A Summary Of A Great Sophomore Year

Hi guys, the last time I posted was the beginning of my sophomore year, and I was preparing to start my first regular season at the University Of Tampa. Those of you who have followed my blog since day one know that I was unable to play my freshman year, which resulted in many days sitting in the stands knowing I couldn't do anything to help the team.

I promised myself after that year that I would take all of that frustration and resentment towards the NCAA, and channel it into good performances and goals the following year. I fulfilled that promised and ended the season as top goal scorer in the conference, player of the year and offensive player of the year, as well as being named in team of the year for conference and region, and receiving an honorable mention for All-American.

Im ecstatic with how the year went. For my entire freshman year I was visualizing what I was going to do when I got onto the field, and I honestly believe it helped. I am upset that we didn't get too far in the national tournament, however I feel that as a team we bonded and strung together some great performances.

The spring season has been very different as in America we experience an off-season. So most of my time has been dedicated to school work and work outs. This summer however I will be staying in the US to play for Orlando City's U23 side. This is a great opportunity for me to not only keep my fitness and sharpness up over the summer, but to also generate some more exposure for myself prior to my Junior year in Tampa. 

So my next post will be once I'm settled in Orlando. Our first match is May 19th, and I will look to post after each week. (Two to three games a week). If anyone from England is visiting Orlando this summer then let me know and I can arrange for you to come watch a game or two.

Heres a few pics from the past nine months.

Thanks for reading,

Ty.

Sophomore Year

Hello and welcome back to your weekly read. I hope you have all had a good summer! My summer home was relaxing however I must say that two weeks into being back, I wanted to be back In Tampa. Theres no particular reason for this, just an accumulation of weather, soccer, prices and chicks in yoga pants make it an overall better place to live.

For those of you who read my first post which was one year and 4,600 blog views ago, you would know that coming to Tampa I was very nervous. I didn't know what to expect and moving your entire life halfway across the world is a daunting prospect. I can honestly say now that it has been the best decision of my life. I know there are a few of my readers who are considering the US soccer scholarship route and to them I say do it, and don't look back!

If my family and friends were here with me, I would never return to London as they're the only thing about it I miss. Some people think that leaving would be so hard and they'd miss home but I really don't have time to. Im training twice a day with classes in-between, then on weekends I'm out. Before I know it I'm back for Christmas or summer break.

We all know that last year I was unable to participate in matches for my school, this is because I was not granted eligibility by the US clearing house 'NCAA'. Well I'm delighted to say I am now 100% cleared and ready to go!

We start our year with two pre-season games. The first tonight (Wednesday 15th) away at Florida Gulf Coast, and the second on Saturday 18th away at USF, both Division 1 schools. They will both be incredibly hard tests in front of a lot of people, but I truly believe with the team we have we can beat anyone.

We are only two days into pre-season and it feels like I've been here for weeks. 5:30am starts with evening practices and fitness tests. Which I am happy to say I have passed. The second of which I ran like a Kenyan; even though I didn't run over the summer, which makes me wonder how good of a long distance runner I could be if I trained. But thats something to think about if the NCAA decide to mess me about again. Because we do have a cross country team here at UT, but I think the soccer team actually runs more.

I shall post again on Sunday with the results of both games, and then hopefully this season I can upload some footage of games to give you guys a clearer image of the standard of soccer out here at college level.

Have a great week,

Thanks for reading,

Ty.

End Of Spring Season, Almost The End Of My Freshman Year.

Hello all, its been a while! I apologize for my sluggish behavior towards this blog, but at least now I have an accumulation of enchanting subjects for you to mull over. Its been an interesting couple of months. The last time we spoke I had just been back home to surprise my little sister on her birthday. That trip was nice but I must say I probably should have waited until spring break to venture back home as it was during school time.

However I got my head down and raised a couple grades so all is well. My spring break was a very relaxed one, we decided rather than go to Mexico or Panama city and poison our livers, we would just spend everyday at the beach, which I must say was the right decision.

