whistle blows we forget everything else and play the game that we love.

"the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you'll make one"

FYI posts are going to be more frequent and I'll be finishing everyone off with some inspiration.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-05-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

I have a few more clients now but with starting out in a gym takes time and since I'll only be here for the summer I just can't do it financially so I am going to apply at a concrete place tomorrow and hopefully I'll get it so I can have some steady income. If it works out I'll be good to go. Steady work and steady money; that way I can work all day, train in the night and have a social life.

My first games were supposed to be this weekend but because of a few days of rain they were canceled so the first games will be this weekend in Edmonton..I am so pumped to finally get playing outdoor again. Can't wait to destroy some people.

2011-05-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well I am getting more clients but after training what I have as much as I could really and seeing what I get paid after that I'm not making nearly enough money. I love to train and never having to worry about a membership is nice too but I think I'm going to find something that has some steady cash flow. I found a place on kijiji and it's concrete work but the add says "labourer wanted: heavy lifting," so I should be a shooin. It will still be a long ride to work and it will be early mornings but if it's decent pay and I can work full days, five days a week then I'm good with that. I just hope that they haven't found someone already because they aren't open today so I can't bring my resume in until Monday so I'll just have to see what happens.

Alberta....well I'm still having mixed feelings on this place. If it's not -30 then it's +30 and it is never not windy, there are no trees over 30 feet and there is no ocean. I've said this to people and even anyone reading this might tell me to stop bitching but when you come from a province that is gorgeous all year round and there's only snow for 3 weeks out of the year then this place isn't ideal. I know it rains all the time and it's damp and cold but I grew up in that and that's what I love. And not being able to see the ocean every single day is the worst part about it. I've decided that from now on, every time I go back I'm going to jump in the ocean. I don't care if there's snow on the ground and it's -5 (cause that's really as cold as it gets) I am going to jump in the water. And that's all I have to say about that.

2011-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

That last post was written a little while ago but it dent go up for some reason but now it's up. Now, I am up to 9 clients and I have sold 48 sessions and things are finally getting a bit busier. Not as busy as I'd like to be though. I want to have at least 15 by the end of May.

I'm starting to see more gains on myself as far as my weight training goes; I am getting thicker and filling out more up top which is what I want to happen. Once I get bigger and thicker I need to worry more about the athletic part of my training and then not only will I be bigger but stronger and faster and a way better athlete and I'll continue to work on my skill with the ball and become the best player that I can be and try an go somewhere with it.

2011-04-29T08:19:00.001-07:00

I've been able to be at the gym a lot more now and I'm up to 5 clients but I had my final exams and I'm in the process of moving to a new place so it's been hard to be at the gym all the time but I have been going as much as I can. I just had a meeting with PT manager yesterday and we went over last month and getting adjusted and then did some goal setting for the month of May. So now I know where I need to be at atthe end of the month and it gives me an idea of how much time I need to put in. No surprise that this is coming up again but I need to be more outgoing when I'm at the gym and just in general. I have already stepped out of my shell quite a bit since I first became a trainer but I need to get it even further. I have trouble just talking to random people and I hate that I do. It will come though, the more times I try it the more it will happen and the better I will get at it.

As far as my own training goes, I have recently joined the 200 club. I hit 202 on Wednesday and it feels great. I want to get a bit bigger still and then once my season comes around I want to shed any excess fat and be at about 205. I don't feel like I've lost any speed which is great. I just have to work on improving my speed, acceleration and vertical. I am a long way off from the athlete that I want to be but I am working my ass off to get there.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've been busy over the last few days with re-certifying my CPR and having ID camp with my team this weekend so since my last post I have only worked 2 or 3 days I think. This week will be a bit hectic with trying to get my everything done for the last week of classes, but my plan is to try and get out on the floor as much as I can and be interactive with all the potential clients in the gym. Once I can get more hours in the gym and start working out at Gold`s I will be able to be more interactive the everyone and get my name going around the gym and then start getting more clients on the go. I can`t wait for that time to come. Then my summer will consist of personal training, training myself, soccer and upgrading my courses I started in February; that is all I really care about. A few relaxation days in there but the busier I keep myself the more I get done.

Speaking of keeping myself busy; that is what I am going to have to do for the next 4 years to keep my sanity in Lethbridge. I am not a fan of the flat lands and I cannot wait to get back to BC. An example of why I am not a big fan; I was riding home from work today and I have to ride into the west wind that blows through Lethbridge (which, by the way, always blows through) and I could literally barely pedal at some points. Yea it`s windy in BC but it will be windy for 3 days, tops! In Lethbridge, it is constantly windy. The biggest thing keeping me here is to play soccer. Yea there are good people and I am doing school but I can meet good people wherever I go and I could transfer schools if I wanted to. But, I`ll put my time in and then I get to do what I love to do forever and I get to live in the nicest place on earth.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-04-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ah so you noticed I changed the look of the blog. I like it but we'll see how long I like it for. The new look of the blog is not to represent a new look for myself but a new way I want to approach things (or something like that, it makes sense in my head). Anyways, I want to change the way I go about things in my life, particularly I want to start being more outgoing. Coming into this job at Gold's Gym and having worked at a gym before I know that I need to get out of my bubble and approach people and get sales. From there it is the easy part of my job which is training. If I can begin to get more outgoing with my job it will get me more outgoing in everyday life and through university. Or maybe I need to do it the other way around. Nonetheless I need to get out of my bubble and change the way I do things, enough said.

By the way, I plan on blogging a lot more now that it's summer but also bring it in to next year as well. For some reason I think I need to write some huge paper every time I'm on here but I'll just be doing smaller ones every once couple days.

Ah yes!!

2011-03-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I have changed my study habits a lot in a short period of time and it has helped so much; I am glad I made the change now in first year compared to waiting til third or fourth year. Since I changed my habits I have written two tests and beat my previous tests in those classes by about 25%. One thing that I still don't do very well with is my writing. I had a paper to write and put off my research and now I'm finishing it last minute. I know that I need to start early, do research, make an outline and all that but writing, along with reading, are just things I don't like doing and would prefer to put them off. It's all beginning to come around though.

Both my interviews at Gold's Gym went very well and I got the job! I am quite excited that I'll be getting to train people again. Right now the other trainers and myself are getting brought up to speed with their way of doing sales and assessments and all of that. It's not too bad but this is the one part of the job that I truly hate. I don't like trying to convince people that they need to spend money. The way they do things seem a bit better than the last place I was at but still, I am not a salesman. I wish I could just go train people; just like with school, I wish I could just do the kines stuff. But this is life and the path I have chosen so I will make the best of things and just kill it.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Let's hope for the best

2011-03-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

Things are getting a lot better. I am getting much better study habits and I have given myself time lines for my assignments and tests that are coming up and I am determined to do well on every assignment, quiz and test until the semester is done. I do have my upgrading classes too but I have it planned out to do that during the summer because they just have to be done before the fall semester starts. I am going to have everything done by next fall and I will be on track by the fall semester and I will also have study habits that will help me do very well in university, I hope.

I have to be out of the place I'm living in by May 1st and I've been looking for a place for a while now and almost got a place and when I told the landlord about myself she said "you seem like you'd be a great fit for this house, but unfortunately someone put a deposit down late last night." So I had to keep looking and couldn't find anything but last night after my game one of my buddies from my soccer team told me that he was moving out of his place and I know his roommate from back in Powell River and I talked to him last night and I am going to move in there on May 1st. I am pretty stoked that that's one less thing I have to worry about it.

Along with finding a place I've also needed to find a job. I've been looking on kijiji for the last little while and last week I saw that the Gold's Gym here was looking for personal trainers so I emailed them my resume and I had my interview today. I feel like it went really well. I was able to answer all of his questions and it seemed like he liked me. The only thing though was that when he asked if I had any questions I couldn't think of any because he was able to put everything so clearly which was nice but I feel like a bit of an idiot when they say that and I have nothing to say. Oh well, the interview is done and now next week I get to do a practical portion. I have to train my boss and he'll also ask me a few questions and then I'll see what happens. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with him yet but I'll figure it out and I'm sure I can get the job. I will get this job, I know I will.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-03-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

I'm deciding that even though I hate all these classes I'm in right now and the one's I'll need to take later that have nothing to do with kinesiology I'm going to just stick it out and get through it because in the end I want my degree and I want to do well. This is what I want at this point in my life and I am going to do everything I can to get through this. I've started to try and fix my study habits and I went to see a counselor last week to help me with all of that kind of stuff and now I'm going things differently. I also want to be able to play next year and I can't do that if I don't have at least a 2.0 GPA and I don't have that right now so I need to just step it up and put the work in. I referred to my training and that when I was talking to the counselor about school and that even though it doesn't interest me I have to set it up like I would train. By breaking my study sessions down into different parts like if I was training my body and doing different split routines. All-in-all I just have to stop being lazy when it comes to my schooling and put as much effort into it as I do when I train.

