Throwback: Soccer Style

Photo Credit to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rahel_jaskow/2756384031/sizes/z/

Soccer has not always been as popular as it is today.  In fact, Europeans were the first ones to play it as an actual sport which is surprising to me because of how popular the game of soccer is today.  Another thing that may be surprising to some is the fact that soccer use to be played only by men, and today it is one of the most popular sports in Europe and the Americas played both by men and women.

Soccer has been played for many years, from anywhere between two thousand to three thousand years, but has always been for fun it never actually counted.  There is evidence of soccer being played in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in China. I also knew that soccer was popular in England and Great Britain, in order to build on that I had to do some research and I discovered that in England, there are facts that the first soccer ball was that of a Danish mans head.  How weird? Also durning Medieval times kicking, punching, biting and gouging were permitted in the old form of soccer.  The game became so violent that King Edward lll banned soccer in 1365.  In Scotland, King James l also banned soccer 59 years later in 1424.

http://www.historyofsoccer.info/

I do know quite a few little facts about soccer such as the fact that pushing is aloud but you are not able to shove with your hands, your elbow must stay against your body, you must not jab your opponent with you elbows. I also know that the idea of a penalty kick was introduced in 1891.  What I did not know is that during the Han Dynasty (2nd century, China) part of military training was the game of tsu chu, translated means "kicking a ball."

http://www.sportsknowhow.com/soccer/history/soccer-history.shtml

Soccer today is. very traditional sport for men and women around the world.  For example, the summer olympics has men and women's soccer.  Not only do we have olympic soccer but we also have FIFA which stands for Féderation Internationale de Football Association (French).  We also have soccer played at College levels, high school levels, middle school levels and at a recreational level.

Soccer has been around for many centuries and many people enjoy the sport, I know I do :)    

Shape Up

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One of the most important things about sports aside from eating healthy is.. being fit!  Hope Solo is very fit and she has the muscles to prove it! Which led me to wonder "what are some of the exercises that Hope Solo practices?"  What I found was not surprising at all!

Solo's life has changed a lot throughout the years but one thing remains the same, she loves soccer! She started playing soccer with her older brother when she was around 4 years old and continued to play throughout the years!  It was in high school, when she started to be noticed, when she began to really work out to achieve the body she wanted and the fitness she needed if she wanted to move higher up in the soccer world!

When doing the workout Insane Asylum, your body and mind tell you you cannot move you, that you cannot push through the work out but, you can find a way to push through it and over come these obstacles, tell yourself "I can move on!"  Hope Solo, a US olympian says,  “But you can, your body can do much more than you think it can. I was drenched in sweat from this workout. It’s not a pretty sight but who’s trying to be pretty? Just trying to get through the workout and become a better athlete.”

http://fitorflab.com/hope-solo-does-insanity-asylum/

Now, to help you become better fit I have found a few exercises (with steps) that you should follow:

Abdominal Hold:

Grab a chair (any chair will work as long as it's sturdy) and sit tall on the end
pointing your fingers down put your hand on the edge of the chair
then tighten your abs up, lift your feet 2-4 inches of the ground and lift your butt off the chair.
hold this for 5-10 seconds, or as long as you can, try to have breaks for 5 seconds in between
repeat for one minute total with 5-10 second intervals

The Side Crunch:

Kneel on your left or right side
place your left palm on the floor if you kneel left, place your right if you kneel right
extend your opposite leg, slowly, with pointed toes while keeping your balance
place your opposite hand behind your head pointing your elbow toward the ceiling
bring your extended leg up so that it is shoulder over hip over foot
then bring foot back down to the ground slowly
repeat 6 to 8 times (two sets)
then switch sides

These are only a few of many exercises to try, maybe you could join Hope Solo in her exercise.

