9 segments of 3-touch after-lift-off 135 degree turns to the right done; average score up 8% Compared to Yesterday; Ankle-Force-Minimized on L0 & all subsequent kicks

Today I did 9 segments of KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T and nothing else.

Today, all the runs scored as successes manifested the following characteristics: me using the left foot to flip up the ball (L0); me then adhering to the FOOTWORK as prescribed by the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T pattern; the ball kept off the ground but close to the body throughout the run; the direction of the ball after R1 being approx 135-degrees-right relative to the direction I face at the start of L0.

EARPLUGS in both ears. Woke up approx 1:00 PM, 2.8 hours before the practice started at 3:47 PM, after having had approx 9 hours of sleep.

Had 10 oz coffee/coconut-palm-sugar/halfnhalf, from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM. Drank 30 oz of lukewarm distilled water during the practice, which went on for 2.8 hours from 3:47 PM - 6:35 PM.

Today the intent was always to implement the Ankle-Force-Minimization (AFM) method on all the touches including the L0 lift-up of the ball. By way of contrast yesterday was also devoted to KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T but yesterday, during the L0 initial lift-off touch, the intent was always to maximize ankle-force.

Today, on every attempt,I attempted to mentally target a specific spot to put the ball, when moving the ball with the L0 lift-off touch after rolling it back with the sole of my foot. Seemed the more serious I got about getting the ball close to the target point, the higher the score.

Today, September 10, the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T was done from segments 1 through 9, during all the segments (20 attempts per segment). Today, the overall average score for a segment was 180 (up 8% compared to segments 1 to 8 yesterday); during segments 7, 8, & 9, the average score was 192 (up 8% compared to segments 7 & 8 yesterday).

200 is the maximum perfect score signifying a success I'm proud of on every attempt. The score is calculated as follows: percent of attempts succeeding, plus percent of attempts resulting in runs I was proud of.

I suspect that despite the improvement today, the alternative of maximizing ankle-force during the L0 initial lift-off touch, will in the future give the ankle-force-minimization alternative a run for the money.

During and after the practice, I felt sort of like a prisoner in jail working on a chain gang. I felt glum, tired, and bored, like a kid working on an onerous homework assignment. I felt angry with myself for not improving at a faster rate.

By way of contrast, from a mathematical point of view, I should be thrilled to be progressing at a rate of 8% per day, despite the skill/scores already being at a high level. At a progress rate of 8% per day, my skill level and scores would double every 9 days. Meaning, that 18 days from now, my skill level would be FOUR times what it is today.

I suspect mental depression is useful when it comes to attempts to do things like improve from a 90 percent success rate on some task, to a 100% success rate on the task. Previously I had mentioned that attempts to improve to a 100% success rate on a task can involve pushing oneself to a level of error that is not naturally human, and can produce an unusual state of mind.

My goals today were: high number of successes per minute; high quality successes; high successes/attempts percentage.

Ball: Adidas Jabulani World Cup 2010 NFHS Top Training Soccer Ball @ 11.6 psi.

The weather outdoors was cool and sunny; indoors the gym temp/humidity became close to perfect after 5 PM.

The gym was populated by the usual mix of black, white, E. Asian teenage and young-adult males absorbed in basketball games and basketball shooting practice. From around 5:11 PM onwards, the number of people in the gym declined, it became quieter, and the temp inside became cooler-- these changes seemed to improve performance.

8 segments of 3-touch after-lift-off 135 degree turns to the right done, with ankle-force maximized during initial lift-off touch; performance up 7% compared to last time this done 3 days ago

Today I did 10 segments of KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T and nothing else.

Today, all the runs scored as successes manifested the following characteristics: Me using the left foot to flip up the ball (L0); me then adhering to the FOOTWORK as prescribed by the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T pattern; the ball kept off the ground but close to the body throughout the run; the direction of the ball after R1 being approx 135-degrees-right relative to the direction I face at the start of L0.

EARPLUGS in left ear only. Woke up approx 1:00 PM, approx 10 hours before the practice started at 4:17 PM, after having had approx 10 hours of sleep.

Had 12 oz coffee/coconut-palm-sugar/halfnhalf, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Drank 30 oz of cold Glaceau 'Energy' type Vitaminwater during the practice, which went on for 2.6 hours from 4:17 PM - 6:55 PM.

Today the intent was always to implement the Ankle-Force-Minimization (AFM) method after the L0 lift-up of the ball; during the initial L0 lift-up of the ball, the intent was always to maximize ankle-force.

Today, on every attempt,I attempted to mentally target a specific spot to put the ball, when moving the ball with the L0 lift-off touch after rolling it back with the sole of my foot.

Today, September 12, the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T was done from segments 1 through 10, during all the segments (20 attempts per segment). Today, the overall average score for a segment from segments 1-8 was 178; during segments 7 & 8, the average score was 190 (200 is the maximum perfect score signifying a success I'm proud of on every attempt).

Friday September 9, three days ago, was the last time I did KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T with ankle-force-maximized (AFM) during every L0 attempt. was done from segments 1 through 8, during all the segments (20 attempts per segment). Friday September 9, the overall average score for a segment was 167; during segments 7 & 8, the average score was 178.

Hence, the average score doing KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T during segments 1-8 today was 7% higher today compared to 3 days ago; and the average score during segments 7 & 8 today, was also 7% higher compared to 3 days ago.

Improving at a rate of 7% every 3 days: my skill-level will be twice as good as it is now in one month; my average score from segments 1-8 will be a perfect 200 in one week; my average score during segments 7 & 8 will be a perfect 200 in 3 days.

Nevertheless, I felt somewhat miserable during & after the practice today. I was surprised at how tired I was, after doing just 200 attempts in 2.6 hours.

I estimate that on average, each attempt involved me running 18'. That means overall during the practice I ran 1200 yards. Sort of like, thirty 40-yard sprints. Except that: the hardest part of a sprint is the beginning; making a turn involves more physical stress than going straight; juggling the ball while moving involves more physical stress than simply running.

I would expect myself to be tired, after running the 40-yard dash thirty times; but I feel disappointed that I feel tired, after today's practice. I feel as if I've been lazy today, because I've only done 200 attempts of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T; but I would not feel lazy, if I had run the 40-yard dash thirty times.

I guess the kind of exercise I did today, lacks the mood-enhancing impact of exercise featuring longer application of sustained physical energy in between breaks.

Despite continued experimentation, I'm unable to decide whether to maximize or minimize ankle-force during the initial L0 lift-off touch of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T; this indecision is a continuing source of frustration.

I have concluded, that I have to sharpen focus in terms of the picture of a segment produced by the scoring of the segments, in order to come up with a definitive answer to the question, should I maximize or minimize ankle-force during the initial L0 lift-off touch of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T pattern?

Based on experience I estimate that: it would be better to mentally intend maximization or minimization, compared to mentally intending moderation; it would be better to mentally intend maximization or minimization, compared to leaving it a mental blank, with regards to how much ankle-force should be applied during the initial L0 lift-off touch of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T pattern.

How I intend to sharpen the picture regarding how well I have performed during a segment: by officially raising the standards re what successful runs I proclaim myself to feel 'proud' of; by offically declaring that henceforth, I will be 'proud' of a run only-- if there is no doubt in my mind that I feel proud of the run, I can catch the ball with my hands after the final touch, & the ball does not touch my body between the L2 touch & the L3 touch.

This raising of standards should result in a reduction of the number of runs I record as having been 'proud' of, which should result in increased difference between the scores recorded for KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T with ankle-force minimization on L0, and the scores recorded for KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T with ankle-force maximization during L0.

I signed up for the Oak Sq Y Soccer League. The heavy-weight young white guy with the brown mustache behind the desk, showed me the write-up regarding the league. It said that the games would be 4 on 4 games. I told Calder I was not happy that the games would be 4 on 4 games on a basketball-court-sized 'pitch'. Calder informed me that the games will actually be 5 on 5 games, because at some earlier time they had had 5 on games that people enjoyed, and because this season they will be using real goalies who can use their hands. About a week ago, Calder had told me that the games would be 4 on 4 games.

I now believe that the teams involved should be given the option to play 6 on 6 or even 7 on 7 games if they want to.

My reasoning: the 4 on 4 & the 5 on 5 games are gruelling workouts good for building up overall physical endurance; the 4 on 4, & 5 on 5 games are not so good compared to more players on court, for developing 'close-combat' type offensive & defensive skills featuring opposing players in close proximity to each other; the extreme fatigue produced by a low players-per-square-yard density, reduces the ability to develop skills; we can work on physical endurance when we are alone; we cannot work on 'close-combat' type skills when we are alone; variety in terms of the number of players per team from game to game, will increase our understanding in terms of the optimal player per square yard density, give us flexibility, and expose us to different environments that emphasize different skills and abilities.

5 on 5 soccer in the basketball court, is not like 5 on 5 basketball. In soccer a goalie stays in a goal. In soccer, the ball is constantly in play, there are no pauses due to the ball going over the sideline or end-line, the pauses in action due to fouls are shorter and less frequent.

The gym was populated by the usual mix of black, white, & E. Asian, teenage & young-adult males engaged in basketball games and basketball shooting practice.

Oak Sq Y Soccer League: Played in Four 5-minute indoor five on five soccer games, and in one 12-minute four on four soccer game

EARPLUGS in left ear only. Woke up approx 3:00 PM, approx 4.5 hours before the practice started at 7:40 PM, after having had approx 9 hours of sleep (I was unable to fall asleep till 5 AM and had been feeling tired).

Had 12 oz green-black-tea/coconut-palm-sugar/halfnhalf, from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Drank 14 oz of cold Glaceau 'Energy' type Vitaminwater during the practice, which went on for 1.4 hours from 7:40 PM - 9:06 PM.