I have decided that I am going to be staying here in Lethbridge for the summer to finish my upgrading, work, and play soccer. And I have a job interview coming up this week at Gold's Gym and my fingers are crossed because they said they were looking for someone to go full time but I can't go full time until the end of April. The interview is on Thursday though so we will see what happens.

Things are going to be getting better and better, especially now that the snow is going away.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2011-02-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

Over the last little while I have been in a bit of a slump. When I came to university I thought I'd be getting my kines degree and didn't think about all the other courses I'd have to take, and to top it all off there is the bit of upgrading I have to do. I think if I had prepared myself during high school for university I would be able to deal with it better. By that I mean taken courses that set me up for what I wanted to do. But, back in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do and had no intention of university. Then I wanted to go so I could play soccer but got scared for the actual school part and backed out. After this I went and got my personal training certificate and I loved it. This is when I decided to go to university and now I am here. I basically came to university with barely any prep and now I am getting a bit overwhelmed. I have to change my attitude around now and start getting pumped up for every class I have and I need to get some better study habits. To me I feel like this is the worst thing right now and all I want to do is work, but I know that it is only going to be 5 years and I will be able to work and have the job that I want. I know I can dig deep and start doing better in my classes and I will probably enjoy it sooner or later. And I am going to need to start doing better because this costs a lot of money so I better sort it out soon.

After I got back from San Jose I got an email from the Kansas City team telling me that my spot is secured for their open tryout in March but I don't think I am going to go because it is going to cost me another grand probably and it's a lot of money to put up for a possible 2 day tryout. What I figure is I wait and just continue to improve and then when I get towards the end of my university career I'll go around and tryout for some pro teams in the states. Maybe go travel over in Europe and tryout for some pro teams over there too. I'm only 19 and still have a lot to learn, but the more I keep playing and the harder I train the more I will improve. I have already noticed some pretty big improvements in myself even since September and I am just going to keep improving. I have been training harder than I ever have before and I've put on around 5 pounds; it looks like it's all in my shoulders but I'm sure I've put it on everywhere.

I can't wait until the snow is gone and I pick up a bike. Get outside to do some biking but I can also get outside to do some running as well. I am starting to get sick of the treadmill and indoor track. Damn snow! Not too much longer though and I'll be playing outdoor soccer again and going for runs and bike rides; that's what it's all about.

San Jose Earthquake's Open Tryout

2011-02-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

I would have wrote about going to the tryout before I left but I had to scramble to get everything together to get down to San Jose. So, this is basically what happened from when I registered for the tryout to when I got back to Alberta.

Over the last couple weeks I've been talking with a teammate about the Canadian National Team (CNT) and how awesome it would be to have that experience and to get noticed by them. Right away I started looking online to find things out about the CNT and I got some emails out there and the news I got back from then was that I needed to try and get myself into a professional environment. Last Wednesday my friend and I were talking about how awesome it would be to play pro and instantly I started looking thing up online for all the pro leagues in North America and obviously the one that strikes as the most appealing is Major League Soccer (MLS). I went on to every teams web page and I found two teams that were having open tryouts, San Jose on February 6 and Kansas City on March 12 and 13. The registration for the San Jose one was $75 and there was 200 spots. Since it was so close to the tryout I didn't think that I would even get a spot but sure enough I got an email confirming that I got into the tryout. I had to make a decision that night if I wanted to go or not because I had to book flights and hotels. I called my parents and we worked out the money part of things so on Wednesday I booked my flights down to California. I decided to fly out of Montana because flying nationally in the states was cheaper than flying internationally. So, I was flying from Great Falls, Montana to Salt Lake City, Utah and then from Utah to Oakland, California. On the Thursday I booked my hotels and called my credit card company and went to the bank and had everything set up for my trip. On Friday I made sure I had everything finalized and then packed everything that I need for my trip.

I'll talk about the travel, there and back, in this paragraph and then talk about the tryout in the next. So, I woke up on Saturday at 7 to double check everything and then my roommate gave me a ride to Great Falls at 8. It took us 3 hours to get there and then I had delays in Great Falls because of the snow. By the time I left it was close to 2pm and my connection was at 310. We got to Salt Lake at 313 and I missed my flight by 3 minutes. I had to get onto another flight which didn't leave until 8pm and it got me into Oakland at 930. I caught a cab from Oakland to just outside the city to a town called Danville, which is where the tryouts were held. I got in at about 10pm. Adding all the up my travel time that day was 14 hours. The way back was about the same. I got up at 730 and got a cab at about 830 which got me to the airport at about 9-ish. I checked in and everything was going fine; I flew out of Oakland at 1015 and got to Salt Lake at about 1230. I had a 3 hour wait in the airport there and flew out at 330. I got to Great Falls at about 5 because there was snow there still. I turned my phone on and text my roommate to see if he was close but he hadn't even left Lethbridge yet, in fact, he didn't leave until about 715. There was quite a bit of snow in Lethbridge and Great Falls and it took him about 4 hours to drive down and he got there at 1115. 6 hours I was waiting in that stupid airport and I almost read an entire book, and I suck and hate reading. So, another 3 hour drive back to Lethbridge and I was back at 230am. Adding all the up I travelled for 18 hours on Monday. I don't think I've travelled so much in such a short amount of time.

Now the tryout. They were supposed to give you an email which said what time your check in was at because there were 3 different times; 8, 10, and 1. I never got this email so I was up at 6 and ate only a small continental breakfast at 630. I called a cab at 7 and waited for an hour and no cab arrived. Luckily someone else that was at the tryout was staying at the same hotel and offered me a ride. I got to the field for 8 to find out that my check-in time was at 1pm. I just hung around the field to watch people play and see what kinda of skill there was out there. At the 10am check-in they were missing a defender and asked if I wanted to join in for this game as well so I did. The way it was set up was 3 teams played each other twice for 30 minute games. It ended up being me and some guy that looked like he'd never played before in the back and pretty much everyone else pushed forward to show the coaches their "skill". I lost count of how many times it was a 5-on-2 on me and that other guy because my team would lose the ball and not run back and I didn't remember there names so I couldn't yell at them to get back and who to mark up and I would try using the number on their jersey but they didn't know what number they were so it got quite frustrating. Most of the time I would stop them coming at us or force them to have a bad shot that was easy for the goalie but me not being able to control the back line just made me look like shit. And, if the other team would score then my teammates would try to blame me because I should have been marking them. I was ready to lose it on all of them. So that is what happened for 60 minutes. It was 12 now and I hadn't ate anything since 630 and couldn't leave because my actual time was about to come up. I also forgot to grab my water bottle when I was leaving because I was nervous that I was going to miss my check-in time so I stole a little plastic water bottle from the ref's cooler but I didn't get enough water in me to counter the 25 degree heat. Which isn't crazy hot, but going from -10 to +25 in a few hours will hit you pretty hard. So I was sun burnt, dehydrated, and ridiculously hungry and now I had to play again. This time it was the same thing, me and one other guy in the back but it was even worse because I was beat and the team we were playing was better than the ones before. So, time and time again we were getting caught in 5-on-2s and there was nothing we could really do. Personally, besides the dehydration and all of that I played alright. My passes were on, my long ball was on, I was playing with composure and I was trying to talk the best I could. There was maybe only 3 or 4 times all day that I got beat 1-on-1. No one could muscle me off the ball when I had it. However, looking at my play from the coaches perspectives, I did not bring my best game. I was not playing at the level they were looking for.

Now...to go to Kansas City or not to go to Kansas City?????

2011-01-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

Second semester is underway and it just keeps getting more and more busy. And, it's not even my university classes that are keeping me super busy, it's the upgrading I'm having to do. It's a small price to pay though because it's either do some upgrading and keep going with my B.Sc or don't upgrade and get a BA but who wants that? The thing that really sucks with the courses is that I haven't done any of them in like 3 years or so, so the material just seems to be way over my head. But I am getting some teammates and friends to help me so things are going to start rolling along soon.

Training. This is my stress reliever. This is my sanctuary. This is where I get my attitude from, whether I am training in the gym or on the field, this is where I get it. Even when I am busy as hell and can't find time for much I can still find time to get into the gym and push myself. If I didn't train the way I do I wouldn't be who I am. I have to have it in my life. I'm always going to train hard and when I am done school and back to work all I'm going to do is train people and train myself. You tell me, is there any better way to live your life?

Started phase 2 of my 3 phase workout program last Monday and it is awesome! I am about to start week 2 of the 12 week phase. I can't wait until I get up to about 200 lbs and just shredded. I'm going to be bigger, stronger, and faster than anyone in my league next season. I am going to be able to go for longer than anyone, jump higher than anyone and to top it off I can see my skill improving more and more as I play. I just need to try and slow things down and relax and it will start flowing way better.

During training camp in August I ran a 14.15 beep test, a personal best and a school best. I ran it again for fun on Wednesday and got a 14.11, and I was pissed! I plan on smashing my 14.15 over the next few weeks and by training camp this coming August I plan on getting a 16. Before and after I get my fitness to that point I am going/need to work on my starts. Those first few steps can determine who gets to that ball first, I plan on that being me every time.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Apologies

2011-01-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

Seems like I start everyone of my blog posts like this for quite a while but sorry for not keeping up on this. I was working over my Christmas break and then got sick towards the end of it and now classes have started again and just lots of personal shit going on. So again, I apologize for not posting very much on my blog.

