Spring 2006
Throughout the spring training season, Santa Clara University junior Jamil Roberts will provide his insight into the inner-workings of the nationally-recognized Bronco men's soccer program.
Jamil is a rising junior defender from Fremont, Calif. He has enjoyed a stellar first two seasons on the mission campus and is one of the West Coast's top defensive players. Last summer he played the full 90 minutes for the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team in wins over Brazil, Serbia & Montenegro and host Northern Ireland to win the elite group of the 2005 Milk Cup.
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Posted: Friday, May 26, 2006
Busy Before the Break
The last couple of weeks have been busy. A week ago we had our soccer banquet on Saturday night. The banquet was very fun. The seniors gave their speeches and made many people laugh as well as cry. After the banquet we went to one of the soccer houses where everyone and some parents hung out for the remainder of the night. No Cam this time! On the pursuing Monday of that week we had our 3rd annual golf tournament. It was probably the hottest day of the year, but it was still nice to be outside rather than in class. The golf tournament was a success, even though we spent the last couple days before scrambling around trying to get last minute stuff in order to prepare. It was fun sharing stories with the alumni and comparing when they played, to now. Everyone had a blast and was able to participate except for Anton. I'm not really sure where Anton was, but I'm sure he had a good time where ever he ended up that day! During that week I spent most my time studying for midterms. The midterms I took went well so I was somewhat happy with that.
That Friday we had our final game of the spring season against Stanford at Stanford under the lights. Everyone was very excited for the game and wanted to beat Stanford, but unfortunately we ended up losing 4-0. The loss was very embarrassing for our team. Even though we had many players out with injuries we still had no excuse for losing to Stanford 4-0. The coaches were not thrilled either and everybody knew that our next practice was going to be an indicator of that.
This week has gone well for the most part. It's starting to be crunch time with school, now that the quarter is slowly dying down. For me its been a very slow week and I have been trying to figure out some of my plans for the summer. I have been debating whether I should work or not and I still have not decided. I have never worked before so I am not sure if I really want to start now. One thing I am doing that's exciting this summer besides going on vacation is I am playing in an indoor soccer league with a bunch of my friends from home I use to play club soccer with. I can't wait for that, it will be like old times when soccer was "fun".
Memorial Day weekend is almost here so that's exciting. I don't really have any plans for Saturday, but on Sunday a bunch of guys and I might go to the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony concert in Santa Cruz. Relaxing in Santa Cruz on a Sunday afternoon listening to Bone Thugs will be a blast if we go. On Monday the fun will die down and it will be back to studying, so I can bring up my grades by the end of the year.
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Posted: Friday, May 12, 2006
A Time For Work and a Time For Play
The past week has been very busy for me as well as the rest of our team. We have a golf tournament for which we are cramming, people have midterms, a banquet and game this Saturday and practice each and everyday. Last week I went to Napa Valley with Jonny B, Anton, Curry and Jimmy. While in Napa the five of us tried to gather things for our Golf Tournament fundraiser from the various wineries. We were able to get a lot of things from the wineries thanks to Jimmy's hook-ups in the Napa Valley.
Practice on Monday could have been the easiest practice in my two years at SCU. Lately everyone has been totally drained of energy and it's staring to take a toll on all of our bodies, so it was much needed. Cam was in Japan for a week supposedly doing research for a trip our team is going to take next year....hmmm "sake bombs' maybe, instead?
Tuesday was probably the highlight of my week along with some others on the team. That day, a bunch of us went to the Cal Berkeley Soccer Formal in the city. The night was really fun and I think it was good for a lot of us because sometimes you just need to get away from soccer and school. It's kind of funny how we can not stand Cal's team with them being such a Bay Area rival on the field and how much trash-talking goes on, but outside that we are all close friends. The highlight of the night had to be Jimmy singing to Jon, Anton and me, while playing a guitar. It had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen, but we won't go into detail because he asked that it stay within the group, ha ha!
The rest of the week has been pretty good too. Yesterday I talked to my brother a little bit about soccer and just the usual stuff. Also he gave me a little insight to the Galaxy team's fun after some of their games, which was really interesting.
Today I just have the usual going on: class all day and then soccer practice. It should be pretty calm and nothing too much. I'm looking forward to the weekend though because we have a game, banquet, and golf tournament so it should be lots of fun and good bonding time for our team if the golf tournament and banquet end up being anything close to last year!
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Posted: Thursday, May 4, 2006
Is the Weekend Here Yet?
It's now the middle of the week, but I wish it was Friday already because it seems like this week is moving so slowly. Last Saturday my team won both of our games 1-0. Our team played the best we have played this spring and could have easily won each game 3-0. After the second game our team went in the pool to cool off a little bit and check out some ladies working on their tans.
After that I went with Jonny B, Bryan, Tiz (Anton), and Jimmy to get some grub from The Hound. Later that night some people came to my house and one of the other soccer houses to relax. On Sunday I woke up early and went to the gym then went to Zanotto's before I went home and passed out. The rest of Sunday was devoted to watching the NBA playoffs for the most part, and I also went home to go swimming at my girlfriend's pool and out to dinner in the evening.
