Each month, I have so much fun writing pieces for our beloved partner, the premier leader of educational travel, WorldStrides (Miss any? Check ‘em out here). From talking to folks who had life-changing experiences on WorldStrides tours to curating and highlighting our very own soccerista-centric trips, my dive into the potential experiences to be had via WorldStrides trips feels like a bottomless one. As a student-athlete, there are few things as special as jetting off far, far away for a bit to a totally new place with some people you love and the ability to do something you love.

Now, as I write this on March 18, we’re living in a moment where we shouldn’t be jetting off to our schools and soccer practices let alone other countries. If we all come together, as empathetic, mindful and smart creatures, we hopefully will return to a world sooner rather than later where team travel with WorldStrides can be what it has been for 50+ years: fun, memorable, and safe.

While literally traveling in any capacity should not be on your to do list right now, it might actually be helpful to peer into what it means to travel during this challenging time. Perhaps ask yourself, “What are some of the essential elements of the traveling experience?” WorldStrides has one pretty good answer to this kind of question. Just take a look at their website: “Education and personal growth are at the heart of WorldStrides’ mission”.

Another thing that’s critical to a transformative travel experience? A great, informative guide! Whether that be in person form. Say, some one that takes you through landmarks and historic places or in paper form, like a well-thought-out itinerary.

So, we thought we’d take the liberty of making a guide of our own. That is, a soccerista’s guide for expanding one’s horizons and traveling inward during the days ahead where you may be spending more time at home than usual. Check it out. You got this!

For the Soccerista Body…

Individual Soccer Training Apps/Equipment:

There are a few awesome individual soccer training apps/pieces of equipment out there that will push you and entertain you with just a ball and a tiny bit of space. Check out Yael Averbuch’s Techne and Beast Mode Soccer’s MST app to see how you might keep your skills up on your own. As for equipment, we are big fans of Rebecca Moros’ Footyboard.

No Equipment or Team? No Problem:

Staying strong and fit without a gym or your team doesn’t have to be difficult. Running is a great option right now and some fresh air will no doubt be a welcome relief to break up hours from working/studying at home. Also, there are thousands and thousands of free workout videos online. You’d be amazed at how hard of a workout you can get with some of these. Plyometric workouts (think burpees, jump squats, fast hopping over a line) are great because they don’t require that much space, they’ll have you sweating a concerning amount, AND they’ll work those fast twitch muscles to help make you lightning quick on and off the ball.

Improve Your Kitchen Skills:

Depending on what you have stored up and access to in your respective location, now presents a great opportunity to work on those cooking skills. Cooking at home is not only cheaper but often way healthier. And, as an athlete-turned-adult person, I PROMISE you having some basic cooking skills and easy, go-to-recipes will be the gift that keeps on giving for years to come.

For the Soccerista Mind…

Study Soccer Clips on YouTube:

Wanna learn how to turn and shoot quicker or nail down your defensive positioning? Now is a perfect time to take to YouTube to analyze the movements of the world’s best. Yup, that’s right. You can actually improve your game without breaking a sweat or even leaving your couch.

Don’t Slack on School:

Alright, let’s just lay it out there. Virtual schooling is a very different experience than what you’re probably used to. Trying to focus and stay present in a non-traditional classroom setting if it’s not what you’ve been doing for 10+ years can be a challenge. Just because you don’t have a teacher seeing what your hands are doing, doesn’t mean you should be on your phone. Just because you found a way to “trick” the virtual teaching software into thinking you’re at the computer in class when you’re not, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t take this time to slack off. You’d be surprised at how it can add up and hurt your grades and knowledge intake down the line. I’m sure many of you reading this want to play college soccer, right? Cool, pay attention to the material. Be respectful of your teachers who are trying to do their job.

Dive into Sports Psychology:

If you know us, you know how much we champion and emphasize the mental game. We believe it’s just as important, if not more, than the physical skills and attributes needed to play the game. Again, there are tons of “delivery” mechanisms out there designed to help you build up your mental toughness. Check out Amanda Ferranti’s resources, for example. And well, reading is gonna be your friend right now. A handful of WoSo’s best (Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach) have written amazing books that provide tips, insight, and inspiration into developing a mental edge as the tough-as-nails female athlete you are.

For the Soccerista Soul…

Meditate:

In a weird, anxiety-ridden, and uncertain times, meditation can be an incredibly powerful and grounding tool. A meditation practice encourages you to sit with and notice your thoughts but not judge them. Ultimately, just 10-15 minutes a day of meditating can help you be more mindful and less stressed. Apps like Headspace and Insight Timer are awesome guides to help both rookie and veteran meditators. And again, this is another great tool to have for life beyond the virus era. Studs like Alex Morgan and Christen Press have long touted the benefits of meditation’s positive effects on their games.

Keep on Chatting With Your Team:

You might not be able to congregate as a squad in person, but you can get together online thanks to technology. Zoom, Facetime, a good ol’ fashion phone call…staying at home shouldn’t mean disconnecting from the people we love who keep us laughing and feeling positive. A silver lining of this new world we’re living in is that, without all the running from place to place, we have the time to reach out and have conversations we wouldn’t have prioritized otherwise.

Create something:

Bake something, draw something, craft something. It can be soccer-related..maybe it’s a new move or juggling trick or a vision board to outline your soccer goals. Or not soccer-related at all. Like writing letters to your loved ones.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that there will be days again where you can plan for that trip to Europe and hop on a plane with your team. But for now, we hope you can pass the time with a few of these other ways to learn, sharpen your soccer skills, and broaden your bounds of self that don’t require a passport.

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