That was Fast, Part II

The first part of ‘That Was Fast’ was about how quickly I went back out to Seattle to play for the Pumas. This edition focuses on how quickly they’ve made my time out here playing soccer miserable and have all but ensured that I won’t be back for them next year. A large combination of exclusions, half-truths, and circumlocutions have made it so only specific circumstances next year would bring me back to Bremerton, most I haven’t even decided upon. I just know that it would take some extremes. Anyway, this is the list of how they’ve treated me poorly in the three weeks since I arrived. Most aren’t a huge deal individually, but when you add them all up…

I was asked to come out here with the understanding that there would be two keepers: the starter and me. When I got out here, my first two practices there were 5, and ever since then there have been 4. It’s their decision to have this many keepers out there. I don’t care. But don’t lead me to believe that there will be 2 and my training will be much more individualized than it would be.

Pissed off scale (1-10): 6

I had multiple conversations with the head coach about wages before I came out here. I told me – and he concurred – that I didn’t need a whole contract, but at least a partial one of what every other player had. I knew I was coming out mid way through the season and wasn’t going to get much playing time, but still, I was moving across the country to play for them because they asked me to, so some compensation would be nice. When I was offered my contract, the amount I was offered was 0$/month. Really? I had to go to Bremerton one day and have a meeting with the owner and chief exec and convince them to pay me something. Again, if you want to offer me nothing, fine. But don’t lead me to believe that I’d be offered something and then give me nothing.

Pissed off scale: 8

The email list. Despite signing 4 weeks ago and asking to be put on it as well, I’m still not on the team email list. I have to continuously call people on the team to find out about meetings/practices and don’t get any messages from the head coach, assistant, keeper coach, secretary, owner, chief exec, or anyone else that might have something important to say to the team.

Pissed off scale: 3

General exclusions. Whenever it gets brought up about people coming from Seattle or havng to travel distance to practice, I’m not included. It’s a 90 minute drive each way if I drive, including gas money and the toll for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. If I take the ferry it takes even longer since I can’t make the ferry leave whenever I want to go. I’ve got to get there on time, wait for it to leave, wait for practice once I’m there, wait for the ferry after practice, and then get home (including practice, generally a 6 hour commitment). Also, this costs 7 dollars for the ferry and a total of 5 for the light rail train. For someone who doesn’t really have an income, these costs add up. I’ve also been excluded when “team fine” talks and am excluded from receiving the same sponsor perks as the rest of the team.

Pissed off scale: 2

Apparel. I don’t have the same uniforms as the other the other keepers. My uniform really makes me look like an absolute muppet. I actually only have one jersey, whereas the others have two (different colors): one to warm up in and one to play in. In addition, I don’t have any of the practice gear, warm-ups, rain coat, or team bag. I look like a fool most times when the team is together. What’s more, these things have never even been discussed with me.

Pissed off scale: 5

The final straw. So I haven’t been playing. Fine, I haven’t been rostered (they can only roster 2 keepers per game) but I’m getting paid. The team (they? We?) won their 2^nd round national playoff game the other day, so they go to Texas to play the quarters/semis. I knew that I probably wasn’t going to go, however, just when the assistant coach has everyone gathered around to tell everyone logistics, the head coach and keeper coach interrupts him “Andrew, hold on a sec. Brett? Can we have a word over here please…” Wow. Really? Cool, thanks for the world-class humiliation. Everyone in the complex knew what they were going to say to me, you could have been deaf and knew what they were saying to me. They couldn’t have told me before or after the team meeting about logistics? They had to call me out in front of the entire team and get all of the attention on me so everyone was focused on me getting told like a child that I wasn’t going to go on the trip. Sweet guys.

Pissed off scale: 10

So, it would probably take something along the lines of this bring me back (however form the treatment I’ve received, it doesn’t seem like they want me back, oddly enough.): a much higher pay, paid for gear (including gloves and cleats), paid for transportation, and normal treatment for a player on the team. I’d rather not get paid and enjoy myself than get paid and have a shitty time doing it.