The ball that was used in the games, was a Nike T90 size 5, which I estimate was inflated to only about 2.5 psi. I could easily press the ball in about an inch on each side holding it in my hand. This is much softer & less inflated than the balls used in regulation college and pro competition. By way of contrast, I have been practicing the aerial moves with a ball that has always been inflated to 11.6 psi.

Thus the ball used in the game was as usual, either below adult size or underinflated. And as usual, my inclination to engage in aerial attacks (like dribbling but with the ball in the air), was inhibited as a result.

I'm convinced that my aerial attacks would result in a superior success rate compared to typical players mounting ground attacks involving the ball dribbled on the ground. At the same time, I realize that an irrational injustice that exists, is that such aerial attacks, in part because they are unusual and new and almost nobody in the world is able to perform them, are held to a higher standard than conventional ground-dribbling attacks; a success percentage that would be acceptable for ground-dribble attacks, ends up being considered as unacceptably low when the method involved is aerial attacks. As a result, impairments such as underinflated balls and unusually small ball, inhibit my inclination to engage in aerial attacks of the type I've been practicing.

Overall, I played in three five minute games in a row without a break; then after a five minute break I played in another five minute game; then I Played in a 12 minute four on four game divided into two halves. I was surprised that it all came to an end at 9:06 PM before even 1.5 hours had passed. I was thinking, 'we've paid $65 for eleven Tuesdays of soccer, yet this Tuesday of soccer is coming to an end without even 1.5 hours being played!'.

Before the games started, we warmed up by standing in a circle and juggling the ball in the air and passing it to each other; then we took shots on goal. The warmup was sufficient to get me into the mood to play. During warmups I had the hardest shot of about 16 players who were there.

I noticed that when I shot the ball, I got my whole body into it, with both feet leaving the ground on the follow-through; but when the others shot, the non-kicking foot did not leave the ground on the follow-through, and they did not get their body into the shot; when I shot the ball, my body would change from being bent at the waist to being straighter during the course of the shot, whereas this was not the case with them. This could be because I've had alot of practice air-dribbling the ball (running and making turns while keeping the ball off the ground but close to the body) and shooting the ball while it is in the air off the air-dribble. After the warmup and before the games started, Calder said I had a hard shot.

The first game I was in I played defense for the team wearing yellow jerseys; our offensive star was Victor, who said he was Spanish. Also on my team: a husky white-looking guy named Yakub, and a couple of short thin but skilled brown guys with Islamic names that I do not quite remember.

During the first 3 minutes of the first game, I put on a good show (as I always do until I get tired), knocking the ball away from an opposing dribbler three times in three minutes. Problem was that on two of the steals, Calder called me for a foul, even though as far as I could tell no foul had been committed, because although physical contact was made that on at least one occasion sent the opposing player to the ground, I was playing the ball and made contact with the ball every time, and the physical contact was incidental. Calder later said that he thought I did not make contact with the ball on one occasion. He said he was so to speak more quick on the trigger to call fouls than refs usually are; I forgot the reason he gave for this.

After the first 3.5 minutes of the first game I began to tire and became less prominent as a player.

Our team stayed on court because the first game we played in was tied 0-0, and the other team had been on court prior to the game. We won the second game 2-0 with me playing goalie; one of the Islamic guys asked me to play goalie for 'one minute', but I ended up playing goalie for the entire 5-minute game. The third game, we had been on court already for ten minutes and the other team was fresh; I played defense, and then they scored after I retreated to play goalie for the last 1.5 minutes of the 5-minute game, and we lost 1-0.

Next after a five minute break, our 'yellow' team, won another game with me on defense; they scored once, when my goalie kicked the ball into me, and it bounced off me into the goal.

Then a bunch of the players had to go home, and we played another team for two six-minute halves, with just four on each team and no goalie. This last game was relatively un-serious, we did not make much of an attempt to guard the goal, because the word was that there would be no goalies, which our team interpreted as meaning not just no player allowed to use hands, but also no player standing around in front of the goal. I do not remember the score in this last game.

The entire time, so long as we were playing with goalies and I was playing defense, the other team never scored (except for the freak occasion when my goalie bounced the ball off me into the goal).

I could tell by looking at the other teams we played (their eyes, their body-language, their faces), that they basically lost hope of scoring when they saw me playing defense. They never attempted to dribble past me when I was on defense, & they avoided the area I was in when playing defense, which precluded the glory of me disrupting them & stealing the ball from them.

After the game 'J.R.', who operated the electronic scoreboard, congratulated me for doing a good job and so did Calder. Calder said that I showed quick footwork and looked good out there (maybe it was someone else who said I looked good out there). I was surprised at being congratulated, because my mind was as usual dominated by remembrance of my mistakes, not my successes.

At the beginning, Calder told the players to pick up teams, but there were two groups that were sort of pre-existing cliques, each took the court on one side, and teams were never picked. Seeing how alot of the players knew each other but I did not know any of them, I decided to play defense. I figured this would be a good way to start with strangers; I figured amongst strangers, I would get more ball contact playing defense than I would playing offense.

As usual, the guys on my team went up to play offense, meaning that I, if I did not want to suffer the humiliation of my team being defeated, had to play defense. As usual, me getting tired resulted in me playing defense, because it seemed that defense would be less exhausting than offense.

Never in the whole game, did I attempt to dribble past one of the defenders (dribbling past and through defenders is one of my strengths). I was almost never up on offense. I was up on offense for about one minute, and in that one minute we scored, as I volley-crossed the ball in from the left wing to a guy on me team, who then scored. That's a pretty good ratio actually, one assist, in one minute spent playing offense.

After the game, I felt as if such soccer games can be lots of fun, but that the level of fun is radically reduced as a result of fatigue due to lack of physical conditioning. I asked Calder for advice re getting in shape so that I won't be tired during a game. He said that after a a couple of such evenings playing indoor games, I would not be tired anymore. Calder suggested that I get in shape by spending about a half an hour a day running as fast as I can for as long as I can, alternated with walking; he also suggested about half an hour a day of jumping rope.

Overall, I was much less tired compared to the level of fatigue I had felt when playing in the same Oak Sq league four years ago. I've been regularly practicing which has improved my endurance; the gym was much less hot and humid than it was a few years ago; for a long time I've been smoking much less than I used to a few years ago.

I got the feeling, watching the black-teenage-male basketballers who were sitting around watching the soccer, who have also seen me practicing my aerial tricks, that they felt, that the soccer games were beneath me, and that I should not condescend to play in the games because they made me look as if I was just somebody, though I was in reality, not just somebody.

It's true that at the Oak Sq Y, as at every other place I have practiced for any length of time, there are people who have put me in the same class as the greatest players of all-time. In fact one of them the other day muttered to me, 'don't throw away a billion dollars', meaning he thought I could end up being a billionaire soccer star.

But I had decided to experience the experience of playing with others, even though I knew that: they would be using an undersized and/or underinflated ball, they would be interested in goal-scoring glory for themselves; I would get tired; I would not look like one of the greatest players of all-time the way I do in practice.

My reasoning was that getting in practice time playing with others was more important than whatever damage to my reputation might be suffered as a result; such scrimmage-time allows me to learn important lessons, get an idea of how deficient my physical conditioning is. There will always be people who make simplistic, shallow inaccurate demeaning judgements about a star, when they see the star playing with common-folk, and the expected level of domination does not occur.

Fact is, I've been spending my soccer-time, trying to get to a 100% of attempts resulting in high-quality success level, doing very difficult aerial tricks, that involve both my left and right feet, and that involve the very difficult act of kicking the ball outwards to the side at a 90 degree angle in the middle of the air-dribbling.

By way of contrast, most of the people into soccer, spend all their time playing in these games or scrimmages. Therefore naturally, even if I may be one of the greatest of all-time and they are not, they develop certain advantages (the discerning realize such advantages can be quickly reversed through exposure to the right kind of practice).

Often when the superstars of the top teams played 'lowly' American teams in the recent Major League Soccer 'Herbalife World Football Challenge', the performance of the superstars was such that the simple-minded watching would declare that the superstars wereno better than the Americans. But the superstars came to America and played the humble folk anyway.

The temperature and the humidity in the Oak Square Y Gym was much more tolerable compared to the last time I played in the Oak Square Y Soccer League, which was from 4/17/07 - 6/19/07.

I kept a log-record of the soccer games at the Oak Sq Y for the games from April 17, 2007 to June 19, 2007:

April 17

April 17, April 24, May 1, May 8

April 17, April 24, May 1, May 15, May 22, May 29, June 12, June 19

One of the players on another team, wore a t-shirt that said, 'Newton North High School'. One of the players was a woman, who played a very physical game, but who was never called for a foul.

Overall, what with the very soft ball used, and the being called for fouls that refs in high school or college games would never have called, I felt as if the whole thing was too effete. It's hard to understand why we should play with a radically underinflated ball, when even high school teams use balls of normal inflation. It's hard to understand why fouls that would not be fouls even in a high school game, should be fouls in a YMCA game. If somebody is really afraid of a normally inflated ball, they should either avoid soccer or buy a cup to protect their groin.

New Wind-Sprints Designed to Improve Endurance for Indoor Soccer Run Done for First Time

Conditioning Drills 11-A-R, 11-A-L, 11-B, & 11-C

Drill 11-A-R, involves me running along the perimeter of the box displayed in the graphic, in a clockwise fashion, making 90 degree turns to the right at each corner (the first length run is a 44' length).

Drill 11-A-L, involves me running along the perimeter of the box displayed in the graphic, in a counter-clockwise direction, making 90 degree turns to the left at each corner (the first length run is a 44' length).

Drill 11-B, involves me running back and forth between two cones 44' from each other; this would be like running back and forth between point A & point C in the graphic (180 degree turns at each turn).

Drill 11-C, involves me running back and forth between two cones 26' from each other; this would be like running back and forth between point C & point D in the graphic (180 degree turns at each turn).