I'm only taking 3 classes and a physical activity this semester because in order to get back on track with my degree by next fall I need to do some upgrading for my prerequisites. I have to upgrade my math 12 and chem 11/12 by August and I haven't done math in about 3 years and haven't done any chem since grade 10 when it was a unit in science 10. This is going to be a very interesting semester and I'm honestly not looking forward to it. But, I have to get it done so I am going to dig deep and get it done.

My personal life is kind of messed up right now, but I won't get into much detail about that. In short though, don't get serious with someone in your first year of university. But, basically I am thinking of transferring back to BC somewhere, probably UVic. Anyways, I'll fill everyone in on that as it comes.

Now my training; it has been shit for the last month. I worked over the break and then got sick and that combined with my injuries from my season I am officially in the worst shape I've been in in about 4 years. Right now it's just my sickness that's keeping me back, and, well, my busy schedule doesn't help but I have to get back to where I was so I can pass it.

That's it for now.

First Semester almost over!

2010-12-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

Looking at my last post it has been 2 weeks since the last time I posted anything, sorry about that. Internets been down and it's the end of the semester so I've been ridiculously busy. Tons of papers and tests to get done near the end here, a bit overwhelming but it's not that big of a deal. The toughest part so far was a research paper in my writing class; had to write about rhetorical analysis and I still barely know what that means. I had to hand in a hard copy in and also submit it o a website and because my Internet was down and I've been at home studying I forgot to submit it until today so it was 5 days late which is going to equal a 25% drop on my paper, so I most likely failed that paper and the class because of that. I got it done though and now I just have my final to write. I also have a final for my coaching class and then I'm on my way back to BC!

I have been training again for 3 weeks now and I love it. I wish it wasn't so important to take recovery days because all I want to do is workout. I can't wait til I'm done with school and all I'm doing everyday is waking up and going to the gym to work and workout. There is no better job in the world. The program I'm on right now is 28 weeks long and split up into 3 phases. I just finished the first phase which is 3 weeks long and I start the next phase tomorrow but I almost want to just wait until I start that phase because I'm not going to be able to do it over the break because I won't be able to get into a gym every day while I'm back in BC so I think I'm going to take a break from the program over my break and just use my TRX. I'm going to try and make some new, crazy exercises for it. And when I get back after the break I am going to start taking creatine too. I've done my research on it and there aren't any side effects that can harm me and what it does is provides your muscles with more energy. The fact that you look bigger is because the creatine super hydrates your muscles and your muscle hold the water. I am pretty pumped to see the results after this program; hopefully I'm up about 10 lbs by next year. I have to start eating more though which is a tough thing to do. I started skipping too and it is so awesome. I do it for a warm-up and cool-down and I just love it. On Friday I skipped for about 30 minutes in total and my calves have been killing me all weekend, but it's an awesome feeling.

That's it for now, time to hit the books again. I'll try and get on here more than I have been.

I got it!!

2010-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

Well I've figured it all out pretty much. I am going to take online courses to do the upgrading that I need. I am going to take math 12 and chem 11 this spring semester, along with my university classes, and then I am going to take my chem 12 this summer and then I'll be all set up to really start my degree. In the last post I was upset because I had to take courses I didn't even want but I kind of need them anyways because Lethbridge has GLER's they're called, it stands for General Liberal Education Reguirement and you need to have 4 arts and humanities, 4 social sciences, and 4 sciences and two of the classes I'm taking are going to work towards that. Everything is falling into place now. I just emailed the Alberta Dintance Learning place today to get all the info and then I'm going to start right away.

Starting week 2 of my training schedule and it's going great. Right now I'm doing an upper/lower split and in about a month I am going into isolation days and then hopefully start putting on some lean muscle. Pictures of my before shots are going to be up by tomorrow, check them out.

A wee bit of a pickle!

2010-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have been drowning in homework and papers and what not for the last 2 weeks, it's ridiculous. I actually had to tell my girlfriend that we couldn't hang out for a while so I could get some work done. It's mostly my writing class, I'm not the biggest fan of it. I wrote a test last week, a test today, and then today I looked online at my marks for an assignment from last week and I got a 0 because I didn't attend the lab but it was the day after we got back from Victoria and I had my concussion and I didn't leave my house for 2 days. Apparently there are rules for when you're absent. Luckily I can go get a note from the athletic trainer and get the marks.

The way Lethbridge works is you register for your first semester before the summer and then you register for your second semester in November; my day to register is tomorrow at 5 am. I can't wait to be up that early for it, and hopefully I can get all the classes that I want. I'm still not even sure what I am going to take yet. I just got an email telling me about some courses I want to take and really they are upgrading courses because I screwed myself in high school so I have to upgrade. Now I don't even have the grade 11 courses to be able to get into the classes I want so what I have to do is go and register in the college for a semester and upgrade my high school courses and then apply to the university again and start back where I left off. It is going to suck so much but I've got to do it. I will do it too. I've got to get my head back into the school aspect of things, I'm letting myself slip and it's starting to piss me off. I have to get on here more and start letting people know what's going on. I have to make my mind as solid as my body is going to become.

Now that my concussion is over I am back at it. Got cleared last Thursday and started going again on Friday. Haven't taken a day off yet and my body is so sore, I love it. I've started my program too which is unreal; I have to do my 1RM's next week though so I can know all my weights for my exercises. I've started eating more, still staying healthy too. I need to remember to keep tracking it though and make sure I stay up at 4500 calories. I can't wait to start putting on some muscle. My before pictures will be coming up on here in the next couple days and then you get to wait for my after pictures which will blow your mind. Seriously. I have to stay focused and let my mind start controlling me and push myself to the limits. It's not about just being physically strong; if you are mentally strong then your physical abilities are unstoppable.

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
-Michael Jordan

I'm Back!!

2010-11-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry that you haven't been able to read about my awesomeness in a little while, 11 days by my count. There hasn't been much going on the last two weeks due to my concussion, so I have basically been resting and doing homework. All my classes are flowing pretty smoothly right now. I just wrote my Kines 1000 mid-term last week and it was all on nutrition and muscular fitness; I killed it. The only class that gives me any trouble at the moment is Writing 1000. I have a critique paper due in two weeks and a research paper due in three and it's just tough nuggies. There are so many rules to writing and it is quite frustrating. One thing I always look into is contractions because sometimes when you have to write "do not" it just doesn't sound as good as "don't". Whatever, I'll pull my socks up and rock both papers.

Now to my concussion; I wasn't allowed to do anything for 2 weeks. No gym, no running, nothing; That is basically my life and I wasn't able to do it for two weeks. On Friday though I scored all zero's on a concussion questionnaire that I have to do and then today I got to ride the bike for 20 minutes! I had to go at a low intensity but just doing something was awesome. Tomorrow I get to go for a 20 minute run and I am so excited. After tomorrow it's a light practice, but since I'm not practicing yet I am going to go for a run again. Thursday is back to full practices, but again, since I'm not practicing I'm going to for a run. I am going to run everyday until Monday and then that's when I start in the gym (personal choice). I am so pumped to get back into it and to start putting on some size.

Season's Over, Time to Hit the Books

2010-11-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing as well as I could have been doing with my schooling but I will change it, I need to or else I won't be working for Kinesiologists.ca which is what I want more than anything in the world. I have decided I am doing 5 years here in Lethbridge so I can play soccer for all 5 and do the best I can in my classes. That's 5 years to put everything I have into every class, every study session, every practice, every workout, and every game I have. Every day that goes by I'm not getting back and I want to finish school with no regrets. It's time to wake up and start acting like I want to be here. Debt, it will happen anyways; injuries, they only happen if you play soft; a flabby body, that's what happens when you don't push yourself to exhaustion every damn day. Once I get over this concussion I am hitting the gym as much as I can to get my body where I want it to be, and that is a 6'2", 205 lbs machine that can't and won't be stopped. I have decided that I am done drinking at least until I reach my goals, maybe even longer. I'm only going to eat foods that give my body what it needs, no more artificial sugars like candy and all that crap. I am going to train as hard as I can every time I step into the gym.

In regards to my classes right now, they are all going fairly well. Except I had a concussion that I never told anyone about when I wrote a mid-term last week and got a D+ on it but besides that I'm doing well. In Lethbridge we pick each semester separately so my registration for my spring semester is coming up in a couple weeks so I've been trying to figure out what to take. I have figured out next semester but there are some things I have to do to set up my fall semester next year. The big thing is enrolling into the college here and upgrading my chemistry. I have to do this so I can take chemistry either in the fall or spring next year, and also it is a prerequisite for my biology course I need and biology is a prerequisite for a lot of my Kines courses. It's going to really suck to do but I need to do it so I'm going to bite the bullet and rock it every step of the way. I think once I have my chemistry upgraded and take a math course upgrade at the university this up and coming semester I will be where I should be, just a little bit behind. It's a good thing I'm taking 5 years instead of 4.

