A very subjective look into AWFC

by Demian Arriaga

PODCAST

  • Your boy did it

    My friends, when I tell you that yesterday was I crazy day… sheeeeeeesh!!!!

    So, normally I get around writing a post around 8am, which means I’m already up by 7 or earlier, depending on what I have to do that day. Yesterday though, was a bit strange because I knew I had to be out of my house around 10:45 to get to my tournament at 11am since my bracket started at 12pm. I had planned to try to get more sleep than usual but I went to get water at 7am and said to myself: write the blog now and go back to sleep because you won’t have time later (If you don’t know what I’m talking about it’s all laid out in the previous post).

    I published the post at 7:08 am, brushed my teeth and suddenly I checked my phone and I got a text message saying: your bracket is starting shortly! Be at the front desk in 10 minutes.

    What?!?! It was supposed to be at noon and somehow they changed the times and never informed me so I had to rush out of my house, and all my preparation, stretching and visualization plans went out the window and I had to wake my wife up and have her drive me while I got dressed, ate and basically didn’t have a panic attack.

    All this to say that if it weren’t for waking up to write the blog I wouldn’t have made it. So I have to thank you and of course AWFC 🙂

    Singles in pickleball are very, very hard and in two years I have never ever played a competitive match and more over, I’ve only played singles even for fun with friends once and then another time semi-serious about a week ago but never ever in a competitive setting. I haven’t trained, I haven’t been running and I haven’t even been playing because my parents were here, music stuff etc.

    I can happily report that I accomplished my goal of medaling and I won the silver. I could go into more detail and specifically about the mental thing, how I sucks to lose a final, the overthinking, the regrets and all that but I need to let that go as I have another format to play today in mixed doubles.

    Wore my Beth Mead away kit.. the blue and green, and you will see some pics on my instagram shortly.

    This blog literally saved me and this blog means YOU, so thank YOU!!!!!

    d ❤


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  • I’m Leah today

    A few months ago I was scheduled to play in what would’ve been my 4th pickleball tournament here in Los Angeles. A few days before said event they called and canceled it due to impending rain storms, which by the way, never happened. However, they rescheduled it and I’m excited to play in it today and tomorrow.

    As you can imagine I will rep AWFC somehow attire-wise but moreover I will certainly try my best to channel their inspiration and play the best that I can, in a situation when all things considered, the stakes are high in that it’s a tournament, people will be watching in the stands here and there and also it’s my ego and I wanna win goddamn it.

    One thing that always blows my mind is how anxious/nervous/excited I get when I have to play sports in a competitive situation. I swear to you I didn’t get 1/100th of how I am now when I perform in front of thousands of people and since I saw Leah’s documentary on the BBC saying basically the same thing but in her it was with playing piano and NOT the Euro’s final… it’s just nuts how life is.

    I have explained on here before how it’s understandable to relax and enjoy a high pressure situation in the arts because the stakes are just much lower when there’s not a competition, and even when you enter a band contest for instance, at the end of the day that is all subjective, whereas with football or pickleball it is a factual thing that you either lose or you win, and our opinion on the matter is irrelevant.

    I’ll let you know how I do tomorrow and I should be uploading pics and videos on my socials if I can.

    d ❤


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  • Candente, Caldentey, Caliente

    One of the worst ways to start a blog is buy writing something like: the worst kept secret…. So technically I didn’t start with that line and I can actually use it BUT since it wasn’t a secret and it was irresponsibly leaked a few weeks ago, we all have to act surprised or like we didn’t know.

    I, like millions of others, really rate Caldentey and I wrote here months ago that I would love to see her at our club and I’m really happy that she is coming and I’m very excited to have her drive, grit and ability on our squad.

    Now, this is something that I will chat about in a more detailed manner on the podcast next week, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that the club has claimed to want to go towards a “younger” direction and aim for the future and yet they sign a 28 year old, older that Viv btw.

    Not bothered by her age at all, I’ve spoken about this many times… it’s the seemingly hypocritical situation that rubs me the wrong way.

