A Word From Badger Lynn Murray
October 08, 2007 | Women's Soccer
With just over one month of regular-season play remaining, four Wisconsin women's soccer players will share their stories on UWBADGERS.COM. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the players, the team and what life is like as a Badger student-athlete. Blogging second is Badger goalkeeper Lynn Murray.
At the end of the 2006 season, Murray ranked sixth on the UW's career saves list with 207. The keeper finished the 2006 season with a goals against average of 1.35, tallying 42 saves on the year and three shutouts after missing five games due to an injury. This season, Murray missed the first half of the season due to another injury, but has played a key role in keeping up team chemistry and making sure the atmosphere is fun and positive on the practice field as well as on gameday.
Check back weekly to read upcoming blogs from Badgers Tricia Krombach, Krista Liskevych and Marissa Sarkesian.
October 5, 2007
I would just like to start by saying that I am not an English major, I am an engineering major (yeah, one of those), and I don't claim to have an ounce of the writing abilities that Sark does. And while I do echo all the sentiments Sark expressed in her blog, I am in denial that my soccer career is coming to an inevitable conclusion within the upcoming months. My heart drops every time I think about not playing the game I love everyday. I'll be remanded to old women's leagues and watching the few soccer games available on cable TV. That said there are challenges to being a student-athlete that I will miss less than the game itself'
This has been one of the busiest, most stressful weeks of my life. Packed with exams, practices, and meetings (both soccer and engineering), changing pace and focus between events was the true challenge. Alternating between quiet, tension-filled exam rooms to the organized chaos of competition on the soccer field provided stunning contrasts in my lifestyle.
This past week happened to be the first week of midterms. I had exams in three of my engineering classes (I won't bore you with which ones) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We also trained on each of those days, working to correct the errors of last weekend's matches and looking forward to our games this weekend. With specific tactics and transition elements, practice was focused on progress rather than reliving the mistakes of the previous weekend. The learning never ceases. Between the classroom and the soccer field, our brains are always on (even though they may not always be working).
Additionally, each player met with Paula (or Tim in the case of the goalkeepers) individually this week for a '2-minute' drill. Basically a run though of responsibilities, health concerns, and grades, each player has the opportunity to consult with our coach. It also gives Paula (or Tim) an opportunity to address their expectations and performance concerns.
On top of the unusually intense exam schedule and daily training (which is not at all unusual), there is this other commitment I have called 'going to class'. This semester brings an interesting class schedule for me, only one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and all the rest are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Most of the work gets done on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. And it has to because by Friday my schoolwork is only a blur in the back of my mind. All of my attention is focused on the upcoming game.
Being able to differentiate between my 'lives' has taken many years of getting used to, and I am by no means perfect at it. Forgetting about the next exam for the two hours of practice is much easier said than done. As a result, I am defined by a combination of my gifts; not as a soccer player OR an engineer, but rather, both. The constant activity of the week only emphasized the role soccer plays, and has played, in my life; a part of my life that will be gone all too soon.
On that note, I am off to call some of my long lost friends so that I have someone to hang out with in the spring when my younger teammates are 'enjoying' spring training. Worst case: I guess I could hang out with the other seniors (just kidding, you guys know I love you!).
