Men's Soccer Blog
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Blog Entries |
June 16
Junior Ryan Perea and sophomore Justin Kim reflect on their summer training regime and the World Cup as they spend quality time at home with their family and friends.
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Dallas, Texas
I would like to start by thanking summer.
I have returned back to my home in Dallas, Texas. Every time I come back home, I realize how different Dallas is from Bowling Green. First of all, it's too hot here and the people are different; mainly because Dallas is much larger and more diverse. I enjoy being in Dallas because of the ladies, I enjoy the Texas ladies a lot.
Since being home, I have joined a club for cool people such as myself. The club is a sports club called "LA Fitness" which is mainly for the people who like to lift and others who enjoy watching others lift. Fortunately, for me, I like to do both so I fit in well. Seriously, the main reason I joined the sports club was to keep in shape and follow the fitness packet I was assigned to. I've been playing soccer at the park and my front yard in the afternoon and then playing pick-up games at the local indoor center at night. Life is much like being at Bowling Green right now due the fact I am doing summer school, soccer, and lifting.
My main focus this summer is not keeping in shape or going to school but it's the World Cup. My father bought a 60 inch flat screen television just for the World Cup. Even if I miss a game, I can watch it later because the flat screen television has Tivo. I think this World Cup is going be much different from the others, mainly because of all the technology. A lot more people will be watching and the media will be covering the World Cup 24-7 which will make the games and event that much more important.
I think Argentina will be the champions. It's about time for Argentina to win. I think they are sick and tired of Brazil because I know I am. I hope (Jose) Pekerman, Argentina's head coach, doesn't leave Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, and Pablo Aimar on the bench because they are the players I like the most besides my Juan Roman Riquelme.
I think Mexico, Spain, and Portugal could all be potential dark horses. I never really liked Mexico but I notice it's hard for any team to beat them mainly because they play well together and Spain is good all round. If Deco can recover in time, I think Portugal could go all the way to the semifinals. The United States is in trouble because we always do badly against top European teams and we don't have too much experience with African counties. My prediction is two South American teams in the final: Brazil versus Argentina, which Argentina will win.
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Mililani, Hawaii
Home is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, one of eight islands in the Hawaiian chain. It is the island of Oahu and I live in the city of Mililani. Being home feels very good. It's good because I can rest a little bit, spend time with my family and friends, plus workout with my club team and play with my college teammates for a competitive Men's Soccer League on the island. Other activities I've been enjoying are scuba diving, surfing, body boarding at the beaches here on "The Rock", and taking my dogs wild boar hunting as well.
It's a privilege to live in paradise and I'm very proud of the place I come from. It's 80-98 degree weather everyday and the beach is like my second home. The only problem with being from Oahu is that it can be a difficult transition when I go to Bowling Green, Ohio. It is totally different being in BG because it feels like winter for 4-5 months and it is so cold. I am so used to walking around with just surf shorts, no shirt and slippers. In Bowling Green I have to where shoes all the time and I sometimes feel like I have to wear six layers of clothing just to walk to class.
Training for the upcoming fall season in the islands is kind of fun. I get to go out in the sun work hard and then I get to go to the beach right after and surf or scuba dive. Like I said earlier, I play with my old club team, the Honolulu Bulls, and all my teammates are people that have experience at the college level. It is a good team to play with because we know how each other plays and we know what we have to do. I lift weights and run on my own or with one of my best friends, David Gualdarama, who attends New Mexico University. We make sure we get our work in daily before we go to the ocean.
The World Cup is something that I feel every soccer player is looking forward to; I know I am. I don't really have a favorite team but I am anxious to watch Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Holland. The USA team is my dark horse because I think they will surprise people and turn a lot of heads. In the end Brazil will win hands down, they are just too much to handle for anybody.