November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well my first season playing CIS is over. We finished 1-11-2 and were last place with 5 points, not exactly the way I wanted things to go. WE are going to have to step it up for next year for sure. The work we do in the off season has to improve. In our game against U of A last week I got a concussion and didn't say anything so I could play the last weekend. Probably not the smartest decision but I had to do it. Now I have to wait for my brain to heal and then I get to train my ass of to be ready for next year. I'm going to be bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before and I am going to kill some people next year, I can't wait. So that's pretty much it for soccer in my blog so from now on it will mostly be about my off-season training and school.

Match Day 11

2010-10-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

Up against top ranked, 9 and 1, U of A and we have something to prove since they beat us 4-1 when we were up in Edmonton playing them. We know who their strong players are; a few players in the mid and a big guy on their back line can win in the air. Before the game I told my coach that I had him, and he didn't win one header in our third. I don't know what it is with most of the guys on the team when they get on the field with talking. They can talk for hours off the field and then when we get on the field they can't even say "man on". I'm not saying I'm perfect and am always talking but I try my best to see everything and give direction, but some guys don't say a word for 90 minutes. Or there are the guys who talk but it's so quiet that you can't hear them and then they try and get mad because you weren't listening. And then there are those guys who get mad at you when you yell at them. It's almost like playing with 12 year olds in that aspect. We all need pull our socks up and start playing like men; we are the men's soccer team, not the boys. Start getting angry and play like you have something to prove. Show the coaches and other players that you should be out there. Stick someone when it's appropriate and if you need to take a card then so be it. Run your ass off for every ball and in every play. Everything I just talked about, we haven't been doing this year. Well there was one game and that was against UBC, and in that game all 11 players on our side came to play. We had communication, intensity, urgency, and most of all we wanted to win. We gave it everything we had and we left it all out on the field. Today however, there were maybe 5 or 6 guys ready to do whatever it took to win and that was in the first half, by the time the game was coming to an end there was about 3 or 4 that still wanted it. And this is why we ended up losing 3-0. Tomorrow is our rematch against U of S and when we were there they beat us 8-0, if this doesn't set a fire up our asses for a win then I don't know what will. More on tomorrow's game to come....

2010-10-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

I want to start off my saying that I have been trying to keep up with the blog entries but I get busy and it doesn't come a top priority but I am going to be done my season in a couple weeks and can focus more on my training and school and get more done on this.

I am still getting my ankle taped which makes me mad because I just want to be healthy again with no set backs. I want to be able to run as hard as I could before. I want to be able to just go for a run without having to worry about it. I want and need to run because I am starting to get in worse shape; still probably one of the top on the team but it's not good for me. I hate when I am tired and feel fatigued in a game, that's why I stay as fit as I can. There is an upside to being injured though on a competitive team; you realize what is at stake and you realize that you have to train harder to be better than that guy who took your spot. You have to work your ass off to get to the top again. You have to work to be the best out on that field. I'll tell you something too, as I'm writing this I am realizing that I have been slacking and I need to step my game up and get as fit as I possibly can and get as strong as I can for the rest of this season and for next season. I have a total program ready for when my season is over and I plan on putting on about 10-15 lbs of lean muscle and then increase my speed and agility too. I found this program on www.permanentmuscle.com and it is awesome. I don't think there is much I need to change except a few exercises that I refuse to do, like goodmornings for example. If you have a chance you should check out the website, it has nutrition, supplements, 28 week program and tons of other stuff in it. There is a major thing I hate about wanting to put on some size, I can't do the long runs that I like to do. This is something else I want to do in my life is compete in distance runs and maybe move into triathlons but that is a ways down the road. I hate to say it but there is part of me that wants to stop soccer and just run, I know I could be good at it. There is someone in my university and he does triathlons all over the place and there's pictures of him in the gym and his first place time for a 10k was 43 minutes, I can smash that by like 4 minutes. I don't know what I want to do with my sports and fitness really though. What I figure is I just keep training hard and see what I get out of it. It will all work itself out in the end. Just give a 110% into everything I do and don't look back, no regrets, no coulda, woulda, shoulda's.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

The Week Before BC and Match Day 9 & 10

2010-10-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to usually get injured, fake injuries, or any of that so when I got hurt 2 weeks ago playing UBC I was devastated and taking all this time off has been killing me. However, it was good for me because it gave me time to heal and my ankle is at about 95% right now. Still taping it though for a bit of extra support. Training this week before our trip to BC though was pretty tough, kept tweaking it every practice but with rest, ice, ultrasounds, electro-therapy, and ART I was good to go when it came time for it. We started the weekend off playing UBC at UBC and what I was thinking right off the first blow of that whistle was, "where is that guy who hurt me? I'm going to stick him", but fortunately for him he never came close. On another note though, we played the best we have all year against one of the best teams in the Canada West division and ended up tieing them 2-2. They went up 1-0 in the first and then we tied it up with a great play that started in our back line on the right side and I made a run up the left and the switch hit me perfectly and I layed it off for my left winger who played it into the middle to our center mid who took it across the box and cut it back with his right and hit a beauty with his left in the top left corner. We went into half tied 1-1. We battled back and forth for 87 minutes and then they had a shot that deflected off our right backs foot, hit our holding mid in the chest and bounced past out keeper. It was 2-1 with 3+ minutes left but we didn't hang our heads. Probably for the first time this season we didn't hang our heads when we got scored on, we were hungry for that goal. With 30 seconds left in injury time we had everyone in the box and our goalie took a free kick from 35 yards out and we flicked it on and slid it in the net, and we tied it 2-2. It was a really great game and we held our heads high walking off the pitch. Now that was Friday's game, Saturday's game went a bit differently. We had injuries all over the field going into this game and we had to face Trinity Western and their crowd. They tend to get under people's skin a bit when they play there with their heckling and what not. When we started this game not everyone was up for it. We came out flat and they pressed us hard. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure we had the worst ref in BC and maybe the country. I swear this guy was paid off by the other team. We couldn't even go shoulder to shoulder with someone without getting a call. I took a yellow card in the 60th minute when I went for a slide tackle and the guy pulled the ball away from me so I slid right by him. When I asked the ref what it was for he said "that's your second warning", but that was the first time he really had to talk to me, so i was furious. All throughout the game though he was making shocking calls. They would kick it out and we would be by them and he'd call it their way. We would have perfectly clean tackles and he would call it because he saw that our player made a divot in the grass so it must be a foul. Just shocking, I couldn't believe what I was seeing out there. And with us already playing bad, when we would get these phantom calls against us it would make us all mad and make us play even worse. In the end we lost 4-0 and that's really all I have to say about that.

First Day Back

2010-10-12T09:52:00.001-07:00

Monday night was my first night back at training in 2 weeks; it felt so good to be running around again. It is still sore to push off my left to the inside and to shoot but I'm still strengthening and doing rehab on it so it will be 100% in no time. I'd say I'm at about 85% right now, maybe even 90. I did have a minor set back though because I went to block a shot and my ankle wasn't tense so when the ball hit it it tweaked it a bit. And then near the end of training I went to clear it and had to use my left and it hurt quite a bit. There is one good thing about injuring your dominate foot; the other on gets better.

The tests are starting to come now in all of my classes. I have 3 this week but I don't really need to worry about them I don't think. One is in Kines 1000 and it's on basic fitness and wellness, cardiorespiratory system, flexibility and the FITT principle so I'm not very worried. The only test I am some-what nervous about is for writing and that's because we are doing grammar right now and somethings are pretty tricky. Either than that though I have a fairly easy week because we are going to play Trinity Western and UBC this weekend and we leave on Friday so I only have a 3-day week.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-10-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is the one weekend of our season we get off and it's pretty nice to have. I mean right now I hate it because I want to play so bad but it's good too because I get to rest my ankle some more. I think it's just the bone bruise that's slowing me down now, some tendon and ligament stuff but I've been strengthening quite a bit. I'll be back to play Trinity and UBC though with out a doubt. On Thursday night we had a team meeting to figure out why we're playing like we are and why we are where we are. There were a lot of good points brought up but most of it revolved around communication and intensity. But all-in-all everything has to be picked up to the next level. I had goose bumps for the whole meeting. It made me want to get playing so bad. The guy who took my position when I got hurt has been playing pretty good and at the end of the meeting I said to everyone how much it sucked being on the sidelines and just watching and then I told the guy in my position that be better step his game up if he wants to stay on the field because I'm coming for him. Every 50/50 ball, every header, every tackle, I am going to win it. I am going to be louder and have more intensity than him. I am going to make him look like he is still in high school and I am going to get my spot back.

On Friday afternoon after my classes were done I went and talked to my writing professor and went over a paper I just got back and only got 60% on. Luckily though I am able to revise it and hand it back in and then she takes the average of the two marks. So I should be able to pull it up to about a 75% or so I think.

