Graph showing one evening's improvement in soccer

Wednesday evening Nov 28, I worked on a new soccer trick. I did 16 attempts in each of eight segments. I created a graph showing the percentage success rate for each of the eight segments. The graph created can be viewed at the following link:

Progress percentage-wise during 2.5 hours in soccer

soccer trap/dribble & pass drill progress

I've been working on drills that involve the simulation of: on the first touch, trapping an incoming pass while simultaneously dribbling in a certain direction; on the second, passing in a certain direction on the next touch; repeat cycle.

I realized during the previous indoor soccer season, when a ball was stolen from me by the 'Moroccan International' (such or near such was the name I gave him), that I had to learn how to dribble an incoming ball in a chosen direction on the same touch that I first touch it, as opposed to on one touch stopping the ball and on the second touch dribbling it in a given direction. The 'Moroccan International' stole the ball from me in between the time I first stopped the incoming ball on the first touch, and the time that I intended to dribble the ball on the second touch.

By simultaneous trap & dribble I mean: in one touch on the ball, I both trap or stop & control the incoming ball & also dribble it in a given direction.

Through practice, I have been developing for vars 2& 3 & 5, a fluid childlike relaxed graceful style, that optimizes accuracy, and minimizes energy expenditure and physical & mental stress.

Everything is more relaxed when the number of hits on the wall are counted doing a variation, as opposed to counting how many minutes are spent doing a varation.

It's Amazing how much fun simple fundamentals can be, and how much one can improve on simple fundamentals. Things are getting well controlled, smooth.
Endurance is being built for movements different than those covered in the conditioning drill I do.

It's exciting when a practice is well-planned, well-thought-out, & also well-executed. It's like a competent orchestra playing a well-written melody.

Photo of me at Punjab Arlington Restaurant

On October 27, 2012, I attended a birthday party dinner at the Punjab Arlington Restaurant in Arlington MA. While I was there my photo was taken, by an amateur photographer using a digital camera. The photo can be seen by clicking on the following link:

David Virgil Hobbs, at Punjab Arlington Restaurant, October 2012

World Record is mine-- Dream

About five days ago, around October 26, I had a dream as follows:

I was wearing black or dark blue sweat pants, & a medium-blue sweatshirt, both were of the shiny sort. My face was narrower, whiter, than it is in real life; my mustache was darker and bigger than it is in real life. I was doing the '180' drill, running approx six yards, making a 180 turn, running another six yards, making another 180 turn, and so forth. I was doing this inside a crowded train, or inside a crowded train station. The people looked like typical American commuters, I felt like I was in a typical American train station. And I had achieved a world-record in something.

When I woke up, I could not remember what I had achieved a world record in; I suspect that even during the dream I did not know what I had achieved a world record in.

Then in real-life, a couple of days later, the red-headed bearded swimming coach who saw me swim a length of the pool in what he thought was ten seconds, was behind the front desk at the Waltham Y. He looked at me & said, 'that's the world'. I felt that what he was saying in a shorthand soundbite sort of way was-- 'he's a world champ at ten seconds for a length, funny how mundane world champs can be'. I figure that in my age group I can swim one 25 yd length of the pool as fast as anyone.

The 'world-record' in the dream could represent also: world-class achievement in soccer; world-class achievement in terms of the conditioning drill the six-yard 180 subdrill is part of; world-record speed in the 180 subdrill itself. Not sure how significant it is, that in the dream, the specific verbal thought was that I had set a 'world record' in something, as opposed to being 'the best' in something.

At the time I had the dream, I was feeling like a 'glory-starved groundhog' myself, so the dream was a welcome thing for me; I had been feeling tired, been falling asleep during the day when I wanted to keep myself awake, missing open gym time, skipping soccer practice & conditioning, & in general feeling trampled by people and feeling that my future consists of being trampled on by people.

This evening someone accused me of being guilty of violating 2 of the 7 deadly sins, by being 'slothful', & 'angry'. In response I say: this accuser does not know how I spend my time, yet he accuses me of sloth. It could be simply natural that for someone who is no longer a youth like me, being a world-class athlete results from time to time, in irregularities such as falling asleep during the day and not exercising.

Yet I think it would be irresponsible for me to fail to attempt to seize a world championship, when I have a chance to seize it. I don't know God's mind well, but I suspect that what is in God's mind is that if I have a chance to achieve an impressive world record, and this can be done without the investment of excessive amounts of time energy & money, than I should make a good-faith effort to achieve the world record.

The one prayer taught by Christ contained the line, 'hallowed be thy name'. Given the way the world is, I expect that if I were to achieve some kind of world record, such would result in God's name being hallowed, given that people know I believe in God & Christ.

I suspect that many people fail to realize that correctly speaking, conscience, is the same thing as, 'what do I think God's will is for me in this'. People think they are following their conscience, when they do what they think they should do, but if they were to stop and think about it, they would realize that their conception of what they think God wants them to do, is different from what they themselves think they should do.

I suspect that I simply get too down on myself for sleeping & not exercising, & fail to realize that pushing my middle-aged self to world-class levels of achievement in sport, will of course naturally result from time to time, in irregularities in terms of sleep, & skipping exercise. In fact, rarely is there a time when I am awake, & not doing something.

I remember in the good 'ole days, when things were in some ways better-- I used to simply enjoy the after-effects of exercise, without getting down on myself for allegedly not exercising enough & missing practices. But now that it has sunk into my mind, that I could be world-class in soccer and swimming & maybe other stuff too, I have been getting harsh critical and impatient with myself for sleeping and skipping exercise.