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Chapter 8: THE COMMITMENT TEST – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
From where you sit, your fitness test might be about how far you can run in 12 minutes; for the returners, particularly the seniors, your fitness test is about the investment you are willing to make to help them reach their goals. So, where you see a fitness test, they see a commitment test. And believe me, they are paying close attention to your results.
Chapter 9: MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
Every team has its own chemistry and interpersonal dynamics at work. When you get to college, you’re going to have a natural need to get information about your teammates and coaches. The returning players will be happy to give it to you, and often times you won’t even need to ask. When this type of information is being thrust upon you, take it with a grain of salt.
Chapter 10: DON’T BURN BRIDGES – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
This is one of those topics that you’re much better off learning ahead of time. Here’s the thing about college and college soccer...it might not work out, and there’s a thousand reasons why. Blank explains how you should handle the situation with your coach if things don't work out at that university.
Chapter 11: YOUR SHOPPING LIST – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
Your room should be an oasis of self-sufficiency, and that takes preparation. When you’ve got an hour to nap between sessions, you don’t want to have to run to the store to buy something you forgot. Dan Blank gives you a few things that probably haven’t made your list for preseason but should.
Chapter 12: MEET YOUR COACH – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
Meet your college soccer coach. He is not your club coach or your high school coach. This team is not something he does on the side to supplement the income of his real job. Everything he does is centered on this one team. All of his energy is devoted to making this one team the best that it can possibly be.
Chapter 13: YOUR RELATIONSHIP – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
You’re going to have some type of relationship with your coach, whether that relationship is close, distant or something in between. Regardless of the distance, you obviously want to have a positive relationship with the coach. Dan Blank tells you how to achieve that.
Chapter 14: SLIPPERY SLOPE – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
As you ponder the type of relationship you want to have with your coach, please heed this bit of warning: Don’t base your relationship on playing time.
Chapter 15: GOOD COP, BAD COP – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer
At some point during your college soccer career, there’s a reasonable chance that you’re going to wish that the assistant coach was actually the head coach. This isn’t uncommon and Dan Blank tells you why.
