All right ladies and gentlemen, it has been a 2 weeks since my last article, and here I come back with a brand new one about my football experience! But hopefully, I'll also get to how did I deal with leaving all my "Czech" life behind, with feelings of homesickness etc. First of all, I gotta say, that signing up for football was one of the best things I could've done. So if you're a Ballard Bombers football member, thank you. I couldn't have even imagined of how awesome you guys will be, so thank you so much for all the good times we had, it helped me so much, especially soon after I arrived. When I came to watch the very first practice, I was really uncertain if I will even make any friends at all, I was thinking of how long will it take for me to fit in and become a part of the team. So yeah, I was pretty nervous. And the way how these guys behaved to me, how they started to talk to me right away, it just felt unbelievable to me. At the beginning, I was required to have a few practices without pads. I'm not gonna lie, it really felt weird to put on a helmet and pads for the first time. Right now, I'm kinda sad that I didn't come here earlier, so I could start training sooner and be completely ready for games as soon as season starts. Our first Varsity game was at city called Boone, and no, I was not playing. I was not even suiting up, I just wore a jersey and jeans. And I gotta say, at the beginning of the game, I was not really impressed. Well, I can honestly say that it changed drastically over the time of the game. When we went to the overtime with Boone, I suddenly understood why everyone make football such a big deal. After watching that game, I started to comprehend what each roles are about. And after few practices, I can honestly say that I fell for football. I gradually started to play at the JV games and even made my appearance at the Varsity games. Yes, Friday nights are really something special. Even in the morning, even at the school on Friday you can feel the atmosphere of the game day. It is kinda hard to describe the moments before the games in locker room, I guess you'd have to experience it yourself to actually get the idea. From the Monday JV games, over Wednesday guys nights and pre game practices, to Friday nights that were both painful and amazing, football was certainly the biggest and most amazing experience during my exchange. But it's not only about the sport and the hard work itself. I fell for football mostly because of the people in football team. I can say that it's probably hard to understand for people from Czech Republic, but the relationships between the guys are so awesome and friendly, it just felt unreal to me at first. Whole team eating dinner together basically 3 times a week? As I said before, I couldn't have hoped for a better group of guys (even though they can be a bunch of d***s sometimes :D). Statistics-wise, we were the 3rd team in the history of Ballard High School to make it through first round of play-offs, so I can honestly say that it has been one hell of the season. It was an honor guys, thank you very much.

Now, my sister recently asked me of how did I deal with all the pressure of leaving everything behind. Well, I think I just described one of the huge factors of my acclimatization here. One thing that also helped was that as soon as I left Czech Republic my mind instantly switched to "it's on you now" mode, so I kinda enjoy the "feeling of adventure" now. This journey here was certainly the most important step and thing in my life so far. No doubts about it, I can see how my mindset is changing overtime, as I experience new things here (and the religion is a huge factor here for me too, yeah, I'm surprised too). It is true that I still think about my previous life, and that I've been homesick (like 2 days so far, thankfully), but all the new lovely people, experiences and the entire new world around you will surely prevail over the feelings of homesickness. So if that hadn't been clear from my articles so far, if you're thinking of going to different country, alone, for a long period of time, JUST DO IT. Oh, and one more information, I recently decided to extend my exchange here, so I am staying whole school year instead of just one semester, yaaay!
See you next week!


