u/uconnboston

Well I have 2 weeks to go, today was PAT day. You know what’s really cool? When I sat down with the post op coordinator, she reviewed everything I needed to purchase. And guess what? Due to all of the information sharing on this sub, I had already made the purchases - the discussion was much simpler and more of a validation than a discovery. So thank you!

That said - it is good to confirm what the surgery center will provide to you before you buy any gear. I am getting either crutches or walker and the cryocuff/ice machine. Unfortunately I just bought the cryocuff yesterday but it will be easy to cancel that order.

So two weeks of workouts and PT prehab plus a week or so of multivitamin drinks and shower surgical scrub. I am getting nervous. That last night of sleep is going to be rough.

Hi folks - wife and I are hiking at Haleakala tomorrow. I can’t do a ton of hiking due to some issues that will require surgery soon but can do a 2-3 hour hike. Wife is fine doing longer hikes. I’m looking at trail maps and I don’t see anything that would allow for a loop - pretty much all out and back. Any advice on other options?

trail map

I have a guardian snorkel set recently purchased for a trip to Hawaii. I tested it last weekend and ran into a concern. The mask is letting in water under my nose. I have an “average” beard, less than 1/2 in hair. Any chance that the facial hair is impacting the seal? Or is this just a cheap mask or something else? I tried the test where you inhale from your nose when I bought it, seal seemed fine.

If we were going to start collecting data as a community, what standard daily status events would be helpful to provide insights into how our postoperative journey might progress? Here are some of my ideas based on what I have read on this sub. And I’ll probably have more ideas once I go under the knife.

Daily:
Pain level (1-10)
Mobility (bed bound, walker, cane/crutch, unassisted)
Number of Steps
Activity (home pt, outpatient pt, gym, walk, other?)
Work status (leave, remote limited, remote full, in person limited, in person full)
Driving? (Y/N)
Sleep? Not sure what I’d capture - maybe recliner vs bed on side vs bed unrestricted?

Thoughts on what to capture and whether it might be helpful? With AI it’s now pretty easy to summarize posted data and output averages as long as people are somewhat faithful to the suggested format. If we added age, surgical site and preop condition (sedentary, active, athlete) people could eventually get a decent summary of how things might go based on your situation. We’d need a decent number of cases but it could be fairly helpful.

51 m, coach soccer and used to enjoy running, hiking etc. I still hit the gym regularly. I was recently told I need LTHR, on top of that I have L4-L5 partial herniated disc with sciatica and all the related fun stuff.

Could I continue to deal with it? Limping when I get out of the car etc etc? Sure. What I really want to get out of the surgery is the opportunity to realign and improve my back situation. To play pick up soccer. To go for a jog. Have fun for ten more years. I understand that there is a 6-12 month recovery. But I’m not just doing this to decrease pain. I want to get some of my active life back. Am I unrealistic or naive? Anyone in a similar spot to me who went through surgery?

It seems to be that there has been an influx of posts since the USMNT loss across a number of subs and other platforms. I don’t have data/metrics, I’ve seen a lot of the following posts:

* I never watched soccer but now I’m hooked, what’s next?
* The club system is broken, it’s why we suck at soccer
* The US will (never/soon) compete at the highest level because of (talent/interest/zombies)

I think the increased exposure is awesome. Is this momentum we can use to continue to build interest in the US? Or is this just the temporary bump from having the WC take place in our country? Does your area have soccer fever? I really hope we can channel this energy into continued growth of the sport.

Free coaching education registration here

Event 1
Wed, July 8, 1-2:30 p.m. ET
Emerging Trends & Identities
Early tournament patterns and observations 

Confederation-specific perspectives 

Emerging team and player trends 

How different football cultures are responding to common game challenges 

Learning Intention: Explore what the tournament is revealing about the evolving nature of the game and consider how these insights may translate to your own environment. 

Event 2
Fri, July 24, 1-2:30 p.m. ET 
Performance Under Pressure
How teams adapt as the pressure increases 

Factors influencing performance

The evolution of team and player trends throughout the tournament 

Leadership, resilience, and decision-making 

Learning Intention: Examine how high-performing teams adapt and evolve throughout the tournament and reflect on how these insights can inform your own coaching environment.

5 years of coaching - basically learning how to coach and then building up the girls in the town travel program. Fall session. Winter indoor. Spring session with playoffs. And summer pickup sessions. Observing club practices, taking courses. The year-round job that’s not a job.

After two years of getting our bearings with moderate success, we had qualified for the playoffs three straight years. And made the playoffs in indoor at least one session every year. But despite that, every season ended in tears and disappointment.

This could be my last year of coaching, I really don’t know. My daughter “graduates” as she’ll move to high school next year. There are some spring options but I don’t know if there will be interest from the girls. It feels like it could be the end.

The season started out just okay. One loss and two ties. We then played a few weaker teams and started to gel. We had rematches against the two teams we tied and we beat them both by two goals each. We go on a five game winning streak to end the season and clinch a playoff spot. What can I say - the girls just kept getting better.