As far as 'soccer' goes our spring season is officially over. The spring serves as a kind of Pre-season with the fall fixtures acting as the games that count. We played four games, two against pro teams (FC Tampa Bay & Orlando City) and the other two against college teams (Universidad de Nacional Colombia and UCF)


The game against FC Tampa bay was my debut and it went extremely well, although I was disappointed to not get on the score-sheet. The closest I came was a left footed finesse shot from out side the box which crashed against the crossbar. The teams overall effort was incredible and we showed that we can compete at the level. Also after the game I was approached buy the head coach who told me he'll be keeping his eye on me, which is always good.

Shona Hill (Daughter Of FC Tampa Bay Head Coach) And I

The next game was away at Orlando City who I would say is the best team I have played against. A very strong professional outfit who remained strong for 90 minutes and denied us a sniff at goal. I spent the majority of this game running across their back line chasing the ball to no avail.

The Moment I Should Have Shot...Annoys Me To This Day.

We then had our first home game against Universidad de Nacional Colombia. I was determined to get my first goal, especially as we were at home and I had my local family in the stands. We went ahead in the 5th minute when I assisted fellow Englishman Craig Laird for his first goal for Tampa, I then slotted past the keeper 20 minutes later to a warming roar from the home fans. It was a great feeling, one I will never tire of. We then conceded two goals, one of which was a penalty. But the lads didn't drop their heads and our captain Brian Fekete scored the winner in stoppage time.


Our fourth and final game was yesterday away at UCF (University Of Central Florida) which if I'm not mistaken is the largest school in the country with over 60,000 students. It was mind-blowing to see their campus for the first time, a small city which made Enfield Town look like a suburban bulgarian village. After drooling over their 7000 seater football stadium the game got underway.

We went behind in the opening five minutes and to be honest our heads dropped from there and we never really recovered. We had some late surges but nothing to really threaten them. The game ended 1-0 and with it ended our spring season.


We now have no games and no practices until late August. So it weights weights weights for the remaining two weeks before final exams. So I must now get up to date with all my work and prepare myself for finals. 


I Cannot wait to come home though, even though after a week I'll want to be back in the sunshine state. This semester has definitely felt as though its flew by, which is quite scary as It means I will no longer be a freshman. 

Well, I hope you all have a great week and I'll definitely post a couple more times before I return home.


Thanks for reading,


Ty.

SURPRISE!!!

Good day all. Hope you had a tremendous week and also a fulfilling weekend. My weekend has certainly been entertaining/eventful. The last time I posted, my impeccable acting skills were put on show and most of you thought I would be in Tampa this week, little did you know I was packing my bag to London at the same time.

It was my little sisters 18th birthday on Friday the 17th, so me and my dad planned for me to make a surprise appearance. On paper this seemed absolutely brilliant, however this trip (apart from seeing family and friends) has been one of the worst.

It started on Thursday when I began my travels from Tampa. I received a text message from British Airways telling me my connecting flight from Chicago to Tampa had been Delayed by 6 hours. I almost threw up.

Anyway I got there and sat around for the entire time miserable. The only thing that kept me just the tiniest bit peppy was the fact that nobody knew I was coming back, not even my dear old mother. I didn't think It could get much worse, that was until I realized by seat on the long haul flight didn't recline and the little shit behind me started kicking my chair. Not to mention the lady in front who decided to recline into my lap. So I then spent ten or so hours watching Johnny English on the woman in fronts screen whilst getting kicked in the back.

But when we landed I was excited, and couldn't wait for the surprise to unfold. I went down to collect my bag, and then watched as every other passenger collected theres including the little shit......They managed to lose my bag. I was shocked, in a world with so much technology where they can scan a bar code which is on the bag and then locate it globally they had actually managed lose it.

I was furious but I went with my dad to pick up my sisters birthday present and then surprised her, my brother and two uncles....

Don't ask me why I said "Mans on a surprise ting" I too cringed at that. It must be the London air. It was brilliant to see the looks on their faces but I was genuinely upset she didn't cry. 

