BLOG: Mason Nation Thrill Seeping into Mens Soccer

By Connect Mason Soccer Blogger/Player Mike Foss

Our spring training has begun. So much emphasis is placed on our performance in the fall, that most people forget that we play in the spring. Someone even felt the urge to tell me that the spring season “Didn’t really matter.” Yet, if the goal is to get results – that is win games in the fall, then the spring season isn’t important. The spring season is essential.

A few weeks before we came back from winter break, our assistant coach sent an email out to the team. At the end of that email he reminded us that our character is determined by what we do when no one is watching. That belief is the foundation of the spring season. We practice alone in January and February, sweating on the basketball courts in the Fieldhouse. No one watches and no one pays attention. We practice and then go to class just like everyone else.

It’s easy to get complacent in the cold dreariness of January. We aren’t complacent though. There’s electricity during practices now. Anticipation maybe. We know that if we put in the effort and sweat right now, the coming months will be kind to us. When we play George Washington in March or Georgetown in April, we will be that much faster and that much stronger. We probably won’t be harder, but certainly better. I decided to throw a little Daft Punk in the mix so I sound a little more relevant. Let me know how that worked.

We’re sore, a little winded, and still looking for on-campus parking. But it’s a new year and a new season. It’s exciting to be part of Mason athletics right now regardless of whether you’re an athlete. Watching the men’s basketball team dominate VCU in front of a nearly sold out Patriot Center tonight was incredible. To know that Mason Nation has our back on the court and the field is exhilarating.

To close, I’d like to quote our forward and my esteemed roommate, Parker Walton who wonders, “Can I get a quote in your column, Foss?” And now he has. I’ll check back in next week.