    Either way I truly hope that she is embraced as her own woman and not a replacement for an irreplaceable player and you bet your bum I will be here supporting her. She’s a winner, a champion, and might be the most decorated player to ever play for our club??? is that right to assume???

    Her attitude will be very beneficial for the players and the massive caveat is to wait and see how that manager uses her and rotates her.

    No news on Vic and that might be good news… let’s hope.

    d ❤


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  • Great managers solve problems, not create them

    Ah… the injernatoinal break…

    Welp… players getting hurt left and right. We all knew this would happen. Foord hurt, Pelova with a potential ACL injury and that’s just for us at Arsenal, with many other players getting hurt for other nations/clubs. And even though we’ve been programmed to know this its still brutal every time and my heart goes out to all the players.

    Of course injuries can happen out of the blue and some have to do with a continuous wear and tear of muscles, etc. Not going to blame that manager at our club fully, but I would venture to guess that both Caitlin and Vic are players that have had a ton of minutes, barely rotated, same with LWM, and all 3 are injured. I’m not an expert and because I am not it’s easy for me to draw parallels that might not be there but once again… I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the reason.

    Imagining that this is the reason why all 3 are injured, then this has to fall on that manager. Also, in case you’re new here, after the Miedema incident I call the manager at our club “that manager” because I’m petty.

    The reality is that all 3 players could’ve and should’ve been rotated. And such negligence falls on one person if you ask me, but again, I’m not an expert and if I sounds like I’m just blaming that manager because I don’t think he’s the right choice going forward this is somewhat accurate.

    Among my issues is not just that he’s not rotating them but that he’s starting them so often. It seems like the same thing but it’s not… like imagine he starts them 8 matches out of 10, I personally would drastically change that ratio. I don’t even know if ratio is the right word but you get my point.

    So yeah, my opinion is that any manager that overloads the players in responsible for some types of injuries and it’s not like Arsenal and little tiny Welsh club that has no funds or no squad depth.

    Great managers are problem solvers, not problem creators.

    d ❤


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  • A very fine line

    Saying that social media is messed up and has ruined a lot of things is not an insane statement, is it? Of course there have been so many positive things for us as a society such as live, on the spot and on location news. For instance, without social media we wouldn’t see what is happening in Gaza. There’s no going back, social media has been the past and will continue to be a massive part of our lives for a long time.

    Another positive thing has been getting to know people such as Rockstars and Footballers deeper or at least it gives us the idea that we are close to them or know them or have a freaking clue as to who they are as people.

    But there’s the finest of fine lines for me when it comes to having an inside look into the players or musicians and knowing way too much.

    Dogs are a perfect example.

    I love dogs and the more content I see of people with their dogs, regardless of the situation, the player, the team, it doesn’t matter: I love it. I don’t even own a dog but I love them and I love the idea of people being so damn happy, except for one group of people: rockstars.

    I grew up as a metal head and the last thing I want is to see one of my former idols or badass larger than life thrash metal musicians play with their French bulldog. Which is a dog breed I really like btw. But the thrill is gone… it makes it kinda lame and cheesy. Not that they love animals but that they have feelings. They were fine in my mind and memory as this legendary figure of a person that maybe didn’t even eat normal food and they just existed in the grandeur of metal.

    But if I’m being honest with myself I do have to say that I don’t want to know or really need to know everything that the players do all the time. It seems very invasive to me and I really think it’s pretty weird when people obsess over the love lives of the players, regardless of who their partners are.

    I think there’s a lot of infantilization of players and it just goes over my head and I’m not that interested in it. There’s very little no mystique about it anymore it seems and even though it sounds like I’m complaining, I am not. I’m just not interested in getting to know the players online’s persona anymore.

    At one time it helped me get a vibe as to who the players were, not who they were as people or their personalities but to literally remember names and faces.

    I’m not gatekeeping and definitely not saying it should be different, not at all. I’m just over it like I said, and I don’t think I’m the only one, and it’s more than ok to not see things my way.

    d ❤


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  • One more about age

    Today there’s a lot of posts on twitter, etc about Victoria Pelota’s birthday and her turning 25 years of age. To be totally honest, I thought she was way younger and if you told me she turned 21 I would have believed you, however, this post isn’t about her at all.