Damy a panove, vazeni a mili, bratri a sestry je mym potesenim vas po delsi dobe privitat u jednoho z mych clanku. V dnesnim se doctete o tom jake jsem mel zkusenosti s americkym fotbalem a snad se take dostanu k tomu jak jsem se tu vyrovnaval se vsim tim natlakem a styskanim si po domove. 
Taaakze, jako prvni reknu, ze zapsat se na fotbal byla ta nejlepsi vec jakou jsem mohl udelat. Jsem neskutecne vdecny vsem klukum z tymu, diky nim to tu pro me je pohadka. 
Ani ve snu jsem si nemohl predstavit jak moc uzasne si budu fotbal uzivat, kolik zazitku si ze sezony odnesu, kolik zkusenosti mi fotbal da a hlavne jak moc mi tenhle kolektiv pomuze vyrovnavat se se vsim hned potom co jsem priletel. Kdyz jsem poprve vyrazil na trenink, poprve kluky videl, nebyl jsem si ani trochu jisty ze si najdu vubec nejake kamarady, premyslel jsem jak dlouho mi bude trvat nez alespon trochu zapadnu, tak ze na me kluci nebou koukat jako na "foreignera" ale jako na plnohodnotneho clena tymu. A to jak se ke me kluci chovali, jak se se mnou ihned zacli bavit a zvat na Movie & Halo nights a spolecne vecere, ohromilo me to. No, abych se vratil zpatky k fotbalu samotnemu, musel jsem povinne podstoupit cca tri treninky bez chranicu, lekarskou prohlidku, a az pote jsem byl ready pustit se do treninku na 100%. Nebudu lhat, kdyz jsem si poprve nasadil chranice a helmu, pripadal jsem si jako slon v porcelanu. Momentalne me trochu mrzi ze jsem nedorazil o tri tydny drive kdy zacinaly treninky, abych mohl byt driv ready na plnohodnotnou sezonu. Nase prvni "Varsity" zapas byl v mestecku Boone, ani jsem se neoblekal, na zapas jsem jel v kalhotech a dresu, a z lavicky sledoval jak se kluci rozcvicuji a rikal si jestli tohle je sport pro me. Ano, byl jsem  ze zacatku ponekud skepticky. Ze zacatku zapasu jsem si rikal ze to treba neni ani tak zajimave. A kdyz sel zapas do prodlouzeni, atmosfera byla nekde ve vesmiru a my jsme si na "sidelines" skakali po hlavach. Po tom co jsme vybojovali vitezstvi v prodlouzeni jsem pochopil proc tu vsichni delaji z fotbalu takovy big deal. Po par trenincich jsem zacal chapat jednotlive role a muzu uprimne rict ze po cca trech tydnech jsem se do fotbalu zamiloval. Postupne jsem zacal nastupovat v zakladu na "Junior Varsity" zapasech (kde jsem se v druhe pulce sezony stal kapitanem obrany kde jsem hral bud jako defensive end nebo outside linebacker) a take se objevovat v patecnich zapasech "Varsity" (ve "special teams" a na stejnych postech jako v JV). Jo, patecni vecery a noci jsou neco vskutku specialniho. Je to tezke vysvetlit, nicmene kazdemu bych pral aby si to zkusil na vlastni kuzi (jake to asi musi byt s fotbalem na vejsce nebo v NFL?). Dokonce i rano ve skole je citit atmosfera, vsichni uz premysleji o zapase a ne az tak o skole. :D A popsat ty chvile v kabine nez jdeme na zapas? Myslim si o sobe ze jsem dobry v pisemnem projevu, ale tohle jde jen tezko popsat. Kdyz nas trener hecuje a energie v kabine je nekde naprosto v oblacich, kdyz se pred vstupem na hriste s celym tymem modlime, kdyz stojime na hristi a hraje hymna... Kdyz 20 sekund pred koncem skorujeme na vitezstvi... Kdyz stojim na hristi vteriny pred snapem a nervozitu prevalcuje adrenalin, kdyz  pri tretim downu sundavam quaterbacka 5 yardu za line of scrimmage... Od pondelnich JV zapasu, pres drsne treninky a zabavu na guys nights, az po predzapasove treninky a patecni vecery (ktere byly i bolestive i uzasne), fotbal byl naprosto jiste nejvetsi a nejuzasnejsi zazitek a zkusenost meho dosavadniho pobytu. Ale to vsechno neni jen kvuli sportu samotnemu, ale hlavne kvuli lidem ktere jsem mel kolem sebe. Je tezke pravdepodobne tezke pochopit, ale behem sezony se z tymu opravdu stava jedna velka rodina... Jak uz jsem zminil v predeslych vetach, ani jsem nemohl doufat v lepsi skupinu kluku (asi proto jak dokazou byt obcas stejni k***ti jako mi drazi kamaradi v Hradci). Pokud bych mel mluvit o statistikach, byli jsme 3. tym v historii Ballard High School co postoupil pres prvni kolo statnich play-off, takze muzu rici ze to byla velmi uspesna sezona a pro me zazitek na cely zivot.

Nedavno se me ma draha sestricka zeptala na to jak se vyrovnavam s timhle vsim natlakem toho ze jsem tak daleko od domova a ze jsem prakticky nechal vse za sebou. Myslim si ze clankem o fotbale jsem ujasnil jeden ze zasadnich faktoru moji aklimatizace tady. Taky mi hrozne moc pomohlo prave to ze jsem tady "sam" a vse zalezi jen na me a na tom co si ja tady zaridim, coz si momentalne uzivam na 100%. Obecne, tahle cesta do USA byla bez debaty ten nejvetsi a nejdulezitejsi krok a zkusenost v mem zivote. Sam vidim jak se psychicky menim, jak se mi meni hodnoty, jak ziskavam vsechny nove zazitky a zkusenosti (k memu prekvapeni na me hodne pusobi i vira a to jaky dopad ma vira na lidi tady). Nebudu popirat to ze obcas myslim na svuj predesly zivot a na vsechny lidi v Cechach, ale dikybohu jsem byl "homesick" asi jen dva dny, ale vsichni ti novi pratele, lidi a nove prostredi vzdy predezenou pocity styskani. Pokud to do ted nebylo z mych clanku jasne, pokud mate moznost, prostredky a jen uvazujete nad tim jestli jet a nebo ne, na nic necekejte a skocte do toho po hlave. Oh, jeste jedna novinka, z puvodniho pul roku tady se stal rok, necekejte me zpet drive nez v cervnu, yaaay!
Tak zase za tyden!