The turns made during the sprints were 180 degree turns or sharp 90 degree turns; it was not possible to curve outwards between the turns due to the walls of the exercise studio room. The rule I followed was to touch a foot no further than two feet from the cone marking the corner during the turns. A wristwatch, not a stopwatch, was used to keep time. I estimated the distance between cones by counting the number of paces it took me to walk from cone to cone, knowing that when walking the distance of one of my paces is approx 2.2 feet. I ran as fast as I could during the runs.

At 9:00 PM, I started the 11-AR pattern; the 3 laps ended at 9:00:32; overall I ran approx 140 yards in approx 32 seconds (approx 4.4 yds per second).

17 minutes later, at 9:17 PM, I started the 11-AL pattern (counter-clockwise, turns to left); the 3 laps ended at 9:00:28; overall I ran approx 140 yards in approx 28 seconds (approx 5 yds per second).

32 minutes later, at 9:49 PM, I started the 11-B pattern (back & forth between two cones 44' apart from each other); the 8 lengths ended at 9:00:30; overall I ran approx 117 yards in approx 30 seconds (approx 3.9 yds per second).

27 minutes later, at 10:18 PM, I started the 11-C pattern (back & forth between two cones 26' apart from each other); the 12 lengths ended at 9:00:26; overall I ran approx 104 yards in approx 26 seconds (approx 4 yds per second).

It took a long time today, the first day in about four years doing windsprints, to fully recover from the exhaustion generated by a windsprint. The average recovery time today was 25 minutes. I did alot of coughing and spitting between the first run and the second run.

I do not feel I ran slowly during the runs. Having to make sharp 90 degree turns during the 11-A type runs, I had to come to almost a complete stop at each turn. During the 11-B runs, of course I had to come to a complete stop when turning, because the turns were 180 degree turns.

My reasoning behind the design of these sprints: Knowing that one of my paces is approx 2.2', I found that: the width of the basketball court used for the indoor soccer games is approx 26 paces, 57'; the length is approx 40 paces, 88'. The games are played with four players aside from the goalie. Bisecting the width of the court with one line, and the length of the court with another, I concluded that one of the players on the court during the game, could be said to be responsible for a rectangular area that is 13 paces wide, and 20 paces long. This I changed to 12 paces wide and 20 paces long, because 12 is divisible by 2, but 13 is not. Since 2.2' (approx distance of one of my paces) times 12 is 26.4', & 2.2' times 20 is 44', the box I came up with as a basis for designing the wind-sprints, was 26' wide, and 44' long.

While asleep prior to the start of the practice, I had dreams that I could remember for the first time in a long time; one of the dreams was related to soccer.

In the dream, Wayne Rooney came to visit me at the apartment me and my family lived in in Hyde Park Chicago, when I was in grade school and high school. He told me that he was "into evolution" (meaning, he was interested in the topic of evolution and believed in it). Then Wayne and my car both simultaneously disappeared. Then I was walking on a sidewalk, and encountered a tycoon. The tycoon was white, of about average height and build, seemed to be in his 50s, and had bad teeth. I said to the tycoon: " If you're 1000 times better than me at making money, & I'm 1000 times better than you at everything else, is that evolution?".

New Wind-Sprints Designed to Improve Endurance for Indoor Soccer Run Done for First Time Again

Conditioning Drills 11-D-R, & 11-D-L

Drill 11-D-R, involves me running along the perimeter of the red triangle displayed in the graphic, in a clockwise fashion, making turns to the right at each corner.

Drill 11-D-L, involves me running along the perimeter of the red triangle displayed in the graphic, in a counter-clockwise direction, making turns to the left at each corner.

Drill 11-E-R, involves me running along the perimeter of the blue triangle displayed in the graphic, in a clockwise fashion, making turns to the right at each corner, starting at point C.

Drill 11-E-L, involves me running along the perimeter of the blue triangle displayed in the graphic, in a counter-clockwise direction, making turns to the left at each corner, starting at point C.

E represents the center of the rectangle. The distances from D to C, C to E, E to D are all 26 feet. E is 22 feet from the C to D line. A line running straight downwards from E, would bisect the C to D line.

I did 11-DR twice, and 11-DL once in the Oak Square Y exercise studio room today from 8:59 PM to 9:53 PM. The practice lasted 0.9 hours. I drank 16 oz of Glaceau brand 'Energy' type 'Vitaminwater' during the practice. Today again, my plan was to rest between sprints until I was completely recovered physically.

The rule I followed was to touch a foot no further than two feet from the cone marking the corner during the turns. A wristwatch, not a stopwatch, was used to keep time. I estimated the distance between cones by counting the number of paces it took me to walk from cone to cone, knowing that when walking the distance of one of my paces is approx 2.2 feet. I ran as fast as I could during the runs.

During all the runs except the first run (which was faster than the others) I ran straight lines between the points in the triangle. During the first run, to some extent, I ran following a somewhat curved path, the way baseball players do when they are running the bases. Today the setup for the cones allowed for such curvature in terms of the running path; as a result, during the first run, I diverged from the straight-line path between cones.

I decided to run straight line paths between the cones marking the turns, because I wanted to run the patterns in a way that was consistent with the way the patterns were run yesterday, because I expected that situations would arise in the future during which there would not be enough space to make curved turns, and because I estimated that straight-line running would better prepare me for games.

I decided to use the recuperation time between sprints, to practice the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T air-dribble pattern with the soccer ball. KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T is simply the first 3 touches after the initial lift-up touch, of the P6.1-5T-KnockoutAugOne-RFS-Rev-E2-AS-135-R pattern, with rest of the touches omitted.

'KnockoutAugOne-RFS-Rev-E2-AS-135-R' was first introduced in the row in this log entitled 'Thursday 8/4 2nd Graphic of new Drill'. Another graphic presents the same 'P6.1-5T-KnockoutAugOne-RFS-Rev-E2-AS-135-R' but in a tilted view, in the row entitled ''Monday 8/15 ROW 1 Angled View of Knockoutaugone- RFS-reve2as135R '.

The scoring of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T runs was done according to the strict new rules introduced in the September 12 entry further up this page. These new rules reduce the number of attempts that I record as having been 'proud' of.

At 9:00 PM, I started the 11-DR pattern (clockwise, turns to right) ; the 6 laps of the circuit ended at 9:00:29; overall I ran approx 155 yards in approx 29 seconds (approx 5.3 yds per second). This was the sprint during which I ran a curved path between the cones marking the turns (like a baseball player sprinting around the bases), instead of a straight line.

From 9:06 - 9:13 PM, I did ten attempts of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T air-dribble pattern with the ball, with ankle-force minimized during the initial lift-off touch. There were 8 successes (80% of attempts), 6 (60% of attempts) of which I was proud of; total score 80+60=140.

18 minutes after I started the previous sprint, at 9:18 PM, I started the 11-DL pattern (counter-clockwise, turns to left) pattern sprint; the 6 laps of the circuit ended at 9:18:32; overall I ran approx 155 yards in approx 32 seconds (approx 4.8 yds per second).

From 9:24 - 9:33 PM, I did ten attempts of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T air-dribble pattern with the ball, with ankle-force maximized during the initial lift-off touch. There were 7 successes (70% of attempts), 4 (40% of attempts) of which I was proud of; total score 70+40=110.

21 minutes after I started the previous sprint, at 9:39 PM, I started the 11-DR pattern (clockwise, turns to right) pattern sprint; the 6 laps of the circuit ended at 9:39:33; overall I ran approx 155 yards in approx 33 seconds (approx 4.7 yds per second).

From 9:45 - 9:53 PM, I did ten attempts of the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T air-dribble pattern with the ball, with ankle-force minimized during the initial lift-off touch. There were 9 successes (90% of attempts), 7 (70% of attempts) of which I was proud of; total score 90+70=160.

The average recovery time between sprints today was 21 minutes; perhaps this time would have been lesser, if I had not been doing the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T between sprints.

During the practice, I realized that I was much less fatigued between sprints today than I was yesterday. After the practice, I felt that the workout done today, had produced more improvement in terms of my state of mind, than even four-hour practices consisting of nothing but the KnockoutAugOne-AS-135-R-3T pattern runs with the ball.

After today's practice, when I got home, I could feel the improvements that were being produced in my body as a result of the sprints. My body felt peppier, stronger, lighter, younger.

I remember reading an article on the internet by a Doctor Sears, which argued forcefully that such sprints, carried to the point of exhaustion, are much better for the heart than mere jogging (but as I recall, there is at least one topic on which I disagree with Sears).

Causes & Solutions with regards to decline in number of practice-hours per week; Seems Too Many Simultaneous Behavioral & Nutritional Changes Caused Fatigue

From Monday September 12 to today Wednesday September 21, the number of hours of practice per day dropped dramatically compared to previous weeks. No athletics whatsoever was done on Wednesday 9/14, Saturday 9/17, Monday 9/19, and Tuesday 9/20-- that's 4 missed practice days over the 7 days from 9/14-9/20. That includes missing the league game Tuesday 9/20.

It would be penny-wise and pound-foolish, to get deeply into the tactics & strategy of how best to use time & energy available for practice, without addressing this breakdown over the past week or so in terms of number of hours spent practicing/training per day.

I attribute the breakdown to a combination of factors, I suspect that none of these factors by themselves, would have been able to produce the breakdown.

Factors involved: the weather turned cool, which caused increase in time spent sleeping in bed, in part as compensation for decreased sleep when the weather was hot; the cool weather was almost chilly at certain times during the night, the game on 9/12, & the windsprints done 9/14 & 9/15, all involved a new type of exertion not engaged in for four years; the only alcohol I consumed in August was a 750 ml bottle of Tequila, I consumed little alcohol the first two weeks of September, but then from 9/16 after practice - 9/19 I drank excessive amounts of burgundy wine, and drank too early in the day; I ran out of Tangerine juice but tried to get by without it; I ran out of coffee and tried to get by on tea; I tried too hard to lose weight by reducing amount of food consumed; I tried too hard to get ahead relative to my budget by cutting spending on food; I had not consumed my 'nutrients cocktail' in a long time; I ran out of citrus air freshener & began using incense (a relatively natural & healthy incense); Tweedledee, who had been out of town for weeks and who is a source of stress, returned to town; my circadian rhythm has been abnormal & irregular as it often is; the times at which the gym is available has varied greatly from day to day.