    One of the arguments that people had and still have about why it’s a good move for Arsenal to not renew Viv was because of her age. That rhetoric essentially made it seem like Miedema was 39 years old, which of course, she isn’t. People were saying she was in decline, which of course she isn’t.

    But this age thing is such a silly thing because it’s impossible to assign an apex to a calendar pre facto. You cannot say that a player will decline after 27 years of age and at the same time know that these are the peak years and not because I say so but because most experts agree.

    If people are excited hypothetically about a 24 year old that’s won nothing major, it is totally understandable. It is also understandable that they are passionate about their potential and their future. But 24 is not 19… and why wouldn’t you be more excited about a 27 year old entering peak years than a player that is 4 or 5 years away of their best years and have not shown anywhere near the prolific football brain and ability to feed that belief?

    I will most likely discuss this more on my podcast today/tomorrow and btw I know I haven’t uploaded one but I honestly felt that Viv’s episode deserved more grace and time and space and I didn’t want to push it down by releasing several episodes.

    Gonna shift topics completely… and this is mostly for my dutch followers… As some of you know, I’m very much into Dutch Pop. I have flown from LA to Amsterdam to watch Suzan & Freek, and Meau. I listen to that stuff all the time and artists like Maan and others have been a stable in my musicality since 2019.

    One of my dreams then, was to work with a dutch artist and as life would have it I connected with an incredible singer called Lov3less and I recorded a few songs with her, the first of which was just released. I played some snare drums and percussion on the track (I think… I forget because we did this about a year ago). it’s called High Life and you can listen to it HERE

    She signs in English so my Dutch Pop experience isn’t quite realized just yet… maar ik weet dat het snel zal gebeuren.

    d ❤


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  • June Gloom

    For any of you fine folk that don’t live in LA and/or for those that don’t know, the month of June is very strange. During this month we experience what natives call “June Gloom” which essentially means that during the first half of the day, sometimes the whole day, but usually the first half, it’s very gloomy, cloudy a a little too cold for June. Up where I live it’s just that… gloomy, dark and cloudy and I absolutely love it.

    It makes me want to listen to The Smiths and Tay Tay’s Folklore. Right when you plan your day and dress accordingly, with hot tea in hand, the day shifts and the sun comes out and it get hot as hell and you instantly regret wearing that cardigan. Yes, I did that on purpose.

    But today of all days always feels like that, regardless of the actual weather and it’s because the European club football season is officially over for both men and women. And just like with June gloom, the second you are used to that being a thing… euro qualifiers resume in a couple of days and next thing you know the men’s Euro’s start.

    I gotta be honest and admit I haven’t really had time to follow up on every single AWFC player and what they did and I’ve only seen Beth’s goal once. No real clue as to what other players did but I will take some time tomorrow to catch up.

    Ironically if it were up to me they would all be rested except players like Lacasse and Codina who barely feature under that manager. Both of these players should’ve gotten way more minutes for us and I wouldn’t be surprised if LWM’s time off is due to injury that could’ve been prevented if she were rotated more.

    I will try my best to record a podcast tomorrow. Until then, enjoy what’s left of your Sunday.

    d ❤


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  • A Step Up

    We all heard Viv speak with Lianne Sanderson at the CL final and she mentioned, and I’m paraphrasing here, that she would not make a lateral move but that she will make a step up from Arsenal. To some that might sound like a dig or seem disrespectful but if you think Arsenal are the best club in the world, a spell of no WSL titles and CL trophies would like to have a word with you.

    Arsenal are a top club, a historic club and all that, but to think that we are the best club in the world is not only factually incorrect but it says more about the people that think it than anything else. The level of arrogance that one must posses to think that a club who has a manager that doesn’t know his best XI would be among the best in the world is simply not correct. The best teams in the world have the best managers. We don’t have that, hence we are not among the best teams in the world. Otherwise we would be winning titles all the time.

