December was a busy month for Owensboro’s Miles Morrison and Daviess County’s Sasha Foster – traveling to Barcelona in December to compete internationally as part of the boys’ and girls’ 2010 US Futsal team.
An indoor soccer team consisting of players from all over the country born in 2010, both Foster and Morrison passed two different tryouts (IDs). The first ID was held locally in early June and the second occurred a month later in Kansas City. The two found out they made their respective teams, each consisting of 12 players in early August.
“The tryouts went really well. It was cool meeting the coaching staff and seeing how different it was compared to our club back home,” Foster said. “It was a great build-up to going internationally and it helped me prepare a lot for the big trip.”
The first ID in Owensboro consisted of local talent and players from the South, including Florida and Alabama – competing in different scrimmages with the coaches watching from afar. The second ID in Kansas City comprised players from all over the country.
In awe of the sheer number of athletes in attendance, both Morrison and Foster were surprised by their selections. Yet, when competing during the tryouts they knew they belonged on the pitch.
“It was pretty cool, and I met a lot of people,” Morrison said. “There were some players there that I already knew from playing with before. There was a lot of competition, and it was pretty tough.”
Once finding out they would be traveling to Barcelona, the two had a five-month gap – leaving them to train and hone their skills. A week before departing, the team had a Zoom meeting to discuss expectations and basic knowledge of Futsal.
Neither Foster nor Morrison had left the country before – adding an extra layer of uneasiness.
A few hours after arriving and settling in, the two teams had their first training session. Jetlagged, Foster enjoyed the increase in game speed during the first drill and observing her new teammates and their styles of play.
“It was really fun to see the coaches’ ideas and all the differences that our team could utilize back home,” Foster said.
Morrison noticed during the training session the team was battling nerves to start, but began to open up once the first warmup ended and everyone’s blood was pumping. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams played four matches against local Barcelona club teams that were littered with talent.
“They were some really good players,” Morris said. “In the first game, this kid who was about five feet, started to kick rainbows over our heads. When juggling the ball, he was making the people guarding him almost fall over.”
Entering the first game, Morrison felt his nerves start to rise to the surface when in the locker room, but they settled once he entered the match.
Morrison and the boys’ team won the first two games, but by the time the third game started multiple players on the roster began to get sick – leading to a draw. Entering the fourth game, the illness continued to spread amongst the roster and coaching staff. Suffering a bad loss, Morrison was left wondering what could have been if the team had been healthy.
Foster and the girls’ team won once, drew once, and lost twice. Playing defense, she recorded multiple assists, and each game left a different impression on her.
“The first game, the intensity wasn’t what I was expecting,” Foster said. “But going into the second and third games against other teams, the intensity picked up and matched what I was expecting… We were really close to winning the first game, so I kind of thought the next three teams would be similar, but that second team came at us and caught us off guard.”
When not on the pitch, the players were allowed to explore the city and Foster was captivated by the local’s style and way of living compared to back home. When on the tours, her eyes were drawn to the architecture of the buildings and churches. Morrison and his teammates explored the FC Barcelona stadium – leaving the freshman in awe.
Having returned home, Foster wants to take some time off to rest before competing internationally again – instead contemplating pivoting to national competitions, where Morrison is open to trying out again for the team later this summer.