Since then, Ive been with my friends and family and they mean more than anything to me. I would gladly sit through ten of those flights to spend time with them. It is now Monday and they still have not "Traced" my bag. This is bad for two reasons. One, that bag is full of swag and therefore I have been dressing like a good looking version of Anthony Carabotta, and two, All of my school books and notes are in my bag, and I have work due this week which means I am going to fail.......Cheers sis!

The Chisora Pose

This Kids Got Issues

I fly back this Wednesday and It doesn't look like I'll be receiving my bag before then which is just ridiculously inconvenient. But i've enjoyed myself and made my sister a happy girl. Oops I mean woman* Damn.

I hope you all have a less stressful week than my weekend was, and would appreciate if you could all pray to St.Anthony for me and ask him to locate my bag. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ty.

Cold Tampa, Hooters & Weights

Hey all, hope you enjoyed your weekend, and for those living in England I hope your enjoying the snow. Its actually been a bit of a chilly week here in Florida, although if it was this temperature in London, the majority of you would be down the park with your tops off. Here, their scared to go outside.

I've not been up to much, just enduring these demanding weight sessions, and struggling to wake up every friday morning for 5:30am weights. We've been playing an occasional match between ourselves whenever a trialist is in town and I've been feeling good. Im just more and more anxious to make my debut.

The team morale is extremely high at the moment and we are all hoping it can remain there for when we go into our first game and beyond. The only problem I think we might face is lack of playing time. We don't actually start soccer training until February 28th. Which is only a few days before our first game. I've heard the spring season consists of more fitness than the fall (If thats possible) so I have a feeling when it comes to our first game we will be lacking the technical side. But I'm definitely looking forward to playing with this team, and closer to the time I'll post our fixtures.

Weight Sessions Obviously Paying Off...NAT!

First Member Of The White JLS, Craig Laird

Apart from that, in this last two weeks I've been to the cinema twice. Once to see 'Safe House' which I thought was brilliant, and I also saw 'The Woman In Black' which reminded me why I don't watch horror films. I just don't see the gain in paying money to come out of a cinema in a bad mood. Never again!

I also had my first Hooters experience which sucked to be honest. For everyone who hasn't been, its not like the movies unfortunately. I've always wondered how they hire staff in Hooters. Does the manager hand the girls a bra and say "Here, fill this out."

So this week I shall be continuing to cut up my hand with weights, I pray you have a bearable week and the weather doesn't prevent you from doing too much.

Thanks for reading,

Ty

First Week Of Classes, First Beach Trip And 2nd Gasparilla

Afternoon! No post last week as there wasn't much to talk about to be honest. Last time I posted I just arrived and since then I've had to get back in the swing of things and get used to juggling class, homework, soccer, and weights. Thankfully the fitness coach has made it easier by putting our Friday weight sessions at 5:30am, how generous.

My first week of classes was mundane, I've increased my credit hours so there will be a bit more work this semester but I'm sure I'll be fine. Im being forced agaisnt my will to take a math class and those of you close to me know that math to me is like learning Chinese. Speaking of learning Chinese I am also taking elementary chinese 101. Don't ask why, I just thought it would be fun to learn and so far my prediction was correct.

Apart from classes and getting my ass handed to me in the gym, me and the boys had a chance to visit the beach for the first time. And it was pretty easy to spot us as tourists as we were the only ones swimming in the cold water as if it was the Caribbean.

The English Boys Messaging Their Mates Back Home To Get 'Em Jealous

Also just yesterday we had Gasparilla. Which to those who don't know is a Tampa Bay tradition were they re-enact the invasion of the pirates in Tampa. Although every college student uses it as an excuse to wake up disgustingly early and drink until the pass out, which is usually about 3pm.

Gasparilla '11

Gasparilla '12

 It was a fun day, the only downside is that I know have a terrible tank top tan line, need to get that sorted. Any-who enjoy the coming week and I shall speak to you next Sunday.

Thanks for reading,

Ty.