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Val's WPS Foot-notes: It's Always Sweaty In Philadelphia
Philadelphia Independence keeper Val Henderson gives a behind-the-scenes take of everyday life with the WPS expansion club. In the latest installment, Val expresses her feelings toward humidity in the East Coast.
Jul 15, 2010 1:38:00 AM
By Val Henderson
Hu-mid-i-ty: noun. The amount of water vapor in the air, expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount that the air could hold at the given temperature. Translation: moisture in the air. Add that to professional soccer and you’ve got one sweaty group of players.
Holy heat wave! East Coast weather is certainly not for the weak hearted. Being California bred, the only exposure I’d had to humidity prior to this summer was back in high school at the good ole Texas shootout. There, my club teammates and I were able to struggle through three days of intense heat and moisture and joke about it on the air-conditioned plane ride back to reality.
But on the East Coast, humidity is reality. I haven’t woken up from this hot nightmare. In fact, I’ve never even fallen asleep, because it is too freaking humid!
Okay nightmare could be an overstatement (probably not, but maybe), and yes, thanks to my in-window AC, I have been getting to sleep. Actually there are some definite benefits to the weather. For one, showers are no longer needed. And there’s a free swimming pool that constantly travels with you everywhere you go. Who needs a pool or shower when you’re already drenched all the time? And your throat is never dry. You don’t have to drink water, because you breathe it with every breath.
Another benefit is the safety factor. The humidity is probably the only thing protecting us from Amy Rodriguez, because she is on fire. That’s one California grown that certainly hasn’t been affected by the conditions. WPS player of the month for June, she’s scored five goals in her last five games for Philly, tacking on two assists for good measure. Not only that, but she scored the US women’s national team’s only goal on Tuesday in their friendly against Sweden. She won’t let up.
And the rest of our Independence squad won’t let up either. What hasn’t drowned us has only made us stronger.
This Tuesday we had two sessions (despite coach Riley’s promise that preseason would end July 1st), one indoor and one out. Inside we were able to escape the torrential downpours, which were coming in 10-minute bouts, but were subject to 90 percent humidity. So?
You would’ve thought it was cool and dry the way players were flying around the field; passing and moving, slide- tackling, springing from one end line to the next, ripping shots, making huge saves. We go 100 miles an hour in 5 v. 5, because we want to win so badly.
Outside, it’s the same. 95 degrees plus another 15 added by the turf, but we love it. We can’t get enough soccer. So much so, that our coach sometimes has to end practice despite us wanting to play just one more game, just till the next goal.
It’s only when we stop that we notice the intensity of the weather. We suck down water like we’ve never tasted anything so sweet and look down to realize our clothes are hanging off of us like someone dumped a bucket of water over our heads.
But never mind that our uniform bin weighs 30 extra pounds at the end of each day. Bring on the humidity! We just want to play. And if we can fly around like that in this crock-pot, I can’t wait to see how we’ll look this weekend in California when we play Bay Area. 81 degrees? Please. And ZERO humidity. That’s laughable.
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com's WPS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Holy heat wave! East Coast weather is certainly not for the weak hearted. Being California bred, the only exposure I’d had to humidity prior to this summer was back in high school at the good ole Texas shootout. There, my club teammates and I were able to struggle through three days of intense heat and moisture and joke about it on the air-conditioned plane ride back to reality.
But on the East Coast, humidity is reality. I haven’t woken up from this hot nightmare. In fact, I’ve never even fallen asleep, because it is too freaking humid!
Okay nightmare could be an overstatement (probably not, but maybe), and yes, thanks to my in-window AC, I have been getting to sleep. Actually there are some definite benefits to the weather. For one, showers are no longer needed. And there’s a free swimming pool that constantly travels with you everywhere you go. Who needs a pool or shower when you’re already drenched all the time? And your throat is never dry. You don’t have to drink water, because you breathe it with every breath.
Another benefit is the safety factor. The humidity is probably the only thing protecting us from Amy Rodriguez, because she is on fire. That’s one California grown that certainly hasn’t been affected by the conditions. WPS player of the month for June, she’s scored five goals in her last five games for Philly, tacking on two assists for good measure. Not only that, but she scored the US women’s national team’s only goal on Tuesday in their friendly against Sweden. She won’t let up.
And the rest of our Independence squad won’t let up either. What hasn’t drowned us has only made us stronger.
This Tuesday we had two sessions (despite coach Riley’s promise that preseason would end July 1st), one indoor and one out. Inside we were able to escape the torrential downpours, which were coming in 10-minute bouts, but were subject to 90 percent humidity. So?
You would’ve thought it was cool and dry the way players were flying around the field; passing and moving, slide- tackling, springing from one end line to the next, ripping shots, making huge saves. We go 100 miles an hour in 5 v. 5, because we want to win so badly.
Outside, it’s the same. 95 degrees plus another 15 added by the turf, but we love it. We can’t get enough soccer. So much so, that our coach sometimes has to end practice despite us wanting to play just one more game, just till the next goal.
It’s only when we stop that we notice the intensity of the weather. We suck down water like we’ve never tasted anything so sweet and look down to realize our clothes are hanging off of us like someone dumped a bucket of water over our heads.
But never mind that our uniform bin weighs 30 extra pounds at the end of each day. Bring on the humidity! We just want to play. And if we can fly around like that in this crock-pot, I can’t wait to see how we’ll look this weekend in California when we play Bay Area. 81 degrees? Please. And ZERO humidity. That’s laughable.
For more on Women's Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com's WPS page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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