This weekend a few of the guys on the team taht didn't go home for thanksgiving are getting together and having a dinner. It should be good. Good food, good people, good environment, not bad. Besides that though my only plans for this weekend are to rehab my ankle and hit the gym.

My Day - October 6, 2010

2010-10-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is early morning training and I am starting to get annoyed with them. They mess with my routine; like on tuesday I did back and tri's and then we ended up doing a full body so I worked my back and tri's so I didn't get my full rest period. I barely had any weight on though so it's not that bad but it still messes me up. After early morning I went and worked on my legs but it's kinda hard to do right now with my ankle but I still got a good workout in. My glutes and hamstrings are going to be sore tomorrow.

My classes aren't all that hard this semester except for writing 1000. Some of the words used confuse me and I'm just not quite getting it yet. I got my summary back on that molecular biology essay and I only got 60%. My paper was red when I got it back. Luckily though we are allowed to revise it and improve our mark. The main thing she was writing was that I wasn't talking about the use of ethos in my summary and I still don't know what that means so I'm going to have to talk to her.

Tonight is the men's soccers annual Turkey Bowl. It's just a football game between the rookies and vets. I saw the trophy and the rookies have only won it once since like 1996 when it started. I only played the first half because I tried to pivot and my ankle just wasn't feeling it. I came off at half and we played a bit better once I wasn't just standing in the middle of everything. We were playing like garbage the entire game though. Trying to throw hail-mary's when there was someone 10 feet away from them. But then when we'd throw the short pass we couldn't catch it. The Final score was 63-7 for the vets I think.

I swear if my ankle doesn't get better in time for the Trinity Western and UBC trip, which is the 15th and 16th, I am going to lose it. I have appointments with our athletic therapist and chiropractor everyday until we leave for BC. Hopefully with ART, ultrasounds, shock treatment, and ice I'll be good to go. Like I posted on my facebook, "What hurts us will make us stronger. What doesn't kill us will make us invincible"

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

The Last Week

2010-10-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Again, I apologize for not posting every day the last little bit but I have been busy with school. The main thing that was keeping me off of here was a summary I had to write in my writing class about the birth of molecular biology. I had to summarize an academic essay written about Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA. And if what I just said confused you, try summarizing a 10 page essay on the topic. It's a good thing it was only 500 words though.

We played home-and-home with Calgary this weekend. I had to sit out because of my ankle. I was so mad that I had to sit on the side lines. I think that sitting though actually helped me a bit, not just with my ankle but with how I am going to approach every game now. I saw the mistakes we were having in the back line. I saw what happens when there's no communication. I saw what happens when there isn't someone to hold things together. And, now realizing that things can happen so fast and I can be out a few games from our already short season I have to pick my game up. I have to play with more intensity than everyone out there, I have to be the reason that we start winning games. I have to be a leader, regardless of being a first year or not. No one else is going to step up. I have to take control of this team and sort us out. We are half way through our season and we have 4 points, its ridiculous.

The Last Couple Days

2010-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have been in a fairly bad mood the last couple of days because I don't think I am going to be able to play this weekend. I have been going to our athletic therapist and getting ultra sounds and doing strength exercises for my ankle and I have been going to a chiropractor and getting ART, which is Active Release Technique, and basically what he does is breaks down the scar tissue that builds up around injuries, it's actually quite neat. After every rehab session I've had my ankle feels way better. I stopped limping after the first day but last night at practice I was jogging around a bit and it's different than just walking. I have pain just under my left ankle bone. I had to get x-rays to see if there was a fracture but I don't. I just have a bone bruise and soft tissue damage but I almost think it will be enough to put me out for this weekend. But I'm going to try and train tonight and Friday and see how it goes. I might just freeze and tape it for practices and the games this weekend and take some ibuprofen so I can play. I can't not play, it will kill me. I've had to sit out for 2 training sessions and it drives me crazy. I will come back and I will be stronger than before. And if I can't run for a bit then I will start to put some size on, gym everyday. Well one day rest, I'll do a 3-day split. Back and tri's, legs, and chest and bi's. I can't wait to get bigger, I'll be coming back next training camp at 205 and just ripped. Built like a brick shit house for lack of better words.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day-September 27, 2010

2010-09-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well going out for a few after my game didn't help my ankle or help drown the sorrows of a 1-point weekend. And it made for a rough morning when I had a writing class at 9 am. I had to go in and see our athletic therapist today and I got some routine checks on my ankle and then I heard her talking with someone that it might be a fracture on the distal fibula. But I saw the doctor a couple hours after and he said that it could just be soft tissue damage but I still have to go get an x-ray done to see whats going on. I better be able to play this weekend, that's all I have to say. If I'm out for more than 2 or 3 days I am going to lose it. It won't happen though, I'll be at training on Wednesday for sure with just a couple days of rest and ice.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Match Day 6

2010-09-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

This morning, I don't know what it was but I just didn't feel nervous or anything before the game. I usually have butterflies and I pace around and listen to music but it was different today. It's not that I wasn't pumped up for it but I just wasn't nervous. I was calm and collected and just thought about what I needed to do. Personally I think it was one of the better games I've had so far in CIS but the results would prove differently. They went up 1-0 on what was a very good play by them; their left defender had a great run down the line and beat 3 of our guys and then crossed it in for a diving header. On our part, it was shit, how can 1 guy dangle around 3 of our guys with no one sticking him? And then, how can a guy get past our left midfielder to get a diving header? It's ridiculous. When our games start we don't have everyone engaged and then we shut down and we don't hustle our asses off for every ball. We have 2 guys playing on the wings who are in the worst shape on the team and that is the position that has the most running. And they don't do anything on their own to improve their fitness and they don't go very hard in training and it is such a piss off. The single most important thing in soccer I think is fitness. If you aren't fit then you can't do the job you need to do. Their other 2 goals was laziness. The first one was a long ball switch and our last man back jumped up and missed it because he was out of position and then they ran in a shot it into the low corner. Their last goal was ridiculous, we were playing 3 in the back to try and get forward and then from our own end our guy passed the ball to one of their forwards and he didn't chase him back so it was a 5-on-3 and then he walked in and hit it low into the corner.

In the 60th minute a guy got pushed on to my leg and I had an eversion sprain of my left ankle and i was limping around until the 70th minute and then got subbed off. But I got taped up and then went out for the last 10 but it didn't help us much.

Match Day 5

2010-09-25T09:15:00.001-07:00

“Defender”

When your teammates look you in the eye they have to believe in you. You’re a defender. Never give your tactics away. Be invisible and dangerous. Don’t give up any ground to your opponent. Gauge your movements to the very last millimetre. Pass just a fraction to early or too late and it’s a foul, a second too quick or too slow and you’ve missed the ball. You have to fight for every one of them. You have to run yourself into the ground for them. You have to fight tooth and nail for that extra centimetre. Because when you add up all those centimetres, what you get is the difference between victory and defeat.

We came out hard and had most of the possession of the first half but they had 1 chance and got 1 goal because of this stupid play that our coach wants us to do on their free kicks. The way its supposed to work is that we have one guy right behind the wall and as the shooter hits it that guy drops off incase it goes on the near side of the wall but our guy dropped to soon and left 4 of their guys onside and they had a free header, 1-0. We continued to press and continued to get opportunities but just couldn't finish. I 'd say it's about 85% mt fault we didnt't get a goal in that first half. I am the one to look for on corners, throws, and free kicks and I couldn't get my head on anything! I was getting so frustrated. Trinity players started getting to me too. Elbows in the back, punches to the head, you name it, they did it. It basically worked too because I screamed and swore at the ref and called him an idiot and that he should pay attention, no yellow though. That was all near the end too when we were pushing for our second goal and I was ready to punch their big guy in the face. He was the one doing most of that shit to me.

Tomorrow's another day though, UBC at home. #4 UBC vs #6 Lethbridge. We are coming off a 1-1 draw that we should have won and they are coming off of a loss. I have to stick someone in the first few minutes of the game so I can set the tempo of the game.

ATIITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day - September 24, 2010

2010-09-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty fun day. I had 3 classes today which weren't even that bad, although I am still sort of having troubles with writing but it's starting to come along. Last night I wrote a summary on an academic essay, which is fairly difficult because of all these new terms I'm learning and trying to find them. I guess we'll see what happens with that on monday. After classes were done I had practice, but on Fridays we go fairly light because of the games on the weekends but we got the work in. Doing set pieces, corners, throw-in's, etc., but it helps us out for games with timing and all that so it's good. After practice we went to our captain's house for a team dinner and had some pasta and bread and then after that it was the teams annual NHL hockey draft. It got pretty intense; 10 picks overall, 6 forwards, 3 defenders, and 1 goalie. It's pretty funny because everyone wants the good players and then when they're picked everyone else is like "ah crap, that's who I wanted to get!". And then everyone has to think of a new player for their pick and then someone gets him and then you keep having to switch your guys around and it's pretty funny.

