My final project for Sports Writing will be an in-depth profile piece on University of Iowa soccer player Jaclyn Kaeding. She does it all: Trains, takes a full-load of classes and works at the Iowa City pub "Short's Burgers and Shine." I will be following Jackie over the next few weeks to gain a perspective on her life both on and off of the soccer field. I have asked Jackie to keep a "diary" of random thoughts of her days, here is the first installment:
Monday, April 13:
Not happy because I woke up to a text from my coach at 7:00, a half hour before my alarm was supposed to go off. I had to spread the word that practice would be inside today...it was pouring rain and 20 degrees. 1.5 hours of practice and a 30 minute session from our sports psychologist. I ate about three pounds of ham on Easter Sunday so it took me a while to get my legs moving. Today’s practice was amazing because all we did was 5v5…a whole practice of straight competition. After that we drive to Carver for an hour of lifting. For 6 weeks we’ve been building up the weight on Olympic lifts like (squats, hang clean, etc), and this week we are unloading/taking it easy. After all the squats and core work, we break it down and by 12:00 I’m in my car and on my way to the second part of the day. I have a little less than an hour to shower and slap together a sandwich and I’m back out the door to my first class of the week. I grab some groceries and a birthday card for my buddy at CVS and I’m home in time for a nap and dinner. I work on a paper until ten and fall asleep to my T.V.
Tuesday, April 14:
I got to sleep in today. Woke up without my alarm at 8:30, had enough time to stop at Bruggers before my 9:30 lecture. Coach gave us the day off today (NCAA rules-have to have one day off every week, though I’m sure we’d be practicing 8 days a week if it weren’t for the guidelines), so I get a lot of time to relax. My room is in desperate need of a cleaning, checks need to be cashed, roommate needs a ride to class, I continue working on my paper, have a meeting with soccer teammates and go for a little shake out/mile run. Now that I’m nearing my 5th year I’m sore most of the time. Recent injections in my inflamed hip make me feel like I’m an 80 year-old. I grab a shower and hit up a restaurant with my family – my cousin is in town from Philadelphia so it’s a nice chance to catch up. After dinner I head straight to a film screening for class at 8 and we’re there until 10:30 (long-winded professor). I have a little time to chat with my 7 roommates and I’m in bed watching Real Housewives of New York City-all of those shallow people make me feel better about myself.
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