I've found an odd combination which allows me to sleep soundly: I sleep on the living room floor, on the vibromat (a massage pad), wearing the sleep mask, with the sliding door open (and screen shut, which allows cool air in but does not allow the cats out), after drinking a glass of wine or taking a painkiller (depending on my needs). Strange, yes, but it's working. I'm mostly well-rested. (I say mostly well-rested because, actually, this morning I'm a bit tired.)
I'm becoming Proust. (See, that's funny because Proust slept in a cork-lined room, kept odd hours, was basically all screwed up evey which way. I'm saying that I...oh, never mind.)
In my mind, I'm dwelling in a writing mode. In reality, I have little urge to write. Perhaps it's that I want to read about writing.
I recently finished Phyllis Rose's The Year of Reading Proust, a book with a misleading title. The book's subtitle, A Memoir in Real Time, is a more accurate description of its contents, though one is forced to ask: "What does Rose mean by 'real time'?" Likely she uses the phrase merely for effect. (But which effect?)
The Year of Reading Proust comprises a series of essays of a generally autobiographical nature. Rose recounts her life in New York and in Florida, copes with her dying mother, meditates on a writing lifestyle, contemplates love and friendship. It is not disinteresting, though at times it is not wholly engaging, either. Because I chose this book as supplemental Proust reading, I longed for more mention of him. Proust is featured prominently in the first and the last essays, and Rose uses quotes from Remembrance of Things Past as chapter epigraphs, but in the remainder of the book, she's content to simply toss in a Proust mention here and there in every essay. (And these often seem like afterthoughts: "Oh — I've decided that Proust is this collection's unifying theme; I'd better go add a reference to him in each essay.")
I probably sound more disappointed than I was. The book was okay. Parts were even insightful, thought-provoking, and ultimately it inspired several Proust-related discussion questions for the upcoming book group meeting.
The FC Saints cannot buy a break.
From my perspective, the team is much better than last year, yet our results are similar. Through eight games, we've lost five and tied three. In ten games last seasons, we lost nine and won one.
Admittedly, we've been in nearly every game this season, haven't suffered the blowouts to which we were subjected in the fall. Last season we were outscored 43-12 in ten games. This season, we've only been outscored 25-12 in eight games. That's still not good, but it's a vast improvement.
Mart observed last night — and I think he's correct — that each individual player seems skilled enough, matches up well against the opposing players, but our team doesn't operate as a team, work as a group. We're more like a bunch of individuals with a common goal rather than a single team united. Many of the other teams we play (like the team last night), have a degree of organization that gives them an edge our team lacks.
Some of this teamwork will come with time. Their were hints of it last night. Near the end of the first half, the Saints were pressing the attack. Katie had pushed the ball up the right wing and was looking to cross it to the middle, which — and this is another weakness we have — was too congested. She spied Jefferson. Jefferson then did something outstanding: he anticipated Katie's pass and he deferred, he pointed behind him to Debbie, who had set up near midfield, by herself. Katie passed to Debbie, and our offense was better able to spread the field and mount a more aggressive attack. If Katie had passed to Jefferson, the ball would likely have been intercepted or quickly wrested from his possession.
It's this kind of stuff we need to learn. Our team rarely passes back, yet it's one of the most vital skills in soccer. One cannot push the ball forward all the time. It's not possible to do so and remain effective. The best teams know that passing back is often the best way to move forward. We haven't learned that yet. Time and again we forego the drop in favor of a weak push forward.
We've got a great group of players, and our play has improved, but if we want to begin to win, we need to begin working as a team, to practice sound soccer fundamentals. Perhaps those are things we can practice as we head into the fall season. If we did some soccer drills, as boring as they sound, instead of just scrimmaging at practices, it might pay dividends on the field.
I still think we're going to win a game or two before the end of this season, though. I like our chances against Little Booters in two weeks.
Updated FC Saints spring web page coming soon. (Better late than never!)
On this day at foldedspace.org
2005 — Scary Movie I'm not one who is easily spooked. Sometimes it happens, though. The Exorcist is a scary movie.
2004 — Robot Parade The kids and I grabbed great handfuls of paper and ran across the lawn singing They Might Be Giants' Robot Parade.
It was a good game, definitely seemed closer to me than the 2-0 score would indicate. Our opponents were very well organized, very good passers, unhurried in their attack. None of them were superstars, but it seemed like every player did two little things: Played positionally well, passed well.
These guys are a brand new team, so it's not like they've had years to develop this mentality. We could do what they do. There's some mysterious problem here, I've often sneered at sports psychology, but that field may have some insight into our struggle.
Or, perhaps, as JD says, we just need to catch a few breaks.