Tomorrow is game day! Home to Trinity Western, and apparently they bring lots of fans with them and they heckle quite a bit but we are trying to get tons of people out to tomorrow and Sunday's game to heckle the other team to give us a bit of an advantage. I am so pumped for this game though. My cold is gone and I am fit and ready to go. I'm going to be winning balls in the air, sticking tackles, bumbing people off the ball and making all my passes count. Most of all though is I am going to be talking to everyone on the field and making people go where they need to. Game prep starts tonight, well technically it starts after the last game ends, but tonight is when I really start getting focused and then I'n the morning I get myself pumped up to try and be the hardest working guy on that field.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day- September 23, 2010

2010-09-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't have classes until 3 today so I did what I do most Tuesday's and Thursday's; slept in, ate a good breakfast, went and worked out hard, and then studied before class. Yep, that's not a bad day. Except it does kind of suck that I have to wait for class to happen and that I have practice 10 minutes after class is done. I always make it time though so its not that nig of a deal.

Practice tonight was ridiculous! People are so god damn lazy! They jog to get back, instead of sprinting and they have almost no movement off the ball. I can't believe some of the players that are here playing at this level. It's actually quite frustrating. I mean, I'm not the most talented player in the world or the best player on my team but I showed up to training camp in shape and I work my ass off in practice and I listen to whatever is told to me and I try and improve my abilities. Some people just jog/walk around acting like they are the top dog and don't have to work hard. It's crap, you don't get anywhere in life going half assed. You've got to give it everything you've got in every aspect of your life and then, and only then, do you get to dictate what happens in your life. No one's here to hold your hand every step of the way. You've got to earn your respect in this world.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day - September 22, 2010

2010-09-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 5:45 this morning for early morning training. It wasn't too bad, we just did a full body workout. It's in a fairly small space that we do our team workouts in so I usually get sweating pretty good. I love to be around other people while I'm working out and just push myself to the limits so I can beat them. I can usually push myself harder than most other people and I love it. That's what I get high on, screw drugs.
Once my classes started the day got pretty slack because besides Writing, my other classes are fairly easy. I can't lose focus just because they're easy though. I have to push myself in every aspect so I can just kill it in school and then kill it when I'm done and working. I can't wait to start working again. I love training people. I like to challenge myself to challenge my clients with workouts too, nothing better.
We were supposed to have a pretty hard practice tonight, which we sort of did but I was still expecting a lot more fitness. People on my team are so damn lazy. Like our midfielders jogging back to help myself and the other three defenders when the opposition has a 6 or 7 on 4, its ridiculous.

My Day - September 21, 2010

2010-09-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to go to the gym with a buddy from my team at 7:30 this morning but then I figured that Tuesday's are my only day off's so I slept in a bit. I didn't have class until 3 today so I puttered around the house for a bit and did some cleaning and then made a shake for breakfast. The shake had protein, L-glutamine, carrots, spinach, an apple, an orange, some grapes, a plum, a kiwi, and then some plain yogurt, milk, and a scoop of ADAM'S (natural) peanut butter in it. It is probably one of the best shakes I make by far. After breakfast I got ready to go to the gym. I didn't really work out that hard today because I am starting to feel a little sick and just wasn't really feeling it today. After the gym I went to my one class of the day and we watched bits of movies and that was about it, pretty lame. I'm making a big pot of pasta sauce tonight so I can have it for a few days, I'm pretty excited for it.

Match Day 3 and 4

2010-09-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

I would like to start by apologizing for not having any posts in the last few days. If anyone is reading this anyways, hahaha.

I'll start with Friday, we had a little practice for about an hour to just work on things for the game like shooting, crosses, headers, etc. After that we got on to the bus for a 7 hour ride to Saskatoon to play U of S. Nothing really exciting about the bus ride at all.

Saturday, September 18, 2010 - Match Day 3

Sorry to say but I am not going to go into much detail about this game or the next game because it was an awful weekend. The first 5 minutes maybe were ok but then it just started to snowball into the worst game I've ever been in. Our keeper got a red card in about the 20th minute and we were already down 1-0 at that point. Penalty kick, down 2-0. They scored 3 goals after that in about 10 minutes. And then at the end of the day we lost 8-0. Every goal was because of laziness and lack of communication. The lack of communication in the back line falls a lot on me because that is one of my biggest jobs when I'm playing. Giving direction, telling people where to go, when they need to go for a tackle, when they have a man on, when they can open up. I need to be the one that talks more than anybody and I'm still not doing it. I have no idea why but it makes me quite upset with myself. I can change it though, I need to change it, I will change it.

After a terrible loss in Saskatoon we got on the bus and drove for another 6 hours and got to Edmonton at about 10 pm and then we went to bed determined to change the next game.

Sunday, September 19, 2010 - Match Day 4

Today we had our minds set that we were going to beat U of A, we had to. We came out filled with piss and vinegar and were willing to do what ever it took to win. We came out and were beating U of A for the first 40 minutes and were up 1-0 about to go into the half and then on a corner in the dieing minutes they scored. We were all marked up and then there big man cam in at the last minute and we couldn't get anyone on him in time and he buried it. We went in to the dressing room tied 1-1. When we came out were didn't bring the same intensity as in the first half and we couldn't match there's. Not to mention we were playing like idiots. Trying to do slide tackles from 10 yards away when we should have not been so lazy and just got to the spot and jockied them. All-in-all just dumb decisions and then again, a major lack in communication all over the park and then we began to shut down again.

Monday, September 20, 2010

I am just going to skip to the time of our practice. We had an easy practice because it was Monday but that's not what our coach wanted to do. He is pissed at us right now mostly because of our fitness. He is upset with everyone in that aspect except for 4 people. 3 of the 4 are defenders and the other is our striker. Everyone else is out of shape. And these are the people who have to be running non-stop all game. That's part of what is costing us games for sure. After practice tonight we went right to the university for a yoga session. Yoga is actually quite tough but I really want to get into it a lot more. Being more flexible will help with my game drastically. After yoga we went to study hall, all first years and anyone who was below a 3.0 GPA last year had to go. I am actually glad we "have" to go because it will help me so much.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day-September 16, 2010

2010-09-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and I was super excited because my new cleats were getting delivered and it is a very exciting moment of my soccer playing.

http://www.soccer.com/ViewProductImages.process?Product_Id=860010&Image=19953

These are my new cleats and I can't wait to wear them in practice tonight. I have 2 games this weekend but I don't think I'll wear them because I don't want to get blisters too bad. I will still bring them of course so I can wear them in a bit.

Instead of going to the gym this morning I decided to do a home workout doing body weight exercises and using my TRX. Such a good burn from it, I love it.

My Day-September 15, 2010

2010-09-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day, but long. I woke up at 5:45 for early morning training. We had a leg day which was good because I had an upper body day yesterday. And as we all know, or should, is that you should NOT work the same muscle group within 24-48 hours of each other. Rest is just as important as the work you do. The muscle is rebuilding during the rest. And then that is where good nutrition comes in. Making sure that you are getting a mix of protein and carbs after workouts to rebuild the tissues and also replenish glycogen stores for you next workout. Anyways, after that workout I had an hour to kill before class so I hung out with some buddies and then went to writing class. Let me tell you though, that class is going to get the better of me. I'm confused the whole time my professor is talking. The day ended off with a few more classes that were quite a bit easier. I was at the university for 8 hours today though, it sucked. I got home and ate and then had a bit of a nap before I went to practice. We worked on a lot of set plays today which was good but I felt like I just wasn't getting my head on any ball coming into the box, which is my job in the attacking third. Tomorrow will be a different story though. We had to end practice early because of the wind that came out of nowhere. We saw the dark clouds coming in and then the wind came and starting blowing the balls all over the field and blowing equipment everywhere. And then the rain came. After practice I came home and ate a nice big plate of pasta to replenish the glycogen that was lost and then I relaxed for a bit and then hit the hay.

My Day

2010-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2010

Today was a little more exciting. I didn't have class until 3:05, which kinda sucks because it's my only class and I have to wait around all day. However, I woke up at about 8 and ate and then went and had a good workout and then showered up. After that I went and hung out with a friend for a little bit until she had class and then I got to go and meet with the dietician! She actually told me that she rarely gets people like me coming in to see her. She said it took her a little while to think of things to give to me because I am so on top of my nutrition. I am trying to put on some mass and pretty much what she wants me to do is just add more carbs into my post-workout meals and some more protein. But really she didn't change that much to what I'm already doing. She just wants me to keep doing what I'm doing but to do more of it. She kept saying "I'd like to meet your mother", in regards to my eating and then eventually I told her that it was pretty much all me and then she was even more impressed. I am proud of myself right now. I thought my nutrition still needed work but it's pretty good.

My Day

2010-09-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

September 13, 2010

There wasn't anything too exciting about this monday. Second week of classes and the first day after our first weekend of games. With a win and a loss we are in a 5-way tie for third place in the CIS West conference. We are sitting in third place though with goals for and against. That is basically it for today. Classes went well but we stiall aren't doing that much. Practice was slack on running but we still got some work in with shooting.

