Living my Dream...at least part-time

On February 16, 2010 I created and wrote my first ever blog post on Virginia Online Soccer News. The first post was about the horrible facility where my daughter and her team played an "indoor soccer game", Frying Pan Park, titled: Lack of Quality Indoor Youth Soccer Fields.

In a little over one year I found myself with an official CONCACAF Gold Cup press credential observing the U.S. Men's national team practice session as they prepared for a quarterfinal match against Jamaica at RFK stadium in Washington, D.C.

As I arrived at RFK stadium to pick up my credentials one thought kept running through my mind, what if I wasn't really on the press list? My nerves where settled after the CONCACAF official took my I.D. and returned with my Gold Cup credential. Whew, what a relief!

Coincidentally I met Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Grant Wahl during the practice session and asked him if he remembered his first ever opportunity to cover the USMNT. Not only did he remember, he said it was a match-up of the U.S. vs. Jamaica at RFK back in 1997.  What a random coincidence and in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think, what if I could have a career covering soccer that was even half as impressive as Grant Wahl.

After the practice ended I was able participate in a Q&A session with some of the U.S. players. We were able to speak with Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson (Alaxandria, VA native) and Jozy Altidore who has already scored twice (see both goals: here and here) during the 2011 Gold Cup.

It took me until the very last player to build up the nerve/confidence to finally ask a question myself,

Me: How important is it for you guys to score early and score first, to build your confidence up quickly?

Jozy Altidore: I don't know if it's important, as long as I can remember we go down a lot in games and then we come back and make it hard on ourselves. I just think it's more important that you start well. Sometimes you start well then you let in a stupid goal but this is how football (soccer) is, it's how you react to it and how you play over the 90 minutes.

And with that question I officially got my first experience as a member of the press (all be it a bottom of the rung member/ blogger). The road from disappointed soccer dad to part-time soccer blogger living out my dream has begun.

The excitement I feel to be able to both attend my first ever live USMNT soccer match and do so with the title 'Written Press' is one I hope to never forget.

A lot can happen in only one year and I hope the ride does not slow down or get any less meaningful to me for a long time to come.

*You can follow my live blog coverage of the U.S. vs. Jamaica from RFK right here on http://www.vasoccernews.com/ powered by CoverItLive