These factors combined with each other as a result of which the combinations of simultaneous changes were able to bring me down to the physical level that a factor by itself would not have produced. For example: the combination of trying to cut down on food consumption, not consuming the nutrients cocktail, not consuming tangerine juice, consuming wine which had not been consumed for a long time, & replacing coffee with tea, produced nutritional weakness, that coincided with the introduction of a new exhausting type of exercise not engaged in for four years.

My alcohol consumption had been minimal for months, & 'Tweedledum', who drinks all day every day, & who promotes the idea that his lifestyle is hipper than mine, has been attempting to socialize with me; this created an overconfidence which resulted in me basically drinking wine from the time I awoke to the time I went to bed for a couple of days. This wine-drinking, especially the wine-drinking done starting early in the day, was instrumental in creating a fatigued state in which all I was capable of (or felt inclined towards) was a simple level of cooking, sleeping, eating, and resting. Such a state might not be much of a problem at all for those who rarely physically exert themselves, but for me it was a problem.

I felt I could feel how it is difficult and energy-consuming for the body to attempt to digest alcohol before the body has completely woken up.

To me it felt as if: even if tea & coffee are nutritional equals, abruptly switching from coffee to tea at first results in fatigue, because the body has gotten used to coffee. If the body is not used to the amount of wine consumed, the consumption of the wine results in exhaustion. If the body is not used to a new type of exercise, the new type of exercise is exhausting, & the level of food intake that is current may become insufficient; the combination of lots of changes can produce fatigue to the point where athletic workouts are simply skipped.

Even when I am healthy enough to practice soccer energetically competently and productively for four hours, before the practice starts I feel as if my capability and energy is about a tenth of what it actually is. This combined with the feeling more fatigued than usual due to a bunch of nutritional & behavioral changes all at the same time, can result in me feeling too exhausted to do any sports.

My experience over the past week leads me to suspect that the past week involved an excess of self-restraint with regards to the use of the credit card. I feel as if all things considered, my situation one month from now would be better, if I had chosen the alternative that combined: not minimizing spending on food at a time when I was subjecting my body to stresses (windsprints) that it had not experienced for four years; running up a little credit card debt; saving a little money every day during the next month to pay back the small debt incurred.

Actions I've taken to beat back the feeling of fatigue etc (fatigue, stuffy nose, sore throat, onset of a cold) that reached it's peak at approx 7 AM 9/20: stopped drinking wine; drove to Whole Foods & bought Tangerine Juice, coffee, bread, distilled water; skipped soccer game of 9/20; consumed 'nutrients cocktail' at approx 12:10 AM 9/21; decided to minimize use of incense, decided to buy some citrus-type air-freshener spray to replace most of incense-use; decided to reduce effort level during soccer practice; decided to prioritize establishing a normal and regular circadian rhythm.

The nutrients cocktail combines carefully chosen types of: wheat germ oil, cod-liver oil, hemp oil, carrot juice, tangerine juice, nutritional yeast, vitamin pills, mineral pills.

Practiced New Ground Dribbling Drills Using Under-inflated Ball, as way of Preparing for the Indoor League Games

Today, after not practicing for 9 days (last practice was Friday September 16), I practiced from 6:24 AM to 10:18 AM (3.9 hours) at the Waltham YMCA. The drills all involved ground-dribbling, with the ball rolling on the ground. A Nike 'T90 Radiant' size 5 ball underinflated to only 2.5 psi was used for the drills.

The ball used during the League game of September 13 was a Nike 90 size 5 inflated to approx 2.5 psi.

I felt the need to put some time into polishing up my ground-dribbling game, in preparation for the upcoming league games. Ground-dribbling is part of the game of soccer. I feel fear re the possibility that I will be criticized and punished by not having the ball passed to me, or by not being allowed to play offense, if I attempt too much flashy air-dribbling too early in the league season.

The drills done today, when done with the ball on the ground, if repeated enough times could become a kind of windsprint-while-dribbling-the-ball thing (problem is that going round and round the square I get dizzy).

The drills done today, if done with the ball in the air instead of on the ground, will sharpen my ability to actually beat a defender by air-dribbling the ball past him.

The drills done today were designed for a player who is left-footed, namely myself; they emphasize left-footed skills; they reflect the fact that by nature, in reality, even when a player is almost completely ambidextrous, certain asymmetries exist.

Terminology used in the following drill descriptions: Linety (in) = 90 degree turn made by kicking ball with left foot inwards, to right; Linety (out) = 90 degree turn made by kicking ball with left foot outwards, to left; Rinety (in) = 90 degree turn made by kicking ball with right foot inwards, to left; Rinety (out) = 90 degree turn made by kicking ball with right foot outwards, to right; rick = ball kicked ahead with right foot; lick = ball kicked ahead with left foot; s- variant = (ball kicked straight ahead during rick & lick kicks); o-variant = ball kicked outwards during rick & lick kicks; i-variant = ball kicked inwards during rick & lick kicks; L = step taken with left-foot without ball being kicked; R = step taken with right-foot without ball being kicked; repeat = repeat at least once.

First drill I did, was a new drill I call 920-1, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-1 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), rick, lick rick; repeat. The s-variant, o-variant, & i-variant were all experimented with. I found that: using the outside of the foot for the rick lick rick kicks, worked best when implementing the s-variant; when implementing the o-variant, the ball is kicked outwards during the 'Linety' kicks; when implementing the i-variant, the ball is kicked inwards during the 'Linety' kicks.

Second drill I did, was a new drill I call 920-2, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 9-20-2 proceeds as follows: Linety (out), rick, lick rick; repeat. The s-variant, o-variant, & i-variant were all experimented with.

Third drill I did, was a new drill I call 920-3, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-3 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), R, Lick, R; repeat. The s-variant, o-variant, & i-variant were all experimented with. I found that: 920-3, produces control and speed superior to the control & speed characteristic of 920-1, & 920-2; both the outside of the foot & the inside of the foot work well for the s-variant.

Fourth, I did a new drill I call 920-4, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-4 proceeds as follows: Linety (out), R, Lick, R; repeat. The s-variant, o-variant, & i-variant were all experimented with. I found that: the o-variant produced a drill like the s-variant, but with the corner-turns occurring in a different place; using the outside of the foot is natural for the o & s variants; using the inside of the foot is natural for the i-variant.

Fifth, I did a new drill I call 926-4.11, which I invented during today's 9/26 practice, on the spur of the moment. 926-4.11 proceeds as follows: Linety (out), R lick R lick R; repeat.

Sixth, I did a new drill I call 926-4.12, which I invented during today's 9/26 practice, on the spur of the moment. 926-4.12 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), R lick R lick R; repeat.

Seventh, I did a new drill I call 920-5, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-5 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), RL, Rinety (out), LR, repeat.

Eigth, I did a new drill I call 920-6, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-6 proceeds as follows: Rinety (out), LR, Lick, RL, repeat. the ball is kicked slightly outwards during the 'Lick' kick. I noted that this drill: features good ball control & speed; develops skill well.

Ninth, I did a new drill I call 920-6.1, which is a variation of 920-6. 920-6.1 proceeds as follows: Rinety (out), LR, Lick, RL, repeat. the ball is kicked slightly inwards during the 'Lick' kick. I noted that: due to the slightly inwards nature of the 'Lick' kicks, the drill becomes a form of "Linety (in), RL, Rick, LR, repeat".

Tenth, I did a new drill I call 920-7, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-7 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), RLR, repeat. The ball is kicked slightly outwards during the 'Lick' kick. I noted that this drill: features good ball control & speed; develops skill well.

Eleventh, I did a new drill I call 920-8, which I invented on September 20, but did not put into practice until today. 920-8 proceeds as follows: Linety (in), RLR, Lick, RLR, repeat. The ball is kicked slightly outwards during the 'Lick' kick. With this drill, when the ball is kicked inwards during the 'Lick' kick, the turns are softer, producing a more circle-like pattern of movement. When the ball is kicked outwards during the 'Lick' kick, the turns are sharper.

Twelvth, I did a new drill I call 926-1, which I invented during the practice today Sept 26, almost on the spur of the moment. 926-1 involves: Approx every 13', two cones are placed side by side, about a foot distant from each other; this continues until three pairs of cones have been placed on the ground. I dribble at the first pair of cones, from a direction such that as I approach the pair of cones, one cone in the pair is to my left & the other cone in the pair is to my right; I dribble past the first pair of cones; then I do the same thing with the second pair of cones, & the third pair of cones. When dribbling by the cones, I use various moves I have developed after doing lots of heavy chess-type thinking re what the best moves would be.

During the 3.9 hours of practice today, I drank 28 oz of cool distilled water.

The only significant thing I've done since 9/21, the date of the previous entry, with regards to the cold/flu type symptoms I've been feeling: Evening of 9/23 I consumed another dose of the 'Nutrients Cocktail' described in the 9/21 entry.

Looking back on the past two weeks, I feel shocked and surprised at how many hours of practice I've missed due to the cold/flu type symptoms. I feel surprised at how fast time goes by when I feel sick. I did not exercise at all from Friday 9/16 to today Monday 9/26; from 9/16 to 9/26, there were 7 missed practice days, because on Sundays I do not exercise even when I am healthy.

Also From Wednesday 9/14 through Friday 9/16, I practiced for only 2.2 hours, whereas if healthy I would have practiced for about 11 hours.