Other than that, everyone’s been great. The house hunt is…continuing for some friends from college. We’re looking for a place up near Green Lake, kind of the Central Park of Seattle. Job search continues as well. So really, nothing is new, just a long rant for today.

Just a quick update on what's going on: The Pumas clinched the NW division and a first round playoff bye last Saturday. Then we got killed by the Sounders' reserves and I ot my first playing time, completely embarrassing myself having trouble making kicks that a 12 year old could have made, with ease. Practice yesterday and the awful field (actually, Fredericksburg's field is a bit more manageable) and today on a turf field. I guess their game this Friday is on turf. Friday night in Victoria, BC and Sunday in Tacoma are the last two regular season games, then the playoffs start.

Also, I jut wanted to post this photo that I took last night. Obviously, a view of downtown Seattle from near the top of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. I live lower down in the Beacon Hill neighborhood right now.

First Pro Contact (woot)

I signed my first pro contract today with the Kitsap Pumas S.C. Woot. There are only a few games left in the season, but oh well. I won't go into details about it, but it is there and signed. I went over to their office today and met with the owner and his direct subordinate, basically the two hot shots in the club, to talk about it face to face. I also got the general jist of everything explained to me. Kitsap is one of about four clubs in the PDL that are technically "professional". They would eventually like to move up to USL-2 or 1, but the immediate future probably holds something more along the lines of the PDL splitting onto the USL-3 and PDL and they will be in the USL-3 (comprised of Pro-PDL teams, which they're hoping will grow next year). It cost $75,000 to establish a USL-2 franchise and $750,000 a USL-1, or something along those lines. So, its not just results that can push you up or down, more to do with money. Also I had explained that they have a stadium of their own in the works for the future, maybe a 8,000 seater, but that is several years away. Kitsap has a 3 year contract with Bremerton Memorial Stadium, which isn't a bad place. you can do much worse than that field.

Also, I met Thomas the last time I was at Franklin (I'll try and get some pictures of these places up soon). He is friends with Gabriel and Eban. He's 28 and runs what sounded like youth sports clinics and day camps for community youths.

In other news, I went on my frist bike tour of Seattle the other day and promptly got lost. Not really lost, I knew the general direction I was trying to go in, but I kept running into dead ends. Problem is in Seattle, when you run into a dead end, there's a good chance you have to bike up a really steep hill in order to get back to where you just came from. Finally I got to Lake Washington Blvd, my original destination, and road on that for a while until I got to Seward Park and rose around the bike trail the goes along the outskirts of that twice before heading back up Lk Wash Blvd way too far into Madrona and Capital Hill. About a mile or so and several large, large hills too far north of where I live on Beacon Hill. All in all, I have no idea how far I went. Then I made the horrible mistake of doing what my plan was all along. On Wednesday I biked to the ferry, took the ferry across to Bremerton, biked to Steve's house. In all, about 5 miles and several large, long hills later I was there. Unfortunately it used up about half my gas tank and I spent most of the practice going through the motions and humiliating myself in front of the keeper coach, the assistant coach, and the four other keepers (yes, four) because my body was just physically spent. Eventually, they ended up playing 4v4 with keepers. The last game went into overtime because apparently it was the "championship game". I didn't know. The way these things work is that the keepers stay in their places and the teams switch around. So, practice ends and I go over and look at my watch. 5:15. The ferry was at 5:30. According to google maps, the distance form the field to the ferry: 2 miles. But about half of those 2 miles is a 2 lane bridge that you can walk your bike across on a narrow walk way, or ride. Having 0% energy left at this time, I chose to ride...and hold up traffic for a quarter mile in a small town. Unheard of. Yes, I got to the ferry on time. Oh wait, not done yet, now I have to bike home. I didn't even try. I walked my bike up the MASSIVE hills near the waterfront, which alone are about a mile long with I swear to god, a 15% incline (Today I was stopped going up the hill at a red light and I burned rubber because you have to accelerate so fast from a dead stop so you don't go back into the car behind you). Long story short (too late), I got to the top of the hill and road the mostly downhill bike ride back to my house, another couple of miles.

Today my body felt awful, but it was okay because I also signed my first professional contract.

