December 2024
Christmas, Sick Overseas, Professional Mindset
Welcome back to another edition of Dodson Diaries!
Thank you all for the continuous support of my newsletter.
This month, I am writing about my Christmas in London, being sick overseas, and having a professional mindset. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
Christmas in London
This year was my second year being away for Christmas. I was worried that it would be similar to my first-year experience which was very isolating and sad. You can read about it in my previous newsletter below:
When my coach told us we had days off for Christmas, I was so excited! We had off from the 22nd-26th (we had a night practice on the 26th). I knew that I could spend Christmas with my family in Peterborough, and that is what I did. Playing in Spain has afforded me a better work-life balance partly because of its location. For example, I got a direct flight from Bilbao to Gatwick Airport in London. Once in London, a train connected to the airport took me up to Central London. On the 22nd, I stayed the afternoon in London and looked at all the Christmas lights. All the lights were spectacular. Since I didn’t decorate my apartment for the Holidays, being in London for Christmas got me into the holiday spirit.
A video I made of all the lights in London. Enjoy!
The next day, I met my family in London, and we took the train to Peterborough for Christmas. Playing in Spain has allowed me to spend time and get to know this side of the family. This was the third time in a year I have been in London. Previously, I never visited, but always wanted to go. I got to meet more family like my cousins Ashley and Cameron who I have followed on social media for years.
Christmas Day there was some sadness of not being with my parents and brother, but it did not overshadow the day because my London family worked hard for me to feel included. I appreciated that they took the time to get me presents and we had a great Christmas dinner. I got to try sorrel a traditional Jamaican drink and eat black cake. My cousin Karl made lamb and it was the second time I have ever had it. The first time was in New Zealand and it was delicious. Staying in London has become my home away from home. I know if I ever get homesick I can see my family in London anytime.
Sick Overseas
Unfortunately, Christmas might of been too much excitement with the traveling, lack of sleep and change in eating habits because I got sick shortly after I got back to Spain. I didn’t play or practice for 5 days. I have learned now after getting sick in Poland and here that I have to bring my own medicine and supplements. The team supplies medicine, but they often are not as proactive with treatment. I did bring a thermometer though and two nights in a row I had a 103-degree fever. Back home, my mom would have brought me to the doctor by the second day I did not feel well to figure out exactly what was wrong and get better medicine. Some reasons I think the clubs are not as proactive is because they will not spend money unless there is no other option and going to the doctor opens the door to longer timetables that players will be out. We do have a team doctor, but it is not the same. Three days into being sick, my team doctor said I could come to our game and play. I learned from the beginning of the season, that sometimes you have to make an effort. I got through a quarter of the warmup and told them I was unable to play. I would have rather stayed home, but it looked better that I made the effort to be there. My teammates ended up winning the game which I was happy about because we needed to win the game to secure our spot in the Queen’s Cup (mid-season tournament). After the game on the 3oth, for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s, I just stayed in bed, but it did not upset me because I had such a great Christmas. I felt much better by the 2nd of January and I am back playing again.
Professional Mindset
During one of my therapy sessions, I was talking about how I was stressing about my stats. At the time I had two games in a 4 game stretch where I had only scored 2pts and 1pt respectively. She proceeded to tell me that “I am playing like an amateur” worrying about points instead of the technique which would lead me to score. Of course, when she first said this I had a bruised ego and wanted to push back against the statement, but she was right. Thinking only about the points was not allowing me to pay attention to the flow of the game, how the defense was guarding me and reacting to their moves. I was playing restricted with tunnel vision. She told me to write some words on a post-it note that I can look at every day when I get up. Below are the post-notes I have on my bathroom wall:
Technique points This note reminds me to continue to sharpen my skill set, and during the games to focus not on the points, but on the moves to increase my likelihood of scoring. It is a subtle difference, but huge.
Play like a Pro (you are) This note is a constant reminder of the caliber of player I am and to continue to be confident in my abilities.
While stats are important for me to be able to get a training camp contract, focusing on arbitrary stats that I set for myself was not allowing me to realize the improvements. Everything does not show up on the stat sheet. After this talk with my therapist, I tried to focus on the technique for the next games. I felt an immediate difference in how I felt mentally during the game, but also I started to play a lot more freely. I was letting the game come to me. Now it has only been a couple of games since I had this talk with my therapist. Sometimes I still feel the urge to go back to the old way of thinking. However, I am working on changing that mental habit every game as we are now heading into the second half of the season.
Miscellaneous Entries
Many times I am putting the work in consistently and do not realize the improvements that are being made until I notice something peculiar. I have to do my own core workouts twice a week because the core exercises we do during the lift are often not enough. After doing my side planks, I decided to randomly sit “criss cross applesauce”, and the first time that I can remember it wasn’t an uncomfortable position for me. I was very proud of myself, so I took a picture to remember the achievement.
We had a team dinner before the Christmas break which was a lot of fun. The video shows some typical Spanish food.
They did add some hamburgers to the menu which I was excited about!
The club was unable to put a traditional dryer in my apartment, so here is my new dryer!
During our away trip to Salamanca, we had a team activity to walk down to the main square. That night, they were lighting the Christmas tree to signify the start of the holiday season. Along with other lights in the surrounding streets. We were able to listen to a choir and walk around the town. Salamanca is now one of my favorite cities I have visited.
I have never seen a strawberry with leaves this big before haha. Welcome to Europe.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter! Until next month :)
Hey Maya! It was great to read about how you are doing! By the way you use to sit crisscross applesauce with me all the time.
Hi Maya! This was a great write-up as usual! Glad to know that you are feeling better.