Redemption

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And the US takes home the gold as redemption from the 2011 World Cup, defeating Japan 2-1.  The 2011 World Cup was a devastating loss for the US team when they put so much work into everything that led up to that game.  In finding an article which explained almost exactly how things went down in the defeat of the 2011 World Cup by the Huffington Post stated:

When these two teams tangled in the final of the 2011 World Cup, the outcome was heartbreaking for the U.S. team. After the two teams completed extra time deadlocked at two goals apiece, the match was decided from the penalty spot after. In that taut affair, the Japanese found the late equalizer(s) that evaded them in the gold medal final, with Aya Miyama scoring late in regulation to force extra time and Homare Sawa pulling the Nadeshiko level again late in extra time. Ever since Japan emerged victorious from the penalty shootout, 3-1, the U.S. women have been counting down the days to London.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/us-womens-soccer-gold-olympics-japan_n_1761814.html

We all knew the US team came fired up for the win and we all knew that the US team had confidence that all their hard work and determination would soon pay off! With in the first 8 minutes Carli Lloyd bursts the ball past Japans goalkeeper which put the US leading 1-0. But with in 54 minutes Japan doubled the score, 2-1, which really got the US team determined to win!  In the Huffington Post Carli Lloyd stated and I quote:

"I think I just come up big in big moments. That's what I've trained for," Lloyd said after game, via The Associated Press. "I worked my butt off day-in and day-out. I don't think there's anybody that works harder than I do. I was on a mission this Olympics to prove everybody wrong, and that's what I did. To show everybody that I belong on the field."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/us-womens-soccer-gold-olympics-japan_n_1761814.html

Perfectly Unperfect

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Life as a child for young Solo was not perfect, it was not the ideal 'perfect childhood' nor was it fitting, it was rough, not something you'd want to get use to. "On the outside of the fence, for everyone passing by to see, was a giant yellow smiley face. On the other side was a yard with a sandbox and a jungle gym. An English sheepdog named Charlotte. Rabbits and turtles and kittens." (Hope Solo and Ann Killion)

When Solo was around five or six her parents got into an argument with her moms father over Gerry (Solos father) writing himself a $1,800 check out of Judy's (Solos mom) fathers checking account which soon after resulted in Gerry leaving within the following days.  Solo was suppose to see her father within the next couple days to say goodbye but her mom told Gerry that Solo was going to a friends house so Solo missed her chance at her fathers goodbye.

Later in life Solo found out that her father was not who he said he was.  In fact police reports shown that "Gerry Solo" had multiple last names such as DeMatteo or was it Beyers, only he knows.  He also had 2 Social Security numbers, he said he was from New York, and that he was born sometime after World War ll. How much of this is true?  Only Gerry Solo? Or was it Gerry Dematteo? Maybe Gerry Beyers? Whatever the case, only Gerry knows the real truth behind who he really was. Information from: A memior of Hope

Solo's Story

                                          
                Photo Credit of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmrosenfeld/3703272348/sizes/m/

Hope Solo is an olympic soccer player, born in 1981 in Richland, Washington (just outside of Seattle.). Solo's father, Jeffery, was a major inspirational figure throughout her life. At age 7, all she knew came crashing down when her father took her and her brother from home without their mother's knowledge which landed him in a state of semi-homelessness that resulted in Solo losing contact with her father altogether.

Solo started her career when she was very young, playing on recreational teams ages 7  until she could play for her school.  In high school Solo was a rising star, scoring 109 goals for Richland High.  She then went on playing soccer in college where she reunited with her long lost father. In 1999, Solo was selected by the University of Washington to participate in the Pan Am Gold Cup.

It was in 2003 when Solo made her very first professional debut with the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA (Women's United Soccer Association.) She then, 2 years later, moved to Europe and continued playing soccer for France and Sweden.

In 2005, Solo earned a call up to the Women's National team, she made it yet just before the 2007 World Cup he father died of a sudden heart attack which sent Solo reeling.  On top of the death of her father, Solo was benched in the 2007 World Cup that  sent her into a fury with her coach, making headlines across the country.

When she finally recovered in 2008 from the previous devastating year, Solo began to play for the Gold medal winning US Women's Soccer team. And has since been playing for the US team.

I chose to research Hope Solo because I knew in the beginning that she's had a rough life growing up.  And not having her dad around effected her a lot, which I can relate too.   She has been an inspiration with gratitude, compassion, independence, and the will to move on with life.  Which is why, in tribute, I will be sharing my knowledge of her achievements and hardships through life.  She has been my role model ever since I first seen her play, and I realized there is always Hope with Solo.