My Lumberjack Life: Mariona Garcia Dalmases
8/27/2021 9:49:00 AM | Women's Soccer
I lived an unforgettable experience doing what I love the most this past summer, traveling and playing soccer.
I got into beach soccer because of my older sister, who has played for quite a few years, and she always encouraged me to try it out. I would sometimes go train with her team, but I never felt it was my sport, since all the players were much older and stronger than me. But the last season here at SFA prepared me and I was finally ready to play.
I went back to Spain for the summer after being in Texas since the beginning of the spring semester. Even though my plan was to relax and spend time with my family and friends that I had not seen in a while, I ended up doing the opposite.
My sister's beach soccer coach contacted me and asked if I wanted to go train with them, and I knew it was the right decision. Nationals were coming up, and a few practices later, I was selected to be on the catalan team. I gained the opportunity to go to Valencia and play the sport I love in a new way. I knew playing this sport during the summer would definitely help me stay in shape, and get me more physically prepared for the upcoming season at SFA.
Nationals lasted five days, and it was a great experience. However, that was not the end of it. After Nationals, there was the Euro Winners Cup, a continental beach soccer competition contested between top-division European teams. Although I was not supposed to go, because I had to come back to Nacogdoches to start training with the SFA soccer team, I lengthened my stay in Europe so I could travel to Nazaré, Portugal, where this competition was taking place.
The competition was composed of 17 teams of a really high level from all over Europe, but with players from all around the world. It was going to be a tough week, but also a great opportunity to get better and learn a lot.
The group stages went great for our team, where we qualified for the semifinals without losing a single game. We played the semifinals against Madrid CFF, a team from Spain with a lot more experienced players. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the final, but we were still competing for the podium. The last game was against Marseille BT, a French team with a lot of international players. After a really close game that lead to overtime, the penalty kicks decided that our team was the 3rd best team in Europe.
After this experience, I was really excited to go back to SFA and start pre-season with my teammates. Now I hope to be ready to achieve all of our goals for this upcoming season in the new conference.