And then today came. Championship Sunday. Yes, a division championship with nothing further on the line. But for these girls, they have worked so hard for so long and always seemed to fall a bit short. The matchup was against the only team to beat us. Last year’s champion, who also knocked us out last year. The girls just believed and fought. Our goalie was bonkers in the first half, making a couple of critical saves to keep us at 0-0 to end the first half. They had better opportunities, slightly better possession. Second half starts and we begin to win possession. Connect on thru balls. Shut down their attacks. And with two minutes to go, we get a direct just outside the box on the left. My CMF (best player) takes it and puts it just over the fingertips of their goalie. We take the lead and finish them off for the win. Finally. Champs.

I am so happy for them, happy for our program. Happy for the girls who haven’t hung a medal on their wall yet who now have a bit of hardware to show off. The season was already a success. I know winning isn’t everything but it is certainly something. They’re on cloud nine. Shoot, I’m still hyped.

Now I have to decide - is this it? Am I done coaching? I don’t know. I know I’m going to relax for a few weeks, maybe longer. I need it. But whatever happens next, I feel full, satisfied, happy. Maybe even validated in my coaching style and approach. Crazy to think that I might be done. I know many of you have made the difficult decision. How do you handle the crossroads, know when it’s really time to hang it up?

Hi friends - American here, I’ll be attending the Boston match between Norway and Iraq. My daughter and I are excited to see Haaland, Odegaard and the Norway side in action. Any cheers or songs we can quickly learn for Tuesday? Any Norwegian fotball traditions to look out for?

I know this is a bit vague and would of course vary by age and flight. Specifically u15g, but general insights are appreciated. Is CT EDP technically the equivalent to NECSL? I see that u15g only has RAL, NECSL has 10 divisions, 4 different levels including two RAL divisions. I’m guessing that based on the difference in the number of teams, CT EDP probably has more variation in skill within the league but generally won’t have the same quality. Maybe equivalent to the flight 1-2 level of NECSL?

I’m in the stands right now waiting for my daughter’s game. There is a game under way, u13g flight 3 so not exactly the highest level of competition. Today is the hottest day of the Spring - not blazing hot but the players are not yet acclimated. Nearing the end of the first half, one of the girls on the opposing teams ran by her coach and said “coach can you take me out? PLEASE?” with a really desperate look on her face. The coach stared at her stone faced, no response. He put in subs about five minutes later and took her out. Never even acknowledged the player.

It’s youth soccer, coaches. Show a bit of compassion. Be better.

Last year we experienced one of the worst starts to a soccer season, but it wasn’t an anomaly - it was a trend. Our town youth soccer program’s three field grass complex lays over a landfill with a concrete cap. After decades of wear, the sod layer has whittled away and there is literally nowhere for the water to go when it rains and when the snow melts in the spring. We lost the first three weeks last season and relentlessly rain and soggy conditions made game postponements the norm and left me on the field using a pool spray gun to siphon standing water from the largest puddles so they would dry.

We knew that we would never be able to raise enough money to remediate the fields on our own so we started hunting down grant opportunities. During opening day of my son’s baseball season last year I met two guys who led our town’s community fund. We started talking about what the program needed and what it might take to get funding. Numerous quotes, investigations of alternative funding sources, late night meetings, field visits and vendor conversations all culminated in a town vote tonight. Over $800k in funds to significantly improve two of our three fields. Two of our young players came to speak in front of the town, supported by a host of teammates and did so eloquently but with poise and passion.

And we did it. The vote passed almost unanimously.

I’m so proud and happy for our soccer community. Now the real work will happen - figuring out how to play one, maybe two seasons of soccer without two of our three fields. I have no idea how we will do it but I have 100% confidence that we will do it.

Hi coaches - I just want to outline what happened with one of my players.

Saturday game u14g, player gets hit by a rocketed ball side of head. Immediately goes down, although that’s not uncommon for her. I walk out to escort her to the sideline and immediately see a red mark from the ball on the side of her face. It’s toward the end of the game so she sits out the rest. Gets an ice pack, reports that her head hurts a bit and that’s it. Her dad is my assistant so we chat after the game and they’ll monitor her. I see him at the gym the next day and we chat briefly, they’re continuing to monitor. Monday practice comes. It’s very sunny out and she’s squinting. She seemed fine in practice but as she was leaving the field I asked her if she’s had any headaches or has one now and she said yes. So I find her dad and ask him if she’s reported any headaches and of course she did not. I tell him that she just admitted to me she’s having headaches so off to the doctor they go and she is diagnosed with a concussion.

My takeaways in this experience were that first, our job of concussion identification does not end at the final whistle. Sure, we don’t diagnose but we all took safesport and there’s a reason for that. Keep an eye on any player who takes a hit to the head in subsequent practices. Second, kids are not always truthful. If you continue to suspect something is wrong, ask them again and phrase the question differently if needed - especially if you think they are purposely hiding symptoms. And third, in this case these parents are smart and caring. They 100% were monitoring her. Once they realized that she wasn’t giving them fully truthful answers they jumped on it. Sometimes we have to maintain gentle persistence, sometimes less gentle if you don’t feel comfortable with the player’s condition.