College soccer life in the United States is difficult. Not only do you have the stress of playing highly competitive matches with practice daily, typically in the early morning, but you also have to juggle your class schedule. We are lucky enough to have Michael Strickland on board to take us step by step through the college season.

Double days are every players' worst nightmare.  Your days melt together as practices consume every waking minute of your free time and even when you find the spare hour to relax, you find yourself asleep.  These past two weeks of double days, my life has consisted of eating, sleeping, and playing soccer.  It truly is an unfathomable grind that no amount of summer training can prepare you for but fortunately you have 25 other teammates to commiserate with. 

Our practices have consisted of a litany of defensive drills, technical exercises, and simple games with fitness concluding every practice.  First, we refined our mentality with small combative drills.  Second, we expanded our fitness which has allowed us to practice what we all have craved since day one: possession.  The coaching staff decided to change our formation this off-season so we've been learning the intricacies of a new offense and defense.  At times the practices seem tedious and petty but buying into their message is most important.  Following every practice, we all stagger into the cold tub attempting to fix our aching muscles, knowing full well that there is nothing more unbearable than sitting in freezing water for fifteen minutes.  But at the end of of this repetitive schedule, we know the team has grown on and off the field.  Nothing can match practice by playing, while commiseration can bring a team together unlike any other forced situation. 

We all have aspirations and visions of the playoffs but we all understand the long battle that awaits those prospects.  Our second exhibition game is this evening but we fully realize it is only an important stepping stone to our first, actual game next week.

-Michael is a senior at Stanford, where he will be captaining the squad for the third year in a row. He is a holding midfielder, a tenacious tackler, and a gifted passer who leads the team from this position. His coach Bret Simon on Strickland: "Strick will return as a third-year team captain and lead the team from a holding midfield position." He also has a knack for game winning goals, as two of his three goals during his career have been game winners. He is also a really genuine and interesting guy who is extremely intelligent and funny. He has been kind enough to write for us in his free time which we are very grateful for.