Talk About Pressure

Survival

As the club/youth tryout season (thankfully) comes to a close in our part of the world in the greater Philly area, there's a couple of guys knocking it around in Palo Alto who might be able to empathize with the strains of making the cut:

From Klinsi himself on the pressure of surviving a 2 month pre-world cup camp and making the roster of 23 from the preliminary group of 30:

It’s about sustaining two months of camp, being able to be a real team player, being able to put yourself into service for a bigger cause and something that is far, far bigger than you as an individual. It’s about being able to suffer, to sacrifice yourself for that huge, huge event. It’s about not losing your temper, not losing your nerves when it gets tricky, and there will be many tricky moments going into the next two months.

And remember, if you make it out of camp, and earn a spot on the roster of 23 going to Brazil, only 18 are on the team sheet on game day!

So interesting how at the youth level it's all about getting yours/mine...but when you get to the top level, it's almost exclusively about serving the group.  "...put yourself into service..."

Here's Nick Rimando, backup-in-perpetuity to Howard and Guzan:

Another reason I'm here is because I'm a good pro, on and off the field. Jurgen knows what he gets from me, and I'm a good mentor for the younger guys.

No spoiled brat here...this is a guy who knows his role, accepts it, and may have an impact that the wider public may never realize.  Only the team will ever know how much Nick Rimando helps the squad advance in the tournament - and he's so comfortable in his own skin, he's fine with that.  Of course, if he's called upon, he'll be ready to play and won't give the job up without a fight!