Thus in total, from Wednesday 9/14 through Saturday 9/24, over the course of 11 days, I practiced for only 2.2 hours, whereas if healthy, I would have practiced for about 35 hours during those 11 days. I missed 33 hours of practice over the 11 days due to feeling sick--a huge loss, a giant step backwards.

The lesson I've learned from the sad experience: as soon as I begin to feel sick, I should consider what I've been doing that might have made me sick, and immediately cease and desist from any activity I suspect might have been a cause of beginning to feel sick. Continuing with an activity that has been a factor in bringing on sickness, simply exacerbates the sickness.

Oak Sq Y Soccer League: Played in Three 9-minute indoor five on five soccer half-games; Scored Tremendous hard accurate 30 yard goal on only shot-attempt of evening

EARPLUGS in both ears only. Woke up approx 3:00 AM, approx 16 hours before the warmupsw with the ball started at 7:20 PM, after having had approx 9 hours of sleep.

Had ' nutrients cocktail' @ approx 12:30 PM, approx 7 hours before start of practice. This 'nutrients cocktail' was like a small meal, and made me feel sleepy and lazy for approx 3 hours. Drank 18 oz of cool distilled water during the practice, which went on for 1.3 hours from 7:20 PM - 8:40 PM.

The ball that was used in the games, was a Puma 'IMS' size 5, which was inflated to only 4.5 psi. I measured the psi level using a gauge. By way of contrast, two weeks ago in the games at the Oak Square Y, the ball was softer, a different brand and model; I have been practicing the aerial moves with a ball that has always been inflated to 11.6 psi.

First, I started off spending about 45 minutes kicking the ball around with other players, and practicing a simple runs of about 20' distance, involving keeping the ball off the ground but close to the body and touching the ball every other step with the left-foot only (I'm left-footed). I noticed while doing the aerial left-footed runs, how much I was thrown off due to the fact that the ball I was practicing with, the Nike 90 Radiant inflated to only 2.5 psi, was much softer than the balls I have been practicing such drills with. It was softer due to my desire to develop the ability to perform the aerial runs while in the games during which balls that are soft at low psi levels are used.

My shots were not as hard during the warmup as they were two weeks ago. This I believe was due to the flu/cold that almost got me, and due to having missed so many practice hours. During the three 9 minute halves I played goalie always, because I still felt not fully recovered from the flu/cold type symptoms of the past few days.

The score over the course of the first two 9-minute halves was us (blue) 4, them (maroon) 3. Nobody kept track of the score during the third 9-minute segment.

The reasons they were able to score on me, while I was in the goal: I tried to use my feet instead of my hands on some good shots they made, because I do not have a strong identity as a goalie; there were too many situations featuring me alone trying to defend against an opponent with the ball who was less than 15 feet away from me; I don't have knee-pads or elbow- pads.

The highlight of the games today: I had the ball in my hands, about 6 feet in front of my goal, after they had shot the ball at me; I noticed that the opponent goalie, had wandered out about 15 feet in front of his goal ( the goals today were 6 feet high, and 8 feet wide); I quickly put the ball on the ground, kicked it with my left foot (only shot I took all evening), and scored. The shot travelled through the air for 30 yards before it sailed a foot under the crossbar of the opponent (6' high by 8' wide goal), the ball was horizontally-speaking in the middle of the goal when it crossed the goal-line; the ball swerved approx 3' from left (closer to my left hand as I face the opponent goal) to right during flight; the apex of the flight-path was approx 7', it was a line-drive shot; the ball hit the wall behind the opponent goal hard after going through the opponent goal; the ball went exactly where I aimed it to go; the goalie and the defenders had no chance.

The movement of the ball reminded me of the movement of the ball when a long time ago I was practicing shooting with the ball being in the air after an air-dribble when kicked; I felt as if the technique with which I shot the ball was influenced by the volley-shot practice I had done long ago; I was surprised at how shooting practice done long ago, seemed to have had the effect of producing a quality shot this evening.

My accurate hard 30-yard line-drive goal today was the longest goal I have ever seen in such soccer on the basketball court games. It reminded me of a catcher throwing out a runner trying to steal second base in baseball; the target I got the ball to was small (a six foot high eight foot wide goal), same way the target the catcher has to throw to in baseball when throwing out the guy trying to steal second, the second baseman, is a small target.

Practiced New Dribbling Drills Using Under-inflated Ball (same drills done 9/26), but with ball in the air instead of on the ground

Today, I practiced from 4:28 PM to 7:28 PM (3.0 hours) at the Waltham YMCA. The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. A Nike 'T90 Radiant' size 5 ball underinflated to only 4.5 psi was used for the drills.

The ball used during the Oak Sq Y game of September 27 yesterday was a Puma size 5 inflated to approx 4.5 psi.

First drills I did: 920-1,2 aerial. During 27 minutes, I succeeded in running the 920-1 pattern up to 11 touches on the ball, once; I succeeded in running the 920-2 pattern up to 11 touches, 3 times.

Next was: 920-3,4 aerial. During 28 minutes, I succeeded in running the 920-3 pattern with the ball kept off the ground, up to 7 touches on the ball, once, & up to 8 touches on the ball once; I succeeded in running the 920-4 pattern with the ball kept off the ground, up to 7 touches on the ball, once, & up to 8 touches on the ball twice.

Next was: 920-4.12 aerial. During 23 minutes, I succeeded in running the 920-4.12 pattern up to 8 touches on the ball, twice; up to 10 touches on the ball once; up to 11 touches on the ball once.

Next was: 920-4.11 aerial. During 24 minutes, I succeeded in running the 920-4.11 pattern up to 8 touches on the ball, once; up to 10 touches on the ball twice; up to 11 touches on the ball once; up to 14 touches on the ball once;.

Next was: 920-5 aerial. During 40 minutes, I succeeded in running the 920-5 pattern up to 4 touches on the ball, three times; up to 5 touches on the ball four times.

During the 3.0 hours of practice today, I drank 20 oz of cool distilled water.

During the practice, I felt surprised that my performance was not better than it was. The drills I was doing involved keeping the ball off the ground & close to the body while moving straight or making 90-degree turns, but they were not as difficult as the drills that I worked on and mastered earlier this summer. Possible suspects: I have not done aerial drills using an underinflated ball for years; I have not done aerial drills of any kind since 9/16.

On the up-side, I can feel confident that these drills done today will be quickly mastered, because during the summer I mastered drills more difficult than these. I put lots of time & mental energy into designing these drills, & I am confident that the mastery of these drills will allow me to successfully introduce aerial attacks into actual games featuring real live human defenders.

Practiced New '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using Jabulani Ball @ 11.6 PSI (same drills done 9/28), with ball kept in the air

Today, I practiced from 6:46 PM to 9:27 PM (2.7 hours including breaks) at the Waltham YMCA. The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The $40 Adidas Jabulani size 5 ball inflated to 11.6 psi was used for the drills. The drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns.

First drill I did: 920-1 aerial, skipping minimized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 10 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 10 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 98 . The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 98/30 = 3.3 . Cones were set up marking the first 5 touches of the run, the distance between cones was 2 paces (4.4'); the distance between touches was approx 2 paces. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 11 touches, 44' total distance covered.

Next was: 920-1 aerial, skipping maximized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 11 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 11 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 117. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 117/30 = 3.9. Cones were set up marking the first 5 touches of the run, the distance between cones was 3 paces (6.6'); the distance between touches was also approx 3 paces. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 14 touches, 86' total distance covered.

During the segment described in the above paragraph, I attempted to recapture the skipping style of old (about 4 years ago), that was such a success, but I could not put the needed backspin on the ball. I estimate this was due to: shoelaces used to run straight down the middle of the foot on the shoes I used when I was competent with the old style, but now the shoelaces run down the outside of the foot; the Jabulani ball in use today features less panels & less of a ridge between panels compared to the ball in use when the old style was mastered; the Jabulani ball used today is smoother compared to the ball that was in use when the old style was mastered; the shoelaces and smooth-ball effect together make it difficult to pout backspin on the ball.

By 802 PM the PSI in the Jabulani ball had fallen to 11.4 PSI; prior to the practice, at 606 PM, the ball had been inflated to 11.6 PSI. Thus the ball was losing PSI at the rate of 0.1 PSI/58 minutes. I inflated the ball back up to 11.6 PSI. The $40 Jabulani ball has become old & loses pressure much more quickly now than it used to.

Next was: 920-2 aerial, skipping=laissez faire. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-2 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 8 touches on the ball, 16 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 16 runs that were successful for up to at least 8 touches on the ball was 163. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 163/30 = 5.4. Cones were set up marking the first 5 touches of the run, the distance between cones was 2 paces (4.4'); the distance between touches was approx 2 paces. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 16 touches, 66' total distance covered. During this segment, I noted that following the cone-layout closely, could produce different results compared to not closely following the cone-layout while executing the air-dribble pattern.

Next was: 920-3 aerial, skipping=laissez faire, cones followed loosely. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-3 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 7 touches on the ball, 13 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 13 runs that were successful for up to at least 7 touches on the ball was 109. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 109/30 = 3.6.

Practiced New '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using Nike 'T90 Radiant' size 5 ball underinflated to only 4.5 psi with ball kept in the air

Today, I practiced from 4:48 PM to 9:53 PM (4.1 hours including breaks) at the Oak Sq YMCA. The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The Nike 'T90 Radiant' ball inflated to 4.5 psi was used for the drills (balls used during games at the Y are usually underinflated to around 4.5 PSI). The drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns.

Immediately before the practice started, I ate: a slice of cheese pizza, & a chili/cheese hot-dog, & drank 12 oz iced coffee with sugar. Before I became sick with the cold/flu for a couple of weeks earlier this month I was regularly able to do four hours of practice with just a coffee prior to the practice, but I find that now such is not usually the case.