During the game in Boone
Prvni zapas sezony!

Monday JV Game
Pondelni JV Game (moje malickost #18)

Before DC-G game!
Pred poslednim zapasem sezony!

Pre game practice
Ctvrtecni trenink!

                

My daily routine

Greetings to you, whoever you are, and welcome to the article about my daily routine. I'd like to start with brief description of my common day, and then describe what is special about each day. My day usually starts with a phrase: "Why am I doing this?" when my alarm clock goes off at 4:55. Yes, I get out of the bed that early. Dumb, I know. Then I brush my teeth, get ready for school etc., you know the drill. Then I quietly go downstairs, eat my breakfast, pack food for the day and take off for the gym. Gym in the morning before school was working out better for me, because of the football practices we had after school. But that will change soon, when the football season ends. Fortunately, we have a gym right in the school, which made things much easier for me. Then I go through all the classes in the school, which I wrote previous article about. We are in school usually till 3 PM. After school, we immediately go to a football training, which ends at 5 PM. My day continues with a dinner together with my family, then with making food for another day, taking shower and going to bed as early as I can. Now I'd like to focus on each day separately.

Monday 

Biggest difference against common day was JV (Junior Varsity) Football games. These games were held in small cities in Iowa. We left for these immediately after school, so it was basically instead of practices. But JV season is over now.

Tuesday

Tuesday, pretty common, full pads practice after school, not very interesting day for me.

Wednesday

Early out Wednesday, wohoo. School ends at 1:30 PM, so we have a time to go home and take a rest before practice, which starts at 3:20. Practice is either full pads, or only shoulders and helmet. After practice we always go for a "Guys night", when whole team goes to Ames to eat, usually either Hickory Park or Pizza Ranch. Then we just hang out in the mall etc. Guys nights are certainly one of the highlights of the week for me. 

Thursday

Thursday, regular day at school. After school we have a pre-game practice, which is very light contact practice, only in shorts, shirt and helmet. Then whole team gathers in school weight room and  coach has a motivational speech for us. Then we all have a team meal in school. 

Friday

Game day! Friday in school, everyone is excited about the game, not really paying attention to what we do at school. After school we usually go home, take a nap, relax for a little bit, then go back to school and get ready. Game starts at 7:30 PM, and doesn't end approximately till 9:30. If we win, then we go out to eat after the game to celebrate the victory!

Saturday

If you thought that I would get to sleep in on Saturday, then I have a bad news for you. Our after game practice starts at 7:30 AM, and it is basically just little bit of running and stretching. Coach does't want us to go party after the game, and that's the purpose of this early morning practice. Rest of Saturday for me is mix of eating, napping, reading or watching movies.

Sunday

On Sunday, I usually get up at 7:30, brush my teeth and have a breakfast. Then, at 8:10 whole family drives to Ames to Cornerstone Church. Sunday is No Technology Day in my family, so I spend rest  of the day reading, sleeping, or writing a blog. Once a two weeks I also call my parents on Sunday.

Well, that would be all for today, hopefully I helped you to imagine how my average, stereotypical  day looks like! See you next Sunday, still gotta figure out what I'm going to write about!

Vazeni a mili, vitejte do me denni rutiny!

Rad bych nejdriv zacal s popisem meho bezneho dne, a pote jednotlive rozebral jednotlive dny, tak snad se u toho neunudite! 

"Proc sakra tohle delam?" rikam si kdyz mi v 4:55 zazvoni budik a ja vim ze mam pred sebou silene dlouhy den. Ano, vstavam v 4:55. Ano, dobrovolne. Vytrmacim se z pokoje, ranni hygiena, pripravit veci do skoly, vsak to znate! Co nejpotiseji jdu do spodniho patra, balim si jidlo a chystam snidani. Obcas pri snidani napisu nejakou tu zpravu tem par kamaradum co mam v Cechach, jelikoz je to jedna z mala moznosti nekoho v Cesku zastihnout vzhuru. Jseam ready, a za svitu mesice vyrazim pesky do fitka. Jak jste mohli videt v minulem clanku, mame ve skole celkem decentni fitko, coz mi dost pomaha. Fitko pred skolou mi vyhovuje (vyhovovalo) kvuli kazdodennim treninku fotbalu hned po skole. Po fitku si dam ve skole sprchu, a jsem ready na studium!

