Road to the Top: Winning the D2 Western Regional

On Friday March 5th, 2010, I traveled to Union City to pick up my teammate Tyrone before going to San Jose. As we were in the car, I asked him if he was nervous and he told me that he was, but only a little. I was getting nervous myself for my stomach was flip-flopping around. When we saw the sign for San Jose, I told myself that it would be okay and that if we lost, as a team, it would be fine and we would go to Indianapolis anyway. Good thing it wasn't raining either because it would have been an awful day.

Once we got off the highway and onto the main road where the gym was located, I whispered to myself, "Breathe, Talia. Breathe." That helped, a little. We were late by the time we got there, so we hustled on over to the Spartan Gym Complex and got our foot guards on right away to warm up with my team, the BORP Crushers. At exactly 4:30 pm, it was GAME TIME! The team that the BORP Crushers were playing against was the Glendale Wild Wheelers team from Glendale, California. We beat them 2-0! The Glendale Wild Wheelers were a new team and they tried to be a good team, but they didn't really have a strong defense.

It was 5:50pm by the time the game was over and I had to eat dinner before the next game which was at 7pm. So, I stuck around the gym eating my dinner that I brought from home. My coach, Chris Finn wanted everyone to be back in the gym by 6:30pm to warm up before the next game, so everyone ate their dinner quickly and went back inside. By the time it was 7pm, we knew which team we were going to play against. We were up against the Arizona Heat 2nd Degree team. They were good, so good that they should have been a Division I team, but they already have a Division I. During this game, we played well, but coach wanted more aggression. So, during the half time, coach told us to fight for the ball and go for the goal. We took his word and scored one goal. The Arizona Heat team scored more though. The final score was 5-1.

The next day which was Saturday March 6th, 2010, we were ready to accomplish whatever task arose. We had to be at the gym by 11:30 am to get ready for our 12:45pm game, but I was late again. At least we got there! By the time it was 12:30pm, I had to have my foot guard on because when 12:45pm came along, it was time to play. The team that the BORP Crushers had to play against were the Newark Hot Rodders. We have played with them before, so we knew what they were like, but they were still very good. In the first few minutes of the game, one of the Newark athletes snuck the ball into our goal side and they didn't stop. Oh no, they kept on coming. But my team was good too. We scored two goals on their side when their goalie wasn't looking. As the referee blew her whistle, I glanced at the score board and it read 3-2. "Oh well," I thought. "We could have done better." After the game, we yelled, "Good game, Newark!" and then we lined up to shake hands.

The next game wasn't until 4:45pm, so we had a while to relax and get lunch. We didn't know which team we would be playing against, but we were better than ever after the game before. We were a powerful team and knew we could beat the team that was going to be posted on the schedule. For lunch there was pizza, salad, rolls and butter. I had it all. After lunch, my team mate wanted to walk around San Jose State University for a while, so we did that and it was fun. After the walk, we knew which team we were going to play with: our rival, the BORP Bombers!!! Well, we, the BORP Crushers beat the BORP Bombers by 2 points. The score on the board was 2-0! After that game, we grabbed chairs and yelled, "Good game, Bombers!" and lined up to shake their hands.

Sunday March 7th was our last day to play and the Crushers took in everything that they had learned from the previous games into the last games. That morning, at 9:30 am, we had to play the Newark team again. Everyone from both teams played hard and worked together to get the ball down the court. No one scored. I was shocked! Maybe it was because the BORP Crushers had a very good goalie or a tight defense strategy. Who knows? But in the end, the final score was 0-0. After the game, since there was enough time before we went into the Semi Winners round, a few of the BORP Crushers watched a few of the Division I games to pick up a few tips. The Division I athletes were awesome in their games. They knew where the ball was going and they also knew where their team mates are so they don't crashed into them. They looked good.

The BORP Crushers were in the FINALS! At 2pm, we were playing a game with the Arizona Heat team again to see which team gets to go to Indianapolis for nationals. The BORP Crushers were in the lead. Both of my team mates, Ian Kinmont and April Byrant were helping me get the ball down to Arizona's side, but one of the Arizona members wouldn't let them pass. Whenever an opening was spotted, I thought to myself, "I can make a clean shot into the goal, if April just kicks the ball over to me fast and hard." She looked at me and made a great pass that looked like I could get the ball in to make a goal, but the Arizona team took it down to our side and almost made a shot, but our goalie John Starks wiped it away. The Arizona Heat 2nd Degree team were these big guys who wouldn't take no for an answer. But my team was tough too. We took it to them. In the last few minutes of the game, Ian made a great pass to me and I took the ball to the goal. Everyone, including the spectators on the bleachers, was excited that I was going to score and win the game! Tony and the goalie from the Arizona team were trying to block me from winning, but I had a strategy that I learned from Chris Finn. As I was struggling to get the ball in the goal near the post, I remembered what coach had told me. He had told me to back up and then push the ball into the goal. I did that and the ball went in! When the referee blew her whistle, everyone screamed and was very happy that the BORP Crushers had won their game! The final score on the score board was 1-0! I even cried because it was a happy moment for me. After the game, we lined up for our group picture with our trophy for 1st place champions! Later that night, we celebrated as champions at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.

What an exciting moment for us! I hope we can beat the other teams that are coming in June to Indianapolis for Nationals! GO BORP!