Thomas Campbell is a senior forward on the UNC Greensboro men's soccer team. This year will be different for the three-year starter, however. Campbell, UNCG's leading scorer last season, will be sitting out his redshirt season while recovering from a knee injury he suffered last spring. Each Friday, Campbell will blog about the Spartans' soccer season, his teammates, his classes and his journey back to the soccer pitch in the rehab process. Today is the ninth installment.
Hello all,
This has been a slow week and not much has happened soccer-wise. This past weekend we had a recruit here. He had already verbally committed; he just came to see the game versus Elon and get a feel for the school. The game didn't go too well, though. We started the game playing pretty well. We created chances but couldn't put them away. That could have made the result a lot different. However, we ended up losing 4-0 and, with that win, Elon clinched the SoCon regular season title. It was upsetting to watch Elon celebrate a title on our field. While it was upsetting to watch it, it was nice to see our former assistant coach (now Elon's head coach) succeed. The rest of the weekend wasn't very exciting, just watched some football and did some schoolwork.
On Monday I took a strength test on my leg to see where I stand. According to the biodex, my quad strength was not where it should be, but my hamstring strength was. It was kind of upsetting, but it just means I need to work harder and do more rehab. It would be too easy if everything happened like it was supposed to, right?
Due to my strength not being there, yet, I can't move on to the next stage of my rehab. Once I match the proper numbers, the training staff will let me progress my rehab to the next stage.
Tuesday was a busy day. I was supposed to start my new rehab regiment, but we had not decided on what direction I should take after the testing, so I just did some cardio. I did the "stepper" machine. That might be the worst machine in the entire gym!
I had class all day and a bunch of group meetings. My marketing classes are very time consuming and require a lot of group effort. The one project, which I talked about in my previous blog, is requiring a lot more work than I thought it would.
Wednesday was interesting. I started my new rehab regiment. I have started a neuromuscular approach towards my rehab. I am doing a lot of balance-related work and a lot of work on a BOSU. Not being quite so scientific, a BOSU is a half-circle like thing with a flat bottom. By standing on the flat side with the rounded side on the floor, it forces you to focus on your stabilizing muscles.
Later Wednesday afternoon I had my advising appointment. It's crazy to know that I only have 8 classes left till I graduate. It feels like yesterday when I was standing on our practice field in August of my freshman year playing around before camp even started. It's scary to think how fast the time has passed.
Today (Thursday) was a slow day. I had class for most of the afternoon and then training at normal time. The training session looked good. The team seemed upbeat and the practice was very competitive. It is important for us to get a win this weekend to keep alive the chance for a home game in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament.
Even after a rough season so far and some struggles here and there, it is still possible for us to make it to the NCAA tournament if we can get hot over the next few weeks. Our conference has been really balanced this season. Elon went unbeaten in the league, but they are just a shade above .500 for the season. No one has been dominant this year. So there is still a chance if we can play well over the next few weeks.
Saturday's game has a lot more meaning than that. As if the postseason ramifications weren't enough, it is also senior night. It's my class that I would have been graduating with had I not gotten hurt. It's going to be a sad night but hopefully the team can step up and give our seniors a proper farewell.
Till next time...bye.
Thomas Campbell, #7
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