First drill I did: 920-1 aerial, skipping minimized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 11 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 11 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 121 . The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 121/30 = 4.0 . Cones were set up marking the four corners of the square-like run-pattern, the distance between cones marked off a distance of 6 paces (13') between corners. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 15 touches, 46' total distance covered.

Next was: 920-1 aerial, skipping maximized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 13 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 13 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 130. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 130/30 = 4.3. Cones were set up marking the four corners of the square-like run-pattern, the distance between cones marked off a distance of 8 paces (18') between corners. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 15 touches, 53' total distance covered.

During the segment described in the above paragraph, the Oak Square Y felt hot and humid, tiring. In the past it has been as hot & humid, but not as tiring. Yet it is cool outside. What's with their ventilation system?

Next, for 38 minutes, while running in a straight line approx 30' in length, & touching the ball on every pace, I again attempted to recapture the skipping backspinning touch on every pace, ball kept ankle-high style of old (about 4 years ago), that had been such a success. I achieved some success in putting backspin on the ball on every touch, but, I was not able to put as much backspin on the ball as I previously was able to when I did the class backspin/skip, and the altitude of the ball was higher than it was with the classic backspin-skip of old.

Next was: 920-2 aerial, skipping=minimized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-2 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 8 touches on the ball, 18 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 18 runs that were successful for up to at least 8 touches on the ball was 194. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 194/30 = 6.5. Cones were set up marking the four corners of the square-like run-pattern, the distance between cones marked off a distance of 6 paces (13') between corners. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 14 touches, 43' total distance covered.

Next was: 920-3 aerial, skipping maximized or minimized=[unrecorded], cones followed how closely =[unrecorded]. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-3 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 7 touches on the ball, 11 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 11 runs that were successful for up to at least 7 touches on the ball was 90. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 90/30 = 3.0. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 9 touches, 40' total distance covered`.

Next was: 920-4 aerial, skipping maximized or minimized=[unrecorded], cones followed how closely =[unrecorded]. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-4 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 7 touches on the ball, 16 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 16 runs that were successful for up to at least 7 touches on the ball was 136. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 136/30 = 4.5.

During the last segment, a bespectacled E. Asian man who was playing ping-pong a few feet away from me, said, 'he's good'. I knew he was talking about me, but I did not actually feel like I was doing so good.

Practiced New '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using Using Jabulani Ball @ 11.6 PSI, with ball kept in the air

Today, I practiced from 4:55 PM to 7:56 PM (3.0 hours including breaks) at the Waltham YMCA. The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The $40 Adidas Jabulani size 5 ball inflated to 11.6 psi was used for the drills. The drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns.

Immediately before the practice started, I ate: 'California Plus' Sushi Rolls, olive-bar salad, coffee cream sugar (organic), Danish pastries from Hannaford.

First drill I did: 920-1 aerial, skipping = laissez faire, small skips. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 19 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 19 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 220 . The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 220/30 = 7.3 . Cones were set up marking the four corners of the square-like run-pattern, the distance between cones marked off a distance of 6 paces (13') between corners. Generally the path of the runs corresponded to the perimeter of the square marked off by the cones. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 17 touches, 53' total distance covered.

Next was: 920-1 aerial, skipping maximized. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-1 aerial pattern correctly during at least 8 touches on the ball, 21 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 21 runs that were successful during at least 8 touches on the ball was 238. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 238/30 = 7.9. Cones were set up marking the four corners of the square-like run-pattern, the distance between cones marked off a distance of 8 paces (18') between corners. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 16 touches, 66' total distance covered.

Next, for 19 minutes, while running in a straight line approx 30' in length, & touching the ball on every pace, I yet again attempted to recapture the skipping-backspinning touch-on-every-pace, ball kept ankle-high style of old (of about 4 years ago), that had been such a success. This time I used my old beat-up Puma indoor soccer shoes that feature the shoelaces going straight down the middle of the foot. This time combining the Puma shoes with the Jabulani inflated to 11.6 PSI, I was more successful than I've been with such attempts in recent days. I noted that keepint the tow down, moving the foot fast, seemed to produce the backspinning, low line drive ball movement.

Next was: 920-3 aerial, skipping =laissez faire. During 30 minutes, I achieved runs featuring me running the 920-3 aerial pattern correctly for up to at least 7 touches on the ball, 21 times. The total number of touches on the ball during the 21 runs that were successful for up to at least 7 touches on the ball was 185. The number of such successful touches on the ball per minute, was 185/30 = 6.2. The longest successful run was correctly on pattern for 11 touches, 44' total distance covered`.

Comparing today with day before yesterday (same drills were done with same ball at same PSI day before yesterday): the scores were up today by 89%. At a rate of progress of 89% every two days, I will have mastered the drills done today just three days from now (assuming mastery means that once a minute, I achieve a 16-touch success on the 920-1 skips-minimized & skips-maximized patterns).

After the practice the Italian-American Y-staffer named Vinnie, told me I looked happy. But I did not feel happy.

Practiced New '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using Using Nike T90 @ 4.5 PSI, with ball kept in the air

Today, I practiced from 11:53 AM to 5:44 PM (5.9 hours including breaks) at the Oak Square YMCA. Much of the time was spent in breaks or interruptions. The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The Nike T90 Radiant inflated to 4.5 PSI was used for the drills. The drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns.

About an hour befor the practice started, I finished a coffee made with organic tobacco mixed with the ground coffee. After the first practice segment I took a break to buy gatorade and eat a slice of pizza, because I had forgotten the bottles filled with water at home.

During the practice I drank approx 8 oz of water from the water fountain and 56 oz Gatorade.

The scores for all of the 920 & 926 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 & 926 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.

Dropbox is a fabulous web service, it's free version is tremendous. It serves as a backup for files as well as a server for public display of pages. Dropbox makes it easy to quickly upload files & even folders filled with files; Dropbox makes it easy to alter on-server versions of files. Dropbox does not put ads on the pages displayed by the server. Competitor type web-services might have to think hard & fast to avoid being crushed by Dropbox. Dropbox was invented by an MIT grad.

Played in Semi-Official Soccer Games at Oak Sq Y; Practiced New '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using Using Jabulani NFHS @ 11.6 PSI, with ball kept in the air

What happened Tuesday:

Tuesday from 630-730 PM I played in a few games at the Oak Square YMCA. I warmed up by doing the 920-2 ground version, then kicking the ball around with some of the players. There were three teams of five players each playing five minute games. The winner of the game stayed to play the next game. If the game was tied, the team that had been on court for the least amount of time stayed on court.

One of the teams was captained by a short thin brown Islamic guy wearing a fancy soccer uniform featuring white shirt & white shorts; for now I name this team 'Karachi Kats'. A second team was captained by a short thin brown Islamic guy wearing a blue t-shirt that had in white, the word "Brazil' emblazoned on it; for now I name this team, 'Lahore Lads'. The third team had no captain, it was composed of myself, a light-brown Venezuelan, a white Spaniard, a white Brazilian, a black Brazilian, & myself; for now I name this team 'New World Colonials'.

The matches started off with the Kats playing the Lads. One of them won. Then the Colonials & myself came on & beat the Kats, beat the Lads, & then, becoming tired, lost their third game. The first game the Colonials & myself played, we won with me in goal. The second game, we won with me on defense.

The third game, we the Colonials lost with me on defense; during this third game, for the first time this season, the opposing team scored a goal, while I was playing defense (not goalie). The goal however was not my fault; defense is a team affair not the responsibility of one man. My team was offensively skilled, but defense-wise, my teammates were not remarkable or enthusiastic.

During the third game, which was against the Kats, the Kats captain had the ball; when he saw me looking at him, he circled around so as to place his body between me and the ball; I charged him, lunged at the ball he was trying to shield with his body, missed the ball, unintentionally knocked him down as my legs met his, & was called for a foul.

The third game the Colonials & myself played in against the Kats, I felt hot, winded, & sweaty. During this game I cleared the ball away a few times, & made some saves when I played some goalie towards the end of the game. The Kats scored once while I was in goal.

The Colonials came on for a fourth game, with me on defense, which we won. The fifth game, the Colonials lost with me as the Colonials goalie.

So in total, the Colonials won three and lost two on Tuesday. The pattern was that the Colonials would lose only when they had been on the court for one or two games whereas the opposing team had been resting.

When I say, I was defense or goalie during a game, I mean, that I started the game in the given position and played most of the game in the given position. Sometimes the Black Brazilian or the Venezuelan would retreat from playing defense or offense into the goal to take a rest.

The players on my team were fair-minded, in that nobody was forced to spend most of the game playing goalie more than one out of every three games. However there was the usual problem of too many players assuming that they should always be playing offense.

During the games, on defense I cleared the ball away a few times, intercepted some passes & shots; as goalie I made some saves. I did not get as tired as I had gotten the previous games (9/13, 9/27). Compared to 9/13 & 9/27: I felt more confident that I was properly positioning myself on the court; I felt more confident that I was properly fulfilling my duties with regards to reading the movements of the offense I was defending against & responding to such movements with movements of my own. I felt myself regaining the competence with regards to positioning of myself on the court or field, that I previously had possessed when played soccer during high school and college.

What happened Wednesday:

Wednesday, I practiced from 12:23 PM to 3:27 PM at the Oak Square Y; & then, from 5:32 PM to 6:42 PM at the Waltham Y (total 4.2 hours including breaks) . The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The Jabulani NFHS inflated to 11.6 PSI was used for the drills. The Jabulani was losing PSI at the rate of 1.0 per half hour by the end of the day; the Jabulani NFHS will not be used from now on.

The drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; on 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns.

The highlight of the day perhaps occurred about twelve minutes into the second segment, which started at 1:12 PM, and involved 920-1 done with emphasis on skips between touches. At this point I executed a run that went on for 24 touches, with the perimeter of the 18' per-side square created by the cones closely adhered to; this run went on for a distance of about 101 FEET, with me touching the ball with alternating left & right feet on every pace, the ball kept off the ground & close to the body the entire time, a high speed maintained, a 90 degree turn every fourth step.

