Where the Rubber Meets the Road

At Ubuntu we’ve been training our Academy boys since the beginning of January. At our pre-season camp we set the standard high with timed runs and focused training sessions. Coming back from camp we continued with our high standards for 2012 and kept at it on the training field. The boys have been getting more fit and yet it’s still pre-season. Or I should say was. Because today marks the first official day that “club soccer” starts at Fish Hoek (the club Ubuntu has partnered with and plays at). That means on Tuesdays and Thursdays there’ll be 60-70 Fish Hoek boys at training in each age group instead of just our core group. Ubuntu Football Academy trains separately on Mondays and Wednesdays and the boys train with Fish Hoek on Tuesdays and Thursdays (which we run).

So that said, our level of expectation for the boys at tonight’s training is high. Last night at the end of practice, Casey reminded them that while all of the boys coming to play at Fish Hoek tomorrow evening have just been sitting around we’ve been training hard since the start of January. Therefore we expect our boys to stand out and to set the bar tonight. They should look sharper on the ball, be more fit, and really set the tone out on the field tonight. We also told them they should be outgoing on the field meeting the new players. On multiple levels we hope our Academy boys stand out. And a part of me wants to tell them, “You should come in with a little bit of pride knowing that you’ve been training harder and longer and at a higher level than the other players out there. That you should have some pride because you’re a part of the Ubuntu Academy so therefore you should put pride in the drills that will go on tonight. You should put pride in being first at the fitness drills. That you should make an effort to meet the new boys at Fish Hoek and make them feel welcome."  However, I also must realize that our Academy boys are still only 12 and 13 years old and still have lots of learning to do.

So as tonight kicks off the first Fish Hoek practice, in which kids from all over this area will be there, the rubber is going to meet the road. All of the training our boys have been doing since January is going to be displayed against all the other kids showing up for tonight’s first practice. Will there be a dramatic difference from our Ubuntu Academy boys and the rest of the boys? Only tonight will tell. So that said, I’m looking very forward to what tonight’s training session at Fish Hoek holds!

Will let you know how things go,

Austin