I'M FINALLY PRO!

I'm finally PRO!!!! After 21 years I am here! I think from the beginning, I knew I would not stop until I accomplished this goal.  My mom told me I couldn't wait to play soccer and that I was upset when they wouldn't let me play when I was 3 1/2!  And even at 4, I would push whoever to get the ball including my own teammates! I don't know where this innate desire to play came from.  I would say it started from my older brother who played and once this game peaked interest I couldn't stop.  Soccer and family are the two things that have been consistent and present in my life.  I don't know what I would do without either of them.  I am so grateful to be able to play the wonderful game at 25. But the number one reason I am made it here.. I never gave up!

Wow, it has been a journey.  Growing up in a smaller town, it was hard to find better competition.  I played on an all boys team at 9.  In middle school, I played an age group up on a travel team in the next county.  In high school, I had commitments to 3 soccer teams (high school-Leonardtown, Maryland Olympic Development Program-ODP, and club-Bethesda).  ODP and Bethesda had practices year round with most of them two hours away.  And then I played at Loyola University Maryland and in the summers I played on travel teams as well. Post college I really didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.  Two summers after I graduated I randomly googled the Philippines if they had a national team.  I emailed the federation and less than two months later I was playing in my first tournament for my mom's home country! I would play for the Philippines in the fall, find work in the spring, and then play in a semipro league in the summer wherever soccer called me- one summer in Jacksonville, Florida and last summer in Santa Clarita, California.  I wrote a status on Facebook how I needed a place to stay in FL and someone I had met a few months ago that worked for an international company that sponsored my Philippines team had a brother in Jax with a place I could stay.  In Cali, my coach had a filipino friend who had friend who had a friend where I could stay! And in the Philippines, I mostly stayed with some of my teammates in my coach's house! This is what my dad refers to as my gypsy life! Anyway, I continued to develop as a player and got invited to the preseason camp for the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) Washington Spirit.  Unfortunately, a week later I was cut.  But, I didn't stop!

This year I got invited to the Chicago Red Stars training camp.  I got to train with their team for three weeks.  I actually knew their athletic trainer because she went to school with one of my teammates from the Philippine National Team! Such a small world.  I stayed with her for duration of camp.  Last year when I was with the spirit I was more than overwhelmed.  I simply was not at the level, but I knew I could be.  I worked on my technical ability and it definitely improved.  However, at Chicago things still went over my head.  It was such a learning process though.  As player I learned a lot and was challenged day in and day out.  From a coaching perspective  I gained valuable knowledge for my future.  Not as many coaches as you think have gotten this sort of exposure.  While I am playing, I am always trying to take coaching courses and gain experience, so when that unfortunate day when I can't play competitively any more comes, I can hopefully get a job coaching. 

Shortly before I arrived at Chicago, I was offered to play for a team in Sweden.  One of my teammates from Loyola had played over there and I had been in talks with her contact.  He found me a team and I signed the contract.  I have never been to Sweden and I didn't know much about the team or the league, but this opportunity was exactly what I wanted.  I get to continue to ball (and I am actually baller status now as it is a professional contract!) and I get to travel.  What 25 year old doesn't want to be traveling and playing professional sports!?  This is exactly what I want to be doing right now and I am happy to say my journey continues!!  I will be playing for Landsbro IF and living in Vetlanda, Sweden.  I cannot wait! 

Below are some pics and links from my soccer career and I will definitely be blogging my adventures in Sweden. So stay tuned and thanks for the support!

<3,
Cookie

Already protecting myself and the ball ;)

Even my school work was about soccer

Freshman year at Leonardtown

Freshman year at Loyola

AFC Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh after I scored the first goal against Iran

AFF Tournament in Myanmar 

Preseason Camp w/ the Chicago Redstars

Raider's Cooke