Some of the drills done today were new. Drill 105-1 involves: five cones laid out in a row, 4.4 feet or more from each other; me running so as to touch the ball on every pace, for a total of five touches; the fifth touch being the last touch on the ball.

Another new drill introduced today was 920-2, with skips between touches emphasized & 4.4 feet covered between touches on the ball (the 920-1, & 920-2, have involved when skipping is not emphasized, 3.3 feet between touches on the ball).

About an hour befor the practice started, I finished a coffee made with organic tobacco mixed with the ground coffee. During the practice (including Oak Sq & Waltham Y segments) I drank 52 oz of cold to cool distilled water.

The scores for all of the 920, 926, & 105 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 926 & 105 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.

Practiced '920' & '10/5' Series Dribbling Drills Using Using Nike T90 Radiant ball @ 4.5 PSI, with ball kept in the air

Today, I practiced from 4:42 PM to 9:22 PM at the Oak Square Y (4.7 hours including breaks) . The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The Nike T90 inflated to 4.5 PSI was used for the drills.

The 920 Series drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; on 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns. A new variant of the 920-2 drill pattern, & the 105 Series drills done today are described in the previous 10/5 entry this log. entry.

The first segment, from 444 PM - 522 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. During this segment, I could feel clumsiness produced by the soft low PSI ball. The blasting rap music on the gym loudspeaker, was somewhat disconcerting.

After the first segment, I wrote out a note to the Oak Sq Y on one of their input forms, and put it into the wooden box made to receive such notes. Text of the note: "RE Tues 6 PM Soccer: many players play offense only & never play defense. As a result, some of us never get to play offense, which impairs our development of offensive skills."

Afterthought: the lime-light-hogging glory-hogs who never play defense, seem to think that a slick soccer uniform combined with a certain sprightliness, gives them the right to play offense all the time. Methinks by way of contrast that there have been 'lazy' star offensive players who have been inferior in terms of physical endurance. The glory-hogs, fail to realize that they would not be able to enjoy their offensive heroics if there was nobody around to play defense against them. Though such is the case, they still refuse to play defense.

At this point, practice was interrupted because of a kid-group invasion of open gym. The invasion was supposed to end at 6 PM, but did not. I was thinking to myself, "typical chaos".

The second segment, from 611 PM - 642 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 10 paces from each other; I tried to emphasize skipping during the runs. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. During this segment, I could feel how ball softness impaired my performance. I could feel how the softness of the ball felt strange compared to yesterday when the ball was hard. I noted that these drills require alot more energy when the ball is soft.

The highlight of the day was during this second segment: a run featuring myself travelling 84' with the ball off the ground but under control the entire time, with me touching the ball on every pace with alternating left & right feet, and making a 90 degree turn every 4th touch on the ball.

In the middle of the second segment, John, the black guy with the mustache who works behind the desk, came into the gym to operate the control that raises the curtain that divides the gym in half up to the ceiling. He was looking in my direction while he did this. I did'nt want to mess up in front of him. While he was there, I succeeded in executing three very good runs in a row, all on pattern with ball controlled and off ground for about 15 touches (15 touches would be 62' travelled), while he was there. Then he went back to his post at the desk.

After the second segment, the basketball league took over the court for the rest of the evening; and according to the schedule the exercise studio would not be open for use until 7:30 PM. I got really hungry and bought a cheeseburger and a pizza slice at a local restaurant.

From 809 PM to 839 PM, in the exercise room, I did a segment of 105-1, with the five cones marking the five touches on the ball, in a straight line, 4.4' from each other. I succeeded in running the straight line for 5 touches 15 times during the 30 minutes. The runs ranged in length from 18' to 26'; the speed generally was a couple of shades less than the fastest humanly possible. All the runs were a shade slower than they were yesterday when I did the 105-1 (yesterday they were about as fast as a human can do them). Also there was much more backspin on the ball today compared to yesterday.

From 846 PM to 916 PM, in the air-conditioned exercise studio room with the mirrors, I did a segment of 105-1 aerial, with the five cones marking the five touches on the ball, in a straight line, 6.6' from each other. I succeeded in running the straight line for 5 touches 15 times during the 26 minutes (I was interrupted for 4 minutes by the Latin-looking lady mopping the floor). The runs ranged in length from 26' to 29'; the speed generally was a shade less than the fastest humanly possible. There was much more backspin on the ball today compared to yesterday.

The fifth segment, from 922 PM - 952 PM, I did the 920-2 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted during the runs. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. I emphasized speed the entire time, which decreased the overall score, but which I feel is necessary in order to accelerate improvement (the improvement rate for the 920-2 has been low).

At first I did not realize that the probable cause for the improvement rate in the 920-2 having been lower than the improvement rate for the 920-1, is that I got in the habit of doing two half-hour 920-1 segments per day, and doing only one half-hour 920-2 segment per day. My habit was to do one 920-1 segment with about 4.4 feet travelled between touches on the ball, and one 920-1 segment with about 6.6 feet travelled between touches on the ball. Having failed to realize the probable cause of the slow improvement doing the 920-2, I concluded that the 920-2 needs to be rescued by way of doing 920-2 segments that emphasize speed, and 920-2 segments that emphasize length of strides, distance between touches on the ball.

About an hour befor the practice started, I finished a coffee made with organic tobacco mixed with ground coffee, drank a little 'mango lassi' yogurt drink, and ate a piece of whole grain multigrain bread with almond butter (like peanut butter) & rasberry jam on it. During the practice (including Oak Sq & Waltham Y segments) I drank 42 oz of cold to cool distilled water during the 4.7 hour practice.

The scores for all of the 920, 926, & 105 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 926 & 105 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.

Practiced '920' & '10/5' Series Dribbling Drills Using New Nike T90 Catalyst ball @ 11.6 PSI for first time; with ball kept in the air always

Today, I practiced from 3:40 PM to 9:32 PM at the Oak Square Y (5.9 hours including breaks) . The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The new Nike T90 Catalyst ball was used for the first time; it was inflated to 11.6 PSI; it was used for all the drills done today.

The 920 Series drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; on 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns. A new variant of the 920-2 drill pattern, & the 105 Series drills done today are described in the previous 10/5 entry this log. entry.

The first segment, from 344 PM (estimated start time) - 4 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. On the very first attempt of the day, which was also the first contact my feet had ever had with the new beautiful, shiny, orange & white Nike T90 Catalyst ball, I had a huge success: a 24-touch run, ball kept off the ground but close to the body the entire time, course pattern closely followed. I estimate the length of this run was 76'. I got so excited by the run, that I failed to write down in the notebook, the start time of the segment.

The second segment, from 441 PM - 515 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 10 paces from each other; during this segment, I tried to emphasize skipping during the runs. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs.

Same as yesterday, one of the highlights of the day was during this second segment: a run featuring myself travelling 123 FEET with the ball off the ground but under control the entire time, with me touching the ball on every pace with alternating left & right feet, and making a 90 degree turn every 4th touch on the ball.

At this point, as I was sitting in a chair at a desk working on notes, I moved my gym bag from my left to my right side. A 32 oz bottle of blue gatorade in the bag had the cap of the bottle screwed on, but the liquid spilled out anyway (an annoying fact of life, is that if caps of bottles are screwed on but not screwed on quite right, even if they are screwed on tight, they leak). The gatorade spilled into the gym bag. I had to spend around a half an hour, just making trips to the men's room to get paper towels, emptying the bag, drying the bag, dealing with the wet shirt & sock (which will now probably be permanently stained blue), throwing out the paper towels, etc.

The third segment, from 624 PM - 705 PM, I did the 920-2 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; during this segment, I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted to. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. I achieved a high score: 27/357/40-10=30 (which means, there were 27 successful runs of at least 8 touches on the ball; the total number of touches on the ball during these 27 runs was 357; the amount of time used to run up these stats was 30 minutes not counting 10 minutes of breaks and interruptions.

During the third segment, two basketballers, a white teenage male & a white young adult male politely requested that I go to the other side of the gym. I argued a little with them and told them I'd like to give them the right of way but stay on their side of the gym; they agreed. I started the segment, then stopped when their basketball started. I decided to go to the other side where the ping pong games were being played to finish the segment, because their basketball was running into the corner of the gym I was in more than such basketball usually does.

During the third segment I finally pulled out of the stagnation I hade been experiencing with regards to improvement in terms of the score doing the 920-2 pattern. My estimate re the cause of this recovery: I had been doing only one 30 minute segment of 920-2 per day; I noted the lack of improvement; on 10/5, for the first time I did two segments of 920-2; on 10/5 for the first time, one segment emphasized speed, and, for the first time, one segment emphasized length between touches on the ball; on 10/6 the segment of 920-2 that was done emphasized speed.

Thus, simply by for two 30-minute segments changing from trying to run up a big score, meaning lots of runs of over 8 touches on the ball with these runs featuring lots of touches, to emphasizing speed; and, adding one 30-minute segment emphasizing long distances between touches on the ball, I was able to so to speak pull out of the tailspin I was in in terms of improvement in the score for 920-2.

The scores for 920-2 with ball PSI at 11.6 have been:9/29, 5.4; 10/5, 5.1; 10/7, 11.9. Thus changing two 30-minute segments to speed-emphasis and adding a segment emphasizing long distances between touches on the ball, was apparently enough to replace stagnation with an improvement rate of 133% every two days.

The fourth segment, from 736 PM - 807 PM, I did the 920-3 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; during this segment, I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted to. The perimeter was generally not closely followed during the runs.

I felt disappointed by the 4th segment for several reasons: although the cones laid out a path which was like a square 13' long on each side, many of the runs followed a pattern which was like a square 9' long on each side; the overall score was only 2% higher compared to the last time 920-3 was done with the ball at 11.6 PSI on October 1 at the Waltham Y; the distance between touches on the ball, was often just 4.4' or less.

