Soreness
Played some decent beach volleyball yesterday for the first time since I left California. I wouldn't say I played great, but it felt great to be back out there in the sand. Perfect day for it too. It's great to live in a place where you can go to the beach and pick up a game with total strangers and just have fun playing.
Today, I played keeper in an officiated soccer game for the first time in more than seven years. It was tough. Our side was short-handed with only eight players, and we paid the price, losing 5-0. I'd say there was one actual, good shot on goal that as my high standards put it, they actually "earned." Three of the other goals were mistakes on my part (not hanging on to the ball mostly, but also being out of position), and one of them was a PK. I did make some decent saves, but it was still frustrating in that we never got our offense on. Kind of reminded me of sophomore and junior years at IMSA, when I would be back there under a withering attack for 80% of the game. Gets tiring.
In all, I'd say the weekend's endeavors proved that this old body can still take it, at least on a recreational level. The goal now is to build on this and get myself back into a stride. Both on the sand and the turf, I felt very, very hesitant initially. Just plain haven't done it in a long time, you know, and it takes a while for it to come back. By the second game on the sand, things were starting click and I was starting to remember some strategy and I got looser, but I still made some mistakes (at least we won that game). Likewise, by the second half, I felt a lot better about facing down an opponent on a breakaway into the penalty box. During the first half, a part of me couldn't believe I wasn't more aggresive, and finally it started coming back as I got more comfortable.
It's going to take some practice and some persistence, but I can't begin to tell you how good it feels right now. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, but I don't even care.