Feb. 18, 2008
Past Entries
Feb. 11, 2008
Feb. 7, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Former Aztec four-time letterwinner and current director of soccer operations Andrew DiCicco recently began a try-out period with Major League Soccer's Kansas City Wizards. DiCicco, a 2006 all-Pac-10 selection, will write his thoughts on playing soccer at the professional level in an ongoing blog that will be featured here on GoAztecs.com.
Feb. 18 - Well it is supposed to be the end of the third and final week of my tryout period with the Wizards. However, they have decided to extend my trial period for one more week which is great in my opinion. The longer I am with the club, the better...and if I am making their decision difficult because of my performance on the field then at least I am on their mind and in the mix.
In the past week we have played four more games including games against Columbus Crew, DC United, and Chicago Fire. Trainings have intensified as the coaching staff brings the team along systematically. I felt great for most of the week, scoring my third goal (and second game winner against the first team) in our intersquad scrimmage. The goal came off a set piece that was cleared by (captain) Jimmy Conrad. The ball was sent back into the box and nodded down to my right foot. I volleyed it first time out of the air and it found its way into the back of the net. Of course I am happy to score goals in any game, at any level for that matter, but the significance of these three goals is that a) they've come from team build-up which hopefully signifies to the coaching staff that I have good chemistry with my fellow Wizard teammates AND b) the goals should demonstrate to the coaching staff that my soccer brain is capable of keeping up with the speed of play at this level as I've found good spots in a fast-paced game environment (not just a shooting drill or functional training).
Unfortunately, in our third game of the week while running down a long ball, I planted awkwardly on my left foot jamming my left hip and when a DC United center back landed on me it only further tweaked my hip. My worst nightmare coming into camp was not that I would fail to compete physically or mentally with these professionals, but that an outside factor would interfere with my campaign to make the final roster. Now, I'm not going to get melodramatic and say that this incident was my worst nightmare because the simple fact is that my hip doesn't feel that bad and I think I can be back playing in a few days. The downside comes from the fact that I have to miss our final game against Chicago Fire (a valuable opportunity to continue to prove that I belong with this team) and to add insult to injury, the medical staff and the coaching staff are scrutinizing over the injury because it occurred on my left hip which I had surgery on 12 months prior. I understand that they must be wary because it is my left hip but this injury was a freak/awkward challenge that strained the soft tissue around my hip and has nothing to do with my previous hip ailments.
With any luck, my MRI will come back negative and I will return to the playing field on Tuesday, Feb. 19 when we resume training in Kansas City. The extra week they have provided me could be the extension I need to recover from this minor muscle pull and finish my trial period strong. Wish me luck down the stretch. I'll be writing one more blog a week from now to reflect on the experience and hopefully to relay the good news to the West Coast.
Be well,
Cicco