I don't know how old I was when I started playing like everyone else. It was pretty young ike probably 4 or 5. It was basically once I was old enough to play as the field was just a short walk away. For positions I was pretty mch predominately a goal keeper. Being the tallest and slowest kid on the team it's pretty much the natural progression to head there. I also was one of the smartest kids so I learned the angles and was really good at it. Aside from goalkeeper I also played some CB, some central mid, and an odd game at striker. What I lacked in speed I made up for in intelligence which is why I was usually paired with someone faster to handle the straight breaks. My whole playing career I only scored one goal, it was on a free kick from the edge of the box as I curled a low shot aroudn the wall and in, I probably couldn't have done it agian if I tried. Probably the reason I was so poor at finishing (aside from not being a forward by trade of course) was my flair for the dramatic as I was a big fan of outside the foot shots that I was hoping would just whiz inside of the post. I stopped playing at about 12. I had a disk in my hip start slipping. I thought I pulled a groin muscle at first but after my first game that year when I couldn't even run (still held a shutout in my half in the net) we went to the doctor, I had the surgery, but the age group I was in was settled out. As a 6 foot something 200 something pound kid in highschool I opted for Football. I wouldn't have likely hacked it in soccer without taking diet more seriously so I don't really regret my choice, but it's fun to think about what may have happened if I was determined to play soccer.
For my general best moment playing, it came the year before I hurt myself, it was the best I was, I was smart and had fast reflexes, and better than 20/20 vision and I used all of those things to dominate my league. My team and 2 other teams were the ones destined to the final. We hit one of them in the semis and went to penalties where I saved 2 and conceded 1. en-route to a 3-1 victory (one other kid missed, I like to think my spastic movement on the line got in his head haha) That PK was probably the best sporting thing I did in my life. Only thing that could have topped it was I almost saved a penalty that would have won us the Championship. But alas I was confused on the rule about leaving the line and that may have been the difference between a save and a goal. Not to take anything away from the kicker, he put the ball in theside netting, I just read him perfectly and almost got there.
And that's my way too long details on my playing career haha.