The beginning of this week has not been the best for me. Monday my allergies were killing me and I could barely function all day, then I had practice which wasn't the best ever because I strained my quad. So hopefully I can be back by next week playing soccer again, depending on how it progresses because we have a game on Saturday.
Yesterday, I spent all day at home being bored. The only exciting thing was I found out I was going to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico for summer vacation so that should be ridiculously fun. Today I should be really busy because I have soccer, class later tonight and a bunch of studying to do along with a paper due on Friday.
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Posted: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Nice Haircut Peter
It's Tuesday and I just woke from my shortened nap because there is a Champions League game on television. Villarreal is playing Arsenal and the game is in Spain. The game should be really exciting.
This morning's practice was a little more fun than the usual, but for the most part it was the same cycle. First 7 a.m. weights, which was good besides the fact that Mutunda (Kwesele), at times, is the worst DJ ever. I felt like I was on a family vacation listening to some music my mom picked out. Maybe he can redeem himself on Thursday. After weights we had our practice which is slowly getting better day by day. Later today I might head home to get some dinner, if I have time.
Last weekend was really relaxing for me. On Saturday, we picked two teams, dividing our team up, and had a game on Buck Shaw. It was too bad that my team lost, but otherwise the game was fun. After our game some of my team and I worked out in the gym. For the rest of the day I was either sleeping or being lazy watching TV. Later we had a little team BBQ at Blue House. The guys just hung out watching some NBA playoff games and playing some video games.
That night many of my teammates went out, but I decided to go home because I was going to get up early and watch my little sister, Afiya's, State Cup soccer game. The game was a repeat of the State Cup final and just like last year my sister's team lost again. I thought she played good which was positive for her as she is getting lots of attention from different college programs. The rest of Sunday was devoted to my midterm I had yesterday (Monday).
The rest of this week should not be too bad at all. I'm excited for Saturday because we play Sacramento State at Buck Shaw Stadium. I'm really eager to see how my team will do after many intense training sessions since our last games.
Quote from Flow (Florian): "Nice haircut Peter, I really like it!"
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Posted: Saturday, April 15, 2006
Happy Easter
The second week of school is now over and it seems like everyone has gone home for Easter. Yesterday I had practice early in the morning. After practice, later in the afternoon, our team got together at my house. Some of us had a little poker tournament while the others ate pizza and watched TV. Also we listened to some music Stryker (Matthews) made which wasn't bad at all. The "Smart House", which you have to have a 3.8 or higher to live in, is Peter, Scott, Jared and Matt's house. They didn't want to join us for the fun probably because they were busy doing homework or something. Maybe next time you can come hang out with the team Peter, if you're not too busy?
Today I had two games at Valley Christian High School. We tied the first game 0-0 to San Jose State which was probably not the best result. I played ok but definitely could have done better. The second game of the day was a lot more exciting. We won 2-1 and scored both of our goals in the last two minutes of the game. Luckily we barely pulled it out. The highlight of the game might have been the (scuffle) at the end where one of my former teammates from high school threw some punches at one of the players on our team. After that happened it felt a lot better that we beat them, so I'm thinking I will call him later tonight to talk a little (good-natured) trash.
Right now I am at home hanging out with moms, pops and little sister. I think I will probably stay here to get a home-cooked meal and watch some of my brother, Troy's, soccer game on TV. After that I am planning on going to my girlfriend's house before heading back to Santa Clara to hang out with the boys. Maybe I will drag her along with me tonight if she isn't busy with her girlfriends. Easter Sunday is tomorrow and it seems like it is going to be a busy day for me. In the morning I am going to breakfast with my girlfriend, Kelly's, family which is always amusing. Then, during the day, I have a bunch of reading to do for school and later in the afternoon my roommate John and I might hit up the gym. After that I need to go to the mall to get my iPod fixed. At night I am going to San Leandro for dinner at my aunt's house and to just hang out with the family who I am lucky enough to see since they all live fairly close. Well that's pretty much it for me and I'm sure tomorrow will be a good day, Happy Easter!
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Posted: Sunday, April 9, 2006
Getting Back Into The Groove
While everyone else had a full spring break, our team's was put on hold due to a soccer tournament down south. Even though everyone cancelled the end of their plans for the break, we were excited to be back on the field playing soccer. It was the first time we had played as a team in months. In our first game we played Michigan in the pouring rain and got crushed 4-0. The game was an absolute disaster. In the second game of the weekend we played Cal Poly which we tied 1-1. We played much better in this game then the first. After the games on Saturday a majority of our team got together near downtown San Diego and finished off the rest of our spring break.
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We ended the week with a "fun" practice on Saturday morning. We woke up around 6:45 a.m. and headed to the gym while passing other SCU students just ending their fun from the night before. We met at the gym and headed to the Los Gatos Dam. We ran the dam and then 3 faces, which is an extremely steep uphill run. It was tough and painful except for the coaches and injured players who placed bets on who would finish first in our groups of four. The run back to our cars from the top of the dam was amusing. We cracked jokes with and about one another and talked about our plans for the upcoming night. Saturday night was fun and we will enjoy our day off today before we have head to class and back to practice on Monday.