Match Day 2

2010-09-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

September 12, 2010

Today I got up and looked outside and it was cloudy. I was hoping for rain but in the end the lethbridge wind blew the cloud cover away and the sun broke out just when the game started. I hate the sun. The game's possession was at about 50/50 all day with chances on both ends. In the 70th minute we went up 1-0 and managed to hold out the win.

Enough about the game as a whole team though, this blog is about me and that's what I intend to tell. My job in the game was to man-mark UVic's "big guy" up front. In reality he was my height but he could jump like he was born to do it. He beat me to probably 85% of every fucking ball. I was pissed off when half time came. What this should do to me is pump me up and get me ready to smash him to the ground every time that ball goes up. I don't know what's going on with me right now but I better figure it out quick or I'll be watching our games from the sidelines. I need to work on my timing in the air and going into tackles. I need to become stronger on the ball and make my passes and kicks count. Enough of this "get that effing ball out of here" bullshit. I need to calm down and play it around the midfielders and defenders. What's making me mad right now also is I've said this exact same thing in another blog post but I still don't do it. I need to change my playing style to be the best defender out there and have strikers afraid to come into challenge me. I need to get bigger, faster, and stronger so I can win everything!

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Match Day 1

2010-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2010

I woke up at 6:30 this morning in excitement. It's the first game of the season and my first game at university in the CIS West division. All the soccer I've played in my life has lead up to this day. Although not knowing I would be at this level really until my last year of high school it has still added up to this. I woke up to a text from my coach this morning, it read, "believe in yourself. Be confident, aggressive, engaged. Every high ball is yours! We are starting you because we know you can do the job for us!". When I read this this morning i got goosebumps. I am ready to come out and give any opponent hell. After coming into a tackle once with me he's going to be hesitant for the second one. I'm going to be loud. Communicating. Giving direction. Letting my team know whats going on around them. If you aren't nervous in a situation like this then there's something wrong...Well, that didn't go as we planned. We started off ok and the possession was about 60/40 for us. And then we started making stupid mistakes and stop communicating with each other. We were getting on each other after little mistakes and then it started going down hill. They had a 2-0 lead after the first half. When we came out we started playing a bit better and we were pushing hard for a goal but it never came, it ended 2-0. I played fairly well but my communication was lacking, especially with my other center back. I had a few good headers and was passing the ball alright when I'd have the chance. For tomorrow and the rest of the season I need to just keep my composure when I have the ball and play it around through the midfielders and other defenders. My best play of the game was probably a 40 yard chase when they had a 3-on-1 and I caught the guy, slid him, and then got the ball back up the field. Other than that though I am disappointed with my play and I need to do better tomorrow. No excuses.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day - September 10, 2010

2010-09-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

Today when I woke up I started my nutrition logs to give to the dietician. It’s just basic, no protein, carbs, and fat intakes. I did write the total calories of some things though. For the last while my diet hasn’t changed too much. So I’m guessing my caloric intake is at about 3200 kcal or so. It takes a lot of fuel to keep this machine running.
Practice is at 3 today and it will be about an hour and fifteen minutes or so, and then we have a team dinner at 4:45. I think it’s at an Italian restaurant so it will be pasta’s and salads. The dinner was good but it didn’t seem like very much food to what I’m used to. So I decided to have some rice crackers when I got home.
Practice today was kind of slack and we just worked on set plays, mostly corners. My communication was lacking and I think a lot of it tonight was because I would start to say someone’s name and then I’d forget their name and then wouldn’t say anything. I need to be way more aggressive on corners too. I’m the biggest player on the team, I should be winning everything. Which brings me to my next point, my timing is just a bit off. I have to work on my timing for whenever the balls in the air and I’m going for a header.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

My Day - September 9, 2010

2010-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

September 9, 2010

I woke up today and had my usually breakfast; cereal with skim milk and a piece of fruit. And then it was off to the gym. I did a full body workout today because I don’t plan on working out the day before a two game weekend. I really worked my posterior chain today; hamstrings, glutes, lower back, lats, traps. I really want to get my entire upper body built up, and my lower body of course but I want to be a beast on the field. I plan on coming to training camp next year at 205 lbs. That’s why going to this dietician is going to help me so much. I want to just pack on lean muscle and get my body fat down to about 5%.
Day 2 of classes start at 3:05 today and I only have that one class and then it’s off to practice. I think it’s just going to be like yesterday where we go over the course outline and then they let us go…Yep, that’s all we did in class, course outline and introduced ourselves to some people. I think I’m actually doing something tomorrow in my classes.
Practice was unreal tonight. It was raining so it really reminded me of playing back home. There’s nothing better than playing in the rain. It just brings a whole different feel to the game. The slide tackles start coming out and brings a certain rush to people, myself included. I’m starting to get out of going through the motions, I think, I hope. When its game time I am a different player as well but I have to start being a practice player as well as a game-time player.
I had whole grain pasta and with chicken for dinner tonight and it really hit the spot. I made a huge pot of it 2 nights ago so it’s been lunch and dinner the last few days. I really can’t wait to see that dietician and get my nutrition down. It will give me a psychological advantage I think. Just knowing that no one else eats better than me, most likely anyways. As a matter of a fact, even right now I doubt anyone on the team does.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2010-09-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

My Day - September 8, 2010

Waking up today was one of the greatest feelings I’ve had in quite some time, the feeling of going back to school and getting my Kinesiology degree. I was up at 5:45 this morning for speed and power training which started at 7. After that I showered and took my time getting ready for English 1900 which started at 9. We went over the course outline and we got our first assignment, all it is is to read a poem which we’re going over on Friday. Next I had my coaching in sport class; again we went over the course outline and discussed a few things that will be coming up in the course. Part of the class is going to be a practical section where we have to get 20 hours of coaching time, piece of cake. My last class of the day was my Kines 1000, which is basically an intro into kinesiology. From my past school experience this will be a walk in the park. I’m guessing it will basically be like a review for me.

Practice at 4:30 this afternoon, which I am so pumped for because last night I sent my coach an email telling him that I want him to start yelling and getting mad at me when I mess up because it doesn’t help me when everyone is supportive of mistakes. And it actually makes me up my tempo when someone is yelling at me and getting mad because I know then that I’ve done something wrong and it needs to be fixed and if I don’t fix it then I’m getting taken off the pitch. I just booked an appointment with a dietician. Next Tuesday is going to change my life forever (or at least until next year when I see the dietician again).

I don’t know what’s going on with me right now. I get all amped up for training before I go and then I get there and we start getting into things and it seems like my mind just starts to wander. I hate it! I want to be playing like I used to, balls to the wall and full of intensity. I have to overcome this somehow. I need to get the bad stuff out of my head and be thinking of soccer when I’m playing soccer, nothing else. Before university I was playing in a way so I would be ready for university. Now it’s time to get rid of that sissy way of thinking and just go all.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2010-09-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

My Day - September 7, 2010

Today was a rest day, which I didn't really need but took it because of the body-weight workout yesterday. Practice tonight though, hopefully everyone's brought their intensity with them, I sure know I will. I've been slacking with writing my nutrition, and by slacking I mean I haven't written it down yet. What I've been thinking though, because we get to meet with a dietician pretty soon, is that I'd really hone in on everything with my nutrition then.

I am disappointed with myself after tonight's training. I was sluggish, my passes were bad, my decision making was bad, and to top it all off I wasn't communicating, at all! This is what happens to me when I have nothing to do all day. My mind wanders and I'm not focused on what's important. I wasn't enjoying myself tonight. I kept getting mad and frustrated and that's the shit right there that will stop me from getting to the next level in my own game. I need to stay calm and composed and make smart decisions for those 90 minutes of every game, and the 120 minutes of every practice, and for every other minute off the pitch. That's what will make me a better leader.

On another note, classes start tomorrow and I am so pumped up for it. This is it, I'm finally here. No one ever told me that I couldn't get here, and to be honest, everyone has been very supportive. I like to tell myself that, “I have to prove them wrong”, but there's no one I'm trying prove wrong. I'm here because I want to be and I'm doing this for me. In a way I'm proving myself wrong though because I was the one who never thought I could be here. Now it's time to show myself that I'm meant to be here and to get through every class with the best mark I possibly can, and to let nothing stand in my way.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2010-09-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

My day - September 6, 2010

I woke up today ready to get some wind sprints done with the boys. We went at 11 and went for about an hour. The cereal for breakfast did the trick for some carbs. Now I’m taking a bit of a rest before heading for a workout with one of the guys. I’m going to a school yard to use that equipment for some killer body weight exercises. I’m going to bring my TRX with me too so we can mix things up a bit. I had a pretty good “hood” workout this afternoon with a few buddies. I realized something about myself though; my core is not strong enough yet. That is something I’ll have to work on before I try and get bigger. Good thing I have 2 months before I try to get bigger. Eating some pasta now to keep my body anabolic and to replenish. I’m playing a game of street hockey tonight at 6:30 with some guys from my team, it should be fun.

I’ve just got to keep moving through this one day at a time. Nothing is too challenging and nothing will stand in my way. Attitude is Everything.