    Don’t confuse this thought with me not loving Arsenal and not thinking that it’s the best club in the world haha. I love Arsenal and I feel by and large it has to be the best place there is, but I’m a fan and that skews my vision significantly. And to keep beating a dead horse, a team without Viv or DvD cannot register as the best club in the world. Squads and Clubs are separate things but you know what I mean.

    So, if I were to think about where I would go next if I were Viv, I would go to a place were I know I would win a title, regardless of what people think of the league. The 3 teams most likely to give that to her are Barca, Lyon or Wolfsburg. A guaranteed trophy isn’t a thing in England as much, I don’t think, but the day in and day out drama and questions and having to prove something and this or that with Arsenal is already exhausting. I don’t know her at all but I think the idea of her being the focus all the time in press conferences and all that is quite annoying.

    My advice would be to move to a different country and if she wants to win the CL that narrows it down to Barca or Lyon, since a Wolfsburg without Dom Janssen is quite significantly weaker. And this is where it gets tricky…

    Man City would be great for the Dutch. That’s a oranjecentric way of looking at things and this is something I often do and I make no apologies for lol.

    Which team is more likely to win the CL next year? Well if Viv is what’s missing from Lyon, then Lyon is the move, plus she will be connected with DvD and you don’t need me to tell you how special that connection is. It’s THE connection, full stop. So, as a fan that what I would like to see but I keep thinking that Barcelona is the easiest way for her to win and when I say easy please take it with a grain of salt.

    Time will tell and I’m impatient af.

    d ❤


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  • Maternity Protocol

    The decision by FIFA to review and relaunch maternity leave protocols as well as menstrual cycle related paid absences is incredible. Safe to say I am the least equipped person to talk about this but I am someone that loves anything and everything related to the support of women and it’s long overdue that these things are more in focus and honestly it should be news in every sporting paper/blog/station. This is huge.

    Even today, at the peak of women’s football’s popularity, most of the athletes can barely make ends meet and for them, having a child can be an actual threat to their career in many ways, so the fact that they have some protection has to be a massive step forward and I cannot wait to read what former and current players have to say about it.

    Also really love that players and coaches who choose to adopt will also be provided with paid time off.

    Here is the article by Emma Sanders

    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cj559n157y7o

    d ❤


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  • The red flag I forsee

    Next season worries me for one reason and one reason only: we will still have the same manager. As long as he is there my level of calm and confidence is very much conditioned and not as stable or blind as maybe it should be, but this person gives me zero confidence.

    I’m not going to lie to you, not every player in the squad fives me confidence. I’m not one of those fans that just automatically thinks that we have the best players in the world because we definitely do not, but even the players that I don’t rate to highly, aside from being absolute queens and trailblazers and my heroes, I’m afraid that that manager does not know how to get the best out of them in the long run.

    The potential of red flags is alarming to me already and this will not go away. The biggest of them all that I will bet will be raised is him not playing Kim and Lia often. Forget about who comes in to replace them from the current squad, the idea of a midfield without those two who are outstanding players and are STILL really fucking good, is absurd.

    This manager has been selling you the idea that we have players that can come close to what Kim and Lia bring… don’t believe it. Don’t focus on the future and what the potential can be. Focus on now. Right now Kim and Lia are the best we have and among the best in world football. What they do is absolutely insane individually and collectively.

    Some people out there didn’t appreciate Viv… don’t do the same with Kim and Lia because those two and the lungs, liver, kidneys and whatever other vital organ any living organism needs. They are the glue, the barometer, the eyes, the wrench, the foundation, the cement, the oxygen, the water, the sun, etc etc etc.

    We need them. They need to play. They need to be healthy and they need to play in their best positions. Always.

    So, if the patterns remain or to be fair: the patterns I might be seeing persist, then this will be the next brilliant move by that footballing mastermind that is the manager our club currently employs…

    Moving players on with an eye in the future might be a thing, but not when those players are the players he is moving on. Names such Beattie, Nobbs, Miedema are not normal names. They are not journey women. These are names you build teams around and we have several others left: Mead, McCabe, Little, Walti and Williamson.

    Imagine a team without any of them? Not in 7 years… in 2.

    No thanks.

    d ❤


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