Ve skole jsem do 15:00 a ihned po skole moje cesty smeruji na fotbalovy trenink, ktery konci cca v 17:20. Muj den pokracuje s veceri s rodinou, a nasledne aktivity s rodinou, kdy si treba jen povidame, sedime u krbu, koukame na filmy a tak dale. Pote si udelam jidlo na dalsi den, a snazim se chodit spat co mozna nejdrive! Joo, je to stereotypni, ale nevadi mi to ani v nejmensim. 

Taak, rad bych ted popsal co je specialniho na kazdem dnu!

Pondeli

Nejvetsi rozdil oproti beznemu dnu byli urcite JV (Junior Varsity) zapasy fotbalu, kde jsem si uzil spoustu srandy, ale o tom si povime v nekterem z nadchazejicich clanku! JV zapasy byli v ruznych mesteckach v Iowe, odjizdeli jsme na ne hned po skole, takze byly v podstate misto treninku.

Utery

Pro me asi nejnudnejsi den, vsechno v normalnim chodu, trenink v kompletnich chranicich (ramena, helma, nohy), rutina.

Streda

Early Out Wednesday, wohoo. Skola nam konci v 13:30, takze name cas si dojit domu, najist se a odpocinout si pred treninkem, ktery je bud v kompletnich chranicich nebo jen v helme a ramenou. Po treninku je cas na tzv. Guys night! Cely tym vyrazime do blizkeho mesta do nejake resaurace, kde mame spolecne veceri, po ktere nasleduje bezprizorni "flakani se" v obchodech, cukrarnach a podobne. Stredecni Guys Nights jsou pro me urcite jedny z nejlepsich casti tydne. 

Ctvrtek

Bezny den ve skole, ale jen lehoucky trenink, jen v triku, kratasech a helme. Po treninku se cely tym shromazdi spolecne v posilovne, kde k nam pote promlouva kouc (ano, motivacni reci presne jako na youtube a v americkych filmech). Nasledne mame cely tym spolecne jidlo v prostorach skolni jidelny (O pripravu jidla se staraji rodice clenu tymu).

Patek 

Game daaaay! Patek ve skole, vsichni jsou napumpovani kvuli vecernimu zapasu, ve skole je to znat, volnejsi den, nikdo se moc nesoustredi, proste patky jsou o fotbale, ne o skole! Po skole jedeme domu, odpocineme si pred zapasem, ktery zacina v 19:30. Ano, patecni vecery a noci jsou neco vskutku uzasneho a "special". Ale o tom vice v pristich clankach. Zapas konci cca v 21:45, a pokud slavime vyhru, jeste v noci jedeme do mesta do restaurace na pozdni veceri!

Sobota 

Jestli jste si mysleli ze se vyspim alespon v tu sobotu, tak vas pravdepodobne zklamu. Ranni trenink zacina v 7:30. Trenink trva asi tak pul hodiny, jen se probehneme, protahneme a jedeme zase domu. Ranni treninky mame jen protoze kouc nechce aby jsme po zapasech chodili na party a ponocovali. 

Nedele 

V nedeli vstavam v 7:30, oblecu se, udelam si snidani a cca v 8:10 odjizdime s celou rodinou do Ames (vedlejsi mesto) do kostela, ktery je velmi odlisny od toho, co mame my v Cechach. Obecne, cely jejich pristup k vire je trochu jiny, a ze sve vlastni zkusenosti muzu rict, ze je rozhodne o dost blizsi a pritazlivejsi pro neverici. Jinak nedele je den "bez technologii", takze zbytek dne travim spanim, jidlem, ctenim, nebo psanim blogu. Kazdou druhou nedeli take volam se svymi rodici v Cechach. 

Doufam ze jste si alespon trochu pocetli a mozna se i pobavili mym stereotypnim zivotem.

Tak zase priste!

One perk of waking up early
Jedna z mala vyhod brzkeho vstavani

Cornerstone Church
Kostely jsou tu ponekud odlisne od tech v Cechach

Monday JV Game
Pondelni JV zapas #18

                                                                                                        Charlie, losing it after Guys Night

                                                                                                              Klasicke stredecni vecery!