My Russian Soccer Career

Without soccer, I am not me. So during my four months in Russia, I had to find somewhere to play in order to stay sane. Luckily, I had some connections who put me in touch with a few soccer coaches, and my Russian soccer career launched successfully.

First, I played with МИСИ's indoor women's team. This university is where my mom went to school, and I was able to get in touch with the coach, who let me practice with the team a few times a week. 

                          Moscow State University of Construction

The main difference between sports at Russian universities vs American universities is this: 
     In America, players are student-athletes, meaning that they are half students and half athletes. Both of these halves make up the entire life of the player. (Literally, student-athletes basically have no personal lives...) If a player isn't studying, s/he is at a practice, game, or other mandatory sport-related event. Or sleeping due to exhaustion. 
     In Russia, on the other hand, players are actually students who play a sport for personal pleasure. They are firstly students and secondly people who have a sport as a hobby. Practices are typically two times a week with a game on either the weekend or week day. Little to no conditioning, other mandatory events, or weight lifting sessions. This is why the level of play and skill is so low - due to the lack of emphasis and dedication.
     
Now, there's no right or wrong way and I am not leaning towards one style of approach to sport or another, I'm just stating the facts. Both have pros and cons, and it was really interesting for me to have experienced both and to be able to compare the two countries' styles. 

A little bit ago, my mom flew over to Russia and watched one of our soccer practices, which took place on the same exact field that she played on while she was a student! 

 







     At the beginning of my career...                                 At the end...

Female soccer is not prominent in Russia. If you were to tell a random stranger on the street that you, a girl, play soccer, you would get some interesting reactions: strange looks, outcalls of disagreement, disbelief, and the occasional 'I'm impressed' look. But for the most part, a lot of Russians are a step behind progressive America in regards to the eradication of conservative, historical social roles where women play an inactive part in sports. 

Nonetheless, there are professional women's soccer teams all throughout Russia, and Moscow has many - one of which I got the chance to practice with. Serendipitously, my grandma's neighbor happens to be one coaches of the men's Zorky Krasnorogsk team. The Zorky club also has a women's team, and all of the coaches know one another. Long story short, I was allowed to practice with the women's team, and it was a really interesting experience.

Not going to lie, I wasn't impressed with the level of their play. This is the country's professional team, we're talking about. Like the FC Barcelona of Spain, but the women's version in Russia. And yet after practicing with them, I can safely say that my CSU DI soccer team would most likely beat them. 

 I also didn't understand the way they played. I practiced with them for roughly a month and was unable to "click" with them. Granted, I played Right Defense (a position I never play, so I didn't play well myself), but still the way they played didn't make sense to me. Players were never in the positions in which I was trained to expect them, the assumed runs weren't made, and yet somehow they were able to squeeze the ball past each other and simulate a game. 
As for conditioning, there was nothing but disappointment. At CSU, a university team, we conditioned more and more seriously than we did with the professional Zorky team. You would think that if these players are getting paid, management would want them in tip top shape...not the case here.

The team was comprised of older players - probably an average age of 27. I was the second youngest player, but all the players thought I was much older, which was interesting. Despite our ten year age difference, I made friends with a player from Spain and a player from the Ukraine. We even went to the Pushkin Art Museum together!

(Left: Me, Mary (from Spain), and Vera (from Ukraine) posing in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior - Храм Христа Спасителя)


Overall, it was a great experience practicing with the Zorky team and getting to see what professional soccer is like in Russia. They took first place in the Russian league last year and are currently in second place, so they are the real thing! 

This was the first time I got the chance to see Russia from a soccer perspective. Both the university and professional levels differ greatly from the US comparatives, not necessarily in a good or bad way - just different. 
I'm really glad I got to play because I am definitely not me without soccer. 

All in all, successful soccer experience in Russia - it was a career that started and ended quickly, but it was a great one.

Babushka Lilya's First Encounter with REAL Sushi

In February, Babushka Lilya had her first ever food in the form of a sushi roll - a delicious dessert fruit "roll". She was overjoyed with this new experience that I promised her we would go to a real sushi restaurant, and she would try the classic seafood version. Finally, a few days ago, her wish came true and she had her first ever sushi roll. (Very fitting: it was a California roll!)

But first, some Miso Soup!

Personal Caption: "Hey! Don't touch my ginger!"

She even successfully used chopsticks!! Here's the hilarious photo chronology:

That was the tasty desert we ate:

In wonderful company:

My cousin, Anna, and my grandma Lilya

My mom and I

Moral of the outing: it is never too late, and you are never too old to try something new. Be bold and dare! My Grandmother is almost 80 years old - what's your excuse? Who knows, you might actually enjoy it! :)