Youth National Team Takeover: Mikayla Kappes

Today was the first full day of activities for all the U.S. Youth Futsal national teams. This morning after having breakfast as a team, we did some team bonding. Our coach, Jason Miller, has us write down our goals for the trip. Along with improving on technical and tactical skills, most of us said that we wanted to win our games against Canada. After we all shared our goals, Coach Ty Stauffer advised that we make more specific goals than just 'to win." He urged that winning and overall success will come as a byproduct of hard work, focus, organization, heart, etcetera and if we strive for those characteristics then success will follow. His message really hit home with me and throughout the day I made little mental notes and even physically wrote down specific personal and team goals as they came to me. 

Later that day we had training at the beautiful Pan American Sports Centre here in Toronto. The training was really fun and it was great to get my legs moving and start playing with the team. On the bus ride back to our hotel as I sat talking with my new friend and teammate Raleigh, I couldn't stop thinking how grateful I am for this opportunity to play with such high level and friendly girls -- and how excited I am for our first game against the Canadians on Monday. 

At night my team and I had dinner at a local restaurant with all of the other U.S. Youth Futsal national teams and the coaching staff. After just one full day of already so many awesome memories and experiences, I can't wait to see what the rest of this trip holds.

Mikayla Kappes is a member of the U.S. Youth Futsal U16 girls national team. She hails from San Diego.