THE SHARK TANK >>

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I am slowly closing in on the third month of my professional soccer career with the Wilmington Hammerheads. It has been a very exciting stint so far and one filled with ups and downs. For me it has been a surreal experience to play for my hometown team that I have grown up supporting.

I can remember spending Saturday nights in middle school with friends and family watching players such as George Corrie, Chad Crandell and Junior Zarate, and now they are fellow teammates. I remember coming to games against Major League Soccer teams, witnessing a national championship, and cheering on brawls with the Port City Firm.

Now I am in my rookie season with the club and the transition from fan to player has been a bit of a difficult task.

We went through preseason for the better part of March and most of April, training every morning at 9:30 and an additional technical session in the afternoon. These intense weeks were packed with games, traveling, bonding and loads of trialists coming in, and just as many going out. Even though preseason results were insignificant, we managed to take away good wins and confidence from hard-working college teams and skillful USL-1sides.

Preseason was wrapped up on a high note for me as I was able to overcome a two week groin strain and get back in the mix long enough to log some good minutes. I was gaining confidence in my style of play, gelling with that of the team’s, and I managed to score my first professional goal in our last game of preseason as we beat the Charleston Battery 3-2.

While preseason was a good opportunity for Coach Irving to look at a variety of players in different positions, it also plagued us by taking a toll on the health of our team. We entered into the start of the regular season with several key players unable to take the field due to the injuries accumulated during preseason. Our confidence was still high with the talent that was available for the opening game, and I had a very positive outlook on the season after a goal in the first 10 seconds from Charles Nweke.

We lacked the results we were looking for in the next four games that followed, but our spirits remained high and were encouraged to keep faith in the team and continue working hard.

We are slowly getting everyone healthy and beginning to play like a confident team unit. We were unlucky not to get three points in Cincinnati as they scored in the waning seconds of stoppage time to tie, but we were happy to leave Ohio with two points after grinding out another draw against Cleveland.

We are now on the up and up after our first win and some of the best soccer we have played all year. We undoubtedly have the talent, desire and determination to turn the season around and go on a very successful run.

- Michael Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald was a 4 year starter at Hoggard High School and went on to continue his soccer career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he was named Southern Conference Player of the Week twice.