These disappointing results were not what I had been expecting from the 920-3 pattern, which involves the ball touched on every other pace with the left foot only, & a 90 degree inwards turn on every other touch on the ball. What I had been expecting and hoping to achieve: 6.6' between touches on the ball, much better speed than what had been achieved.

My conclusion re why the distances between touches & the speed had been disappointing: I had become focused on achieving a high score; this focus had produced a conservative approach featuring short distances between touches on the ball; I had become used to touching the ball on every pace, which had resulted in inappropriately short distances between touches when touching the ball on every other pace.

The fifth segment, from 821 PM - 851 PM, I did the 920-4 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; during this segment, I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted to. The perimeter was generally not closely followed during the runs.

I felt disappointed by the 5th segment for the same reasons I had felt disappointed by the performance doing the 920-3 drill during the 4th segment. The 920-4 is the same as the 920-3 except that with the 920-4, the 90 degree turns on every other touch are outwards turns not inwards turns.

The sixth & last segment, from 858 PM - 932 PM, I did the 920-3 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; during this segment, I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted to. The perimeter was closely followed during the runs.

During the 6th segment, I refused to award a run any points, unless the run closely followed the perimeter of the 13' per side square laid out by the cones. After about 10 minutes of nothing but failure, finally I began achieving runs of at least 7 touches, that followed the perimeter of the square, and were not so-to-speak, dwarf runs.

The runs during the 6th segment doing the 920-3 pattern, were much better looking, than has historically been the case for the 920-3 pattern; they were much faster, the distance between touches was much longer, the runs were more graceful, smoother. I felt like a caged bird that has been set free; I felt as if I'd discovered the elixir of eternal youth; I felt carried back in time to the long fast runs featuring touches on the ball every three paces that I used to do, that used to impress so many people.

The simple change that produced the improvement during the 6th segment: not giving any points to dwarf runs, that followed a course that was like a square 9' on each side, & only awarding points to runs that followed the course laid out by the cones, a square of 13' on each side.

About an hour befor the practice started, I had a coffee; then when I got to Oak Square I had a slice of pizza & bought some gatorade. During the practice (including Oak Sq & Waltham Y segments) I drank 56 oz of Gatorade, & 16 oz of water, total 72 oz of liquids consumed during the 5.9 hour practice.

The scores for all of the 920, 926, & 105 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 926 & 105 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.

Practiced '920' & '10/5' Series Dribbling Drills Using Nike T90 Radiant Inflated to 4.5 PSI; ball kept in the air always

Today, I practiced from 5:09 PM to 7:52 PM at the Oak Square Y (2.7 hours including breaks) . The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The Nike T90 Radiant ball was used; it was inflated to 4.5 PSI; it was used for all the drills done today.

The 920 Series drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; on 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns. A new variant of the 920-2 drill pattern, & the 105 Series drills done today are described in the previous 10/5 entry this log. entry.

Every drill done today involved: the ball kicked on every other step, with the left foot only; alternation between kicking the ball straight ahead and kicking the ball so as to produce a turn of 90 degrees.

I decided to emphasize length or speed during the segments because I have learned from experience that such segments result in an acceleration of the rate of improvement.

Before the practice started, I was thinking, a diversity of drills is good because: doing a drill that develops one skill can improve performance on another drill that practices another skill-- yet, we do not know exactly which drills have a positive effect on what other drill.

During the first segment I left my attitude 'undefined'; during the last three segments I tried to enjoy myself. I was thinking, even if the rate of progress is a little less when I implement the enjoy-the-practice attitude, it could still be the case that it is just not worth it to be gloomy during practices.

During the practice I was thinking, there is a certain logic to the following principles: those who are competent masters doing this drill, will be able to execute the runs at a high speed; therefore, developing the ability to do the drill at a high speed will turn me into a competent master; those who are competent masters doing this drill, will be able to execute the runs with long distances between touches on the ball; therefore, developing the ability to do the drill with long touches on the ball, will turn me into a competent master.

At the same time that the thought described in the above paragraph came into my mind, a clever original new insight came into my mind re government, ethics, & religion. But I could not remember both thoughts, the only thought I later remembered was the one re sports, & I forgot the clever insight re government politics & religion.

During the practice I was thinking, the style used by a newbie in attempts to run up a good score (slow speed, short distances between touches), may not be a good style, if the scoring criteria are not correct.

After the practice I felt proud of some of the runs done during each segment. The better runs: followed the perimeter of the square closely; were fast; featured distances of 7' between touches; continued around the perimeter until the ball had been touched at least 8 times (ball touched 8 times is one lap around the perimeter, a 360 degree turn); covered a distance of at least 53' from start to finish (finish here defined as point at which control of ball was lost or ball hit ground).

The first segment, from 505 PM, to 538 PM, I did the 920-4 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. I refused to award a run any points, unless the run closely followed the perimeter of the 13' per side square laid out by the cones.

The second segment, from 550 PM, to 622 PM, I did the 920-3 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. I refused to award a run any points, unless the run closely followed the perimeter of the 13' per side square laid out by the cones.

The third segment, from 641 PM, to 716 PM, I did the 920-4 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. During this segment, on every attempt, I tried to run the circuit as fast as possible.

The fourth segment, from 719 PM, to 752 PM, I did the 920-3 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 8 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. During this segment, on every attempt, I tried to run the circuit as fast as possible.

About an hour befor the practice started, I had a coffee; During the practice (including Oak Sq & Waltham Y segments) I drank 36 oz of cold distilled water during the 2.7 hour practice.

The scores for all of the 920, 926, & 105 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 926 & 105 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.

Practiced '920' Series Dribbling Drills Using New Nike T90 Catalyst ball @ 11.6 PSI for first time; with ball kept in the air always

All of the scoring done for the 920, 926, & 105 Series Drills has followed, and continues to follow, these rules: No warmup with or without ball before start of first scored segment; no warmup with or without ball in between segments; no time subtracted from the time total for a segment, due to statistical scoring; time subtracted from the time total for verbal notes taken; no time subtracted from time total for segment for drinking water; time subtracted from time total for segment for tying shoes, going to bathroom, interruptions caused by other persons.

Today, I practiced from 442 PM to 648 PM at the Waltham Y (2.1 hours including breaks) . The drills all involved air-dribbling, with the ball kept in the air but close to the body while I ran around. The new Nike T90 Catalyst ball was used; it was inflated to 11.6 PSI.

The 920 Series drills done today are described in the 9/26 entry this page; on 9/26 these drills were done conventionally with the ball dribbled on the ground; but today the ball was kept off the ground & close to the body while I adhered to the prescribed ballwork & footwork patterns. A new variant of the 920-2 drill pattern, & the 105 Series drills done today are described in the previous 10/5 entry this log. entry.

The first segment, from 442 PM (estimated start time) - 518 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, 10 paces from each other ; I emhasized skipping during the runs; average distance between touches on ball was approx 4.4' (such constitutes emphasis on LENGTH for this particular drill). The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. The total score was down somewhat compared to previous, but eight minutes into the segment @ 450 PM my time (434:30 EST, my watch is 5.5 minutes fast) there was a run of 28 touches, that completed the perimeter of square circuit almost twice; this run went on for 119 feet, with: ball kept off ground but close to body entire time, ball touched on every pace with alternating left & right feet; ball kicked inwards at 90 degree angle with left foot on every 5th touch; speed at slow jog speed, faster than walking speed.

Suspects re relatively low total score during first segment: woke up at 2 PM less than three hours before practice started; today was just the second practice ever using the new Catalyst ball; for the first time, the first segment done involved 920-1 with emphasis on length; for the first time in a long time yesterday the 920-1 drill was not done.

The second segment, from 532 PM (estimated start time) - 607 PM, I did the 920-1 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, again 10 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted; average distance between touches on ball was approx 4.4'; my two goals during this segment were: Speed, & a high score. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. Some of the runs were very respectable runs: tight adherence to perimeter-of-square course; speed faster than a slow jog, speed not slow compared to how fast people would run the course that was followed (90 degree turn every on every fifth step taken).

The third segment, from 618 PM (estimated start time) - 648 PM, I did the 920-2 pattern, with the four cones marking out the perimeter of the square to be followed while air-dribbling the ball, again 10 paces from each other; I allowed myself to skip as much as I wanted; average distance between touches on ball was approx 4.4'; my two goals during this segment were: Speed, & a high score. The perimeter was generally closely followed during the runs. The longest run this segment went on for 79 feet, with ball off ground but close to body & every fifth touch on the ball involving an outwards 90 degree turn with the left foot. Several of these runs were very respectable in that they combined: distance of more than 48 feet to 79 feet; speed faster than a slow jog; ball touched on every step with alternating left & right feet; ball kept off ground but close to body entire time; 90 degree turn outwards with left foot used on every fifth touch on the ball.

I did not feel comfortably hydrated until 640 PM, 2 hours after I started drinking cold distilled water at 442 PM, & after drinking 34 oz cold distilled water (0.3 oz/minute).

The great 79' run, and some other good runs, occurred in front of about ten volleyballers who were setting up the net for the coming volleyball game. All of them acted as if nothing happened. Except one of them, a gray haired clean shaven white adult male, who was about 20 yards away from me, while looking at me, said in a loud voice, 'everything about him is classy' (I estimate he was talking about me).

After the practice I was looking at the 'classy' shiny new cars parked in the parking lot, & I was thinking: 'it's a disorder if I cannot easily afford to own a classy car like one of these classy cars parked in the parking lot'.

About an hour befor the practice started, I had coffee with half n half & Coconut Palm Sugar; During the 2.1 hour practice I drank 34 oz of cold distilled water.

The scores for all of the 920, 926, & 105 Series drills done since 9/26, including those done today, can be found at the 920 926 & 105 Series Drills Scores Summary Table, on the 'Dropbox' server.