My new soccer friends...oh yeah and the game as well

I went to Safeway yesterday morning and came across Franklin HS, which just so happens to have a turf football field with soccer goals on it right now. Today, I went to work out there and met these two guys who were working out on the other goal. Gabriel is a 31 year old librarian at the local library who is trying to get back into soccer. It used to be his number one sport when he was in high school but he got a basketball scholarship to college, I didn't ask where. People like Gabriel are the athletes that soccer missed out on by not becoming larger in America until now. He's about 6'3-6'4, pretty built, but still trim and quick at the same time. And he's a keeper. And he still loves soccer, just hasn't played in 8 years. Then there was Eban, who was 35 and grew up in Paraguay. Eban is in music and also is a medical translator. He's 35 and has football in his blood. He's one of those guys who just goes outside and jiggles for half an hour without dropping it because he wants to. Anyway, we exchanged numbers since they love to knock it around, shoot, whatever. They're playing in a local indoor league and were trying to get Gabriel back into keeper mode. God he was a big boy.

Oh, as for the game yesterday. I went down, but did not dress, which annoyed me. I guess it annoyed me that they asked me to come down, but didn't have me dress, or even talk to me about it, didn't pay for my meals, and just kind of...had me around. What a wonderful way to spend July 4. I didn't really know what to do with myself. It would have been super awkward had they won (they toed 1-1 by giving up a 90th minute goal) because it would have clinched 1st place for them. While they were all celebrating, I would have been standing there, awkwardly. I have nothing invested emotionally with this team yet, and even when I do, it won't nearly be to the level that they do. At least not this year. They're next practice isn't until Wednesday, so I guess I'll be on my own to work out until then. I've gotta join a gym and get my swell on.

Whoa, that was fast.

I’m currently in Seattle. Who would have guessed that one a month, or even a10 days ago? I’ll give a rundown of how things went down:

Last Thursday: Steve told me that his coach wanted to talk to me about coming out to Seattle to play with Kitsap. Apparently their backup keeper left. Oh, and earlier in the day I bought a road bike. Cool.

Last Friday: I talked with the Pumas coach, John Wedge who I’ve met before and who has seen me play.

Last Saturday: I thought about it and made a decision: I’m going. The Fredericksburg training wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. The Pumas have potential t move up into USL 2 or even USL 1. I personally have a lot more connections and know a lot more people out in Seattle than in Virginia. A lot of my friends are still in the Northwest.

Sunday: Prepped for leaving on Monday.

Monday-Wednesday: Drove XC to Boise.

Thursday: Drove the last segment, from Boise to Seattle. Met the new housemates, pretty cool dude named Teddy. He’s a master’s student in social work. A woman lives here too, a teacher, but Teddy said she is away for a lot of the summer.

Friday: First practice with the Pumas. Didn’t know they were going to practice on turf, so I brought my six studs. Whoops. Sliding around and luckily not tearing a knee in half, I played pretty well for not having faced good shooting in months. Afterwards Wedge asked me to come down to Portland with them tomorrow for their game against the Timbers U23s to dress as a backup. Yes, I’m going. The downside is that 4^th of July in Seattle is really cool, I’ve been here for it before. The upside is that playing not great I still made a big enough impression in one practice session to warrant suiting up for a game, even if it is as backup, which I’m fully expecting to be for the remainder of the season. Their #1 I a solid keeper. He’s not the most agile or tallest, but he makes smart choices and doesn’t screw up much. They haven’t lost a game with him in net this year, except to the Timbers in the Open Cup. He’s Excused.

So, I’m in Seattle living in Capital Hill, apparently near Garfield. Simon said it used to be a pretty seedy area but has gotten better in the last 10 years. It’s a lot further to the ferry, and a lot more hilly, than I thought. I’ve gotta work myself into biking shape before I can bike to the ferry. Its also farther to the field on Bremerton, and again a lot more hilly, than I thought. Good thing Steve and his buddy pick someone else up form the ferry every day for practice. I’ll probably end up doing that. Later on today I’m picking Steve up from Alisa’s place in Renton and meeting the team bus where they meet up with I-5. So, that was fast. Here we go.