Senior Soccer Stories

Senior Soccer Stories

Bridgette Adorno (center) was the author of Bridgette Adorno’s Diary, which evolved into Senior Soccer Stories.

Courtesy: RaginCajuns.com
http://www.ragincajuns.com

For the last time…Hello every one,

Can I just say WOW! Since I don’t know where to start, I guess I must to start at the beginning…

Freshman Year: Chaos

What am I doing here? Who are these people? Do I even like them? Where will this take me? These questions are what were going through my head freshman year and since I could not see four years ahead of me, I had to discover this on my own. I had to show almost 30 people who I really was. However, I don’t think having a foreign roommate who had bananas in pajamas helped with my coolness. (Rosie, you know you’re my girl.) Although I might be making my old roommate sound weird, she was not; we actually had a lot in common besides our language. However, I still had to show the team who Bridgette Adorno really was. I could go on and on about the awesome cool things I did freshman year (hint the sarcasm), but I think I reached my potential when I was a Girls Gone Wild babe that Halloween. The best part was that my dad was there, front row, when I would lift up my shirt so that every one could see my censor sign. Let’s just say I thought my dad was angry when I saw his face grow bright red while every one else was taking pictures and laughing at me. (Dad, just in case you are reading this and you tried to forget that moment, it was a joke…and I swear I will never do it again.) Even though we did not go very far as a team with regards to our season, with a 7-10-2 record, we (especially the freshmen class) could see our potential and hope that one day we could have a promising team.

Sophomore Year: X’s!! – (need I say more)

New coach, new era. I think it’s safe to say that this year was the “see how far your body could go after you have thrown up, pee on yourself, legs give up, pass out, trainers help pick you up to hydrate, throw up from trying to hydrate, and then run another X.” For the people who do not know what X’s are, you are lucky because I am scarred for life…not really, but seriously when I play tic-tac-toe I chose to be O’s. Anyway, it is a very hard fitness drill. I might be trying to sound funny (ultimately I really am) but this time I am serious. Coach, I know you had to do it so I forgive you, but I still get hassled for wearing that darn thigh strap. Enough about fitness though, sophomore year was what you can say the ‘transition year.’ We didn’t have very many wins (4-10-3) but we learned how to play as a team. Instead of accepting the fact that our team was young like we did the year before, we tried to do something about it. We also discovered that we win as a team and die as a team. I was no longer an individual (or out of shape). Our team had to learn that there were going to be ups and downs and although we took a lot of punches (especially in all of the overtimes we had that year) somewhere in that season, I grew up.

Junior Year: Breaking Records and Record Breaking

I have to say, I honestly don’t remember much about junior year since it felt like such a blur. This is about the time where the college career really zooms by and all you’re left thinking is: what just happened? Yet, there are four things I do remember: (1) the Halloween party; (2) how we broke almost every record of our opponents whether it was wins, wins at home, or ugliest teams played (yes, we definitely broke that record with our good looks); (3) how we had our first non-losing season (8-8-4)!; and (4) Coach Jen Gardner. Coach Jen, you brought something to the team that none of us can explain. We definitely needed a woman influence (no offense Coach Scot). You were able to relate to us since you had just recently just finished your soccer career and you knew exactly what we were going through. On all the bus rides you pretended like you were one of us again but on the field you were our coach. The ability to separate the two is hard and you did it in the best way possible; and that is why we respect you as a coach and look to you as a friend. Coach Scot, I promise I won’t leave you out so don’t worry. Anyway, I guess you can say junior year was the precursor to senior year.

Senior Year: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

For us seniors, I guess the cliché was right: “save the best for last” (9-8-4). Let’s recap our soccer trips: a guy on our plane gets a heart attack, after two hours waiting for our vans they are still dirty, getting lost, getting hungry, getting laughed at by everyone looking at 22 girls running through the airport, getting lost again, hungry again, bus breaking down by a sign that reads ‘some day you’re the dog’ in the boondocks, now mad and hungry, getting laughed at again by your teammates and random people walking into the restaurant that you are dancing in front of, and finally sleep after worrying about the test you are about to have that next Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. But through it all it was awesome, or at least not boring. The year in itself was sentimental so I probably don’t really need to make any more sentimental comments, but I would like to say one thing in particular; to the young ones on the team, don’t take anything for granted because you never know when the ride is going to end, and when it does you don’t want it to be too late to do something about it.

So to recap the four years I ultimately became cool…just joking. But what is most important in those 4 years is having NO REGRETS; and I think that is the ultimate goal.

Coach Scot: thanks for showing how far we are able to push ourselves because now we know we can handle almost anything. Now I would like to take this time to reminisce on your witty sayings that we will miss so much:

(1) “It’s a beautiful day ladies” – This was introduced to us sophomore year when it meant we were going to do fitness. It later developed into its literal sense junior year that it really is just a beautiful day.

(2) “Ladies, get some water, but not too much” – Also introduced sophomore year for fitness reasons.

(3) The Gauntlet of Hopelessness – Again sophomore year, referring to the center of the field where you did not want us to play. We had to play to the outside mids.

(4) “Midfield…penetrate!” – Yea, Coach we would laugh every time you said this.

(5) “But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…” – Junior year after the conference banquet, you busted this song out while running down the isles.

(6) “Pain is love” – Coach, you said this junior year to help us get through the fitness so that we were reminded what pain actually meant

(7) “Because we care” – sophomore year this was said when we were reminded that when times got rough we were in pain because we cared about each other.

(8) “Break the force field” – A more recent comment from senior year when we could not ‘penetrate’ the bubble around the 18 yard box.

(9) “Together we are strong; one goal; one vision…everyday…all for one! Cajuns!” – That’s all I can remember. This saying is from spring of junior year when we had fitness at 6:00 right before Mardi Gras break when we had to jog around the track screaming this saying while each of us had a different word to say. I think by the end of it I was saying like five different words.

Finally, my departing words to my fellow seniors: we truly left everything on the field.

Until next season, with new writers…Geaux Cajuns!!!

P.S. – Of course I have to give a last shout out to YOUR MOM…(any mom that finds this rude I’m just letting you know it is an inside joke with the team. Therefore, it is actually not meant for you…sorry)