Introducing: the Far From Football blog

I’ve always loved soccer, but never lived near enough to it’s epicenters to feel a part of it. Growing up in America meant it was always a televised phenomenon that went with early weekend mornings and learning the chants by pausing and rewinding the DVR. Now, I live in Thailand, a country mad for the sport but with little success to show for it (as of 2022).

This blog will catch my thoughts on the sport, both here and around the world. I’ll focus on the pro level teams we all love and the experience of trying to establish an amateur one with my fellow expats here. So far, success feels elusive since I broke my shoulder the week we created the team and people’s enthusiasm has been flagging lately.

I hope to use this blog to combine my passion for the sport with my increasing interest in stats, my love of graphics, and maybe some tactical analysis. I’m trying to land a role coaching youth here (a rare opportunity in English) to develop my tactical side; I’m very much a disciple of the Arteta-Guardiola-Cruyff school and I’m curious to see how an emphasis on space translates at younger ages.

However, I learned today that the organizer looking for a new coach was killed in a tragic motorbike accident last night. He was an important figure in the local soccer scene, and I'm sure his death will affect many people. Hopefully, it brings them together rather than people drifting apart, as can often happen when a key person passes away. It feels crass to think about myself after such an event, but it is a real gut punch to have been so close to a new opportunity. I will have to make one on my own then.

If anything, that is the lesson I need to learn here in Thailand, to be more self-reliant and push my goals on my own - no one else will do it for me. And sadly, I'm starting to see that no one else will do it with me either. Many of my fellow expats want soccer to be an outlet for fun, not accomplishment. For some, that's because the sport dashed their hopes as youngsters and they won't let themselves dream of it being anything more now. For others, it's too much work to be serious about it (and I don't disagree - it's taken over a lot of my time), so they'd rather not let it interfere with other, more relaxing parts of life. And for a few, it's just brand new; a couple people on the squad come from other sports and football is a new hobby, so accomplishments seem a bit far off. Then, there's the issue of egos. This team has so many people looking to make it about themselves that they piss each other off more than build each other up.

For me, it's not about ego, nor about being in charge. While I do need to be better about giving positive feedback and not just "notes," since this makes getting better more fun for everyone, there's a limit to how much people can feed off my intrinsic motivation. Not to mention, I didn't set out to influence people's moods and attitudes. I just have ideas of how a team could play here, how we could break down opposition defenses and exploit the space. I don't even need to have the best players, just ones willing to work together. You can lead a horse to water, as they say. So, I'm in need of thirstier horses, ones who want their effort to lead to something.

For now, that means reaching out to everyone with any ties to organized soccer. I want this to be more than a way to pass the time. This is my obsession, and I will make it my future.