2010-09-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

My day - September 4, 2010

When I woke up this morning I had a protein shake with fruit and vegetables in it. I used a banana, an orange, some grapes, a nectarine, a plum, and then 2 handfuls of spinach, it was delicious. It's the weekend now so we don't do that much with people still trying to get things organized for school but our coach had us do some sprints this morning. He told me he didn't want me to do them because he wants me to take a break when I can get it so I agreed, I wish I hadn't though. I was there watching everybody do sprints and I wanted to do them so bad. However, I am going to the gym later today so it's not that bad. I didn't go as hard as I wanted to tonight at the gym, was lacking a bit of motivation. Just a minor speed bump though, no big deal. Going to hit it hard tomorrow with a leg day and to make the day complete I am going to start logging what I'm eating and see what my caloric intake is right now.

2010-09-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

My day - September 3, 2010

This morning I spent many hours online looking for the highest quality of foods that are rich in protein, down to complete and incomplete proteins. I also found foods that are high in carbohydrates, both simple and complex. Also I have pages of the best fats for you, particularly those high in omega 3 fatty acids. Now I have pages upon pages of foods I am going to eat that will keep me in tip-top shape for my season and my life.

Classes are only five days away and I can't express how excited I am. I've had to wait for 6 months; from the time I became a trainer until now, for this dream to become a reality. I'm going to be picking up my final textbook today, 'Introduction to Competition'. I guess now I can give a heads up on my first semester of classes, I will be taking: English 1900-intro into language and literature, kinesiology 1000-wellness and physical activity which has a lab, kinesiology 2120-sociological and psychological dimensions of physical activity, and kinesiology 2986-coaching in sport. In an email I received late last night I discovered that because I don't have some of the prerequisites I am going to have to take a math 0500 and chem 0500 class before I can even take 4 of my 6 science cognates I need in order to graduate. It's not that big of a deal though because I can use them and science electives, which I need anyways.

We had a short inter-squad match at training today and on the team I was on we played with 3 in the back, I was in the middle controlling the pace of the game. We ended up winning 3-2 I believe. I'm starting to get annoyed with how our training sessions are. The team is pretty much set and the starting line-up is somewhat set so everyone is just going through the motions of practices and just getting way to laxidazy. If we keep it up we will get destroyed this season. People have to show up ready to battle for every ball and fight for those starting positions. And to be honest it rubs off on other people when the majority are all doing it, myself included. I hate when people don't show up with their intensity levels high.

2010-09-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

My day - September 2, 2010

Woke up and decided it was time for a day off from the gym. Made myself a nice big fruit salad and enjoyed the rest of Roy Keane's autobiography, it got me pumped up for the day. The university puts on a new student orientation every year and I was signed up for it but didn't end up going. Maybe I will tomorrow but I still haven't decided. I got all my student loan stuff figured out so now all I need to worry about is school, soccer, and the gym. Oh, and maybe some relaxation time with some 'new' friends I plan on meeting. I'm getting some pasta in my body for lunch today. Complex carbohydrates at this time are perfect for a 4 o'clock practice. Practice went pretty good tonight. We worked on a lot of crossing and finishing, but didn't do too much fitness. When I got home I was fairly hungry and made a spinach salad, brown rice, and a boiled chicken breast. Proteins, carbs, fibre, and little fat; now that's my idea of a perfect meal. Plenty of rest for me tonight to prepare for the gym in the morning and an inter-squad match in the afternoon.

2010-09-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

My day - September 1, 2010

My day started off like most these days, cereal with skim milk and a nectarine for breakfast and then off to the gym. It's about a twenty minute walk to the university, a nice little warm up. Once I get to the gym I start on the elliptical, I like a full body warm up. Worked my upper body today; back, bi's, chest, tri's, shoulders, and then finished it off with core. I work hard every time I work out, whether it is on the field or in the gym. Go until I've got nothing left, I'll rest after. I went to the gym pretty early this morning so when I was done I didn't have much to do, so I read; Roy Keane's autobiography. Reading what he has gone through with his soccer gets me amped up. He plays with the intensity and attitude that led him as far as it did. True inspiration.

We had our last exhibition game tonight. Both teams were up for the battle. We were the team that came out on top with a goal in the 85th minute. I myself had a goal early in the second half but it was waived back due to me being offside, I didn't agree with the call but I'm not the ref. After the match it was back home for some stretching and fuel. I had some whole grain rice with boiled chicken on it, gotta get the carbs and protein in after a workout.

2010-09-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Conner's Journey
Here is Conner Brady's first hand journey of studying Kinesiology at University and playing varsity soccer at the same time. We'll update his experiences at least weekly, so check back regularly. Enjoy...

A Little History

My journey began back in high school when I didn't know what I wanted to do after graduation. University was what I was thinking in my grade 12 year and then I got this feeling like I was about to waste a lot of time and money on something I wouldn't be able to do. After a few months after graduation I was working meaningless labour jobs and realized that I couldn't do this forever. I didn't want to turn into my brothers, as much as I love them, this wasn't what I wanted. In October, just 3 months after I graduated, a friend of mine told me that they could see me doing something in fitness. At that very moment it was like a light turned on. It hit me on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The fact that it never occurred to me earlier I still don't understand. I started looking online for where the best places were to get some sort of certifications. I looked at the process of becoming certified and then looked at what would be the best way to do it. I found a private institute in Surrey, BC dedicated to personal training and fitness leadership. I found out about the instiute on a Wednesday, called that very same day, and I was down the following week to look at places and go through my interview to get into the school. I packed up everything in my room and moved the very next week. I had two weeks to wait in Surrey before classes started and all I wanted to do was get in a start learning.

Class started on November 2, 2009 and we got right into the business. We started with introductions and what not first. This is where I met Aaron Tews, the course instructor, a brilliant man with a great sense of humour. We started with fitness theory and which led into weight training and eventually into personal training. These courses were pretty tough but with the help of Aaron and other classmates, along with my eagerness to learn, I got through the course. However, not only did I make it through the course, I graduated with honours! It was a little while before the end of the course that I realized nothing could stop me. I was going to push myself and do the best I could in every aspect of life. I made the decision to go to University. I applied while still at the academy and I was set to start in September. I was going away to school not only to get my B. Sc. In Kinesiology but I was also going to play soccer. A passion I've had since I was a young lad. Over the next few months I trained for the up-and-coming soccer season and worked as a trainer. The experience at the gym I was at really helped me realize what it's like to be in the environment. It pumped me up every day! I was happy and excited to go to work. This went on for the rest of the summer. I had two jobs, roofing and training. After that I would go to soccer practice or to the gym.

The University / Varsity Journey Begins...

This all led up to the last few weeks. Training camp for the universities soccer team started on August 16, 2010. I was in fairly good shape when I got to camp but that first day, with the time change and the dry Alberta air hit me fairly hard. We worked hard on the ball and off, the coach ran us hard. Day two was a different story; I was ready for this day. I came out hard and knew I had something to prove. Day three was fitness testing. For a bigger man I figured my agility was up to par. The real test came at the end, the beep test. I beat everybody! I beat my old times; I ran a 14:13. In case you're wondering, a beep test is a running test. Cones are set up 20 metres apart and you run across every time you hear a beep and it gets fast and faster the longer you go. The training days have basically been the same every day except for game days. I wake up, eat and then go to the gym. I just have myself on and upper/lower split right now. Then I get home and eat again. Have a few hours to spare and then it's off to practice where we work on technical abilities with the ball as well as our fitness. I've had six exhibition games so far. One in Medicine Hat, two in Great Falls, Montana, and then three at home. I've started and played every minute of every game. My first year and I made the starting line up! Whoo! I feel great right now.

Conner's Journey

Ah yes!!

Let's hope for the best

San Jose Earthquake's Open Tryout

My Apologies

First Semester almost over!

I got it!!

A wee bit of a pickle!

I'm Back!!

Season's Over, Time to Hit the Books

November 1, 2010

Match Day 11

The Week Before BC and Match Day 9 & 10

First Day Back

Thanksgiving Weekend

My Day - October 6, 2010

The Last Week

The Last Couple Days

My Day-September 27, 2010

Match Day 6

Match Day 5

My Day - September 24, 2010

My Day- September 23, 2010

My Day - September 22, 2010

My Day - September 21, 2010

Match Day 3 and 4

My Day-September 16, 2010

My Day-September 15, 2010

My Day

My Day

Match Day 2

Match Day 1

My Day - September 10, 2010

My Day - September 9, 2010

My day - September 4, 2010

My day - September 3, 2010

My day - September 2, 2010

My day - September 1, 2010

Conner's JourneyHere is Conner Brady's first hand journey of studying Kinesiology at University and playing varsity soccer at the same time. We'll update his experiences at least weekly, so check back regularly. Enjoy...A Little History

The University / Varsity Journey Begins...

Conner's Journey
Here is Conner Brady's first hand journey of studying Kinesiology at University and playing varsity soccer at the same time. We'll update his experiences at least weekly, so check back regularly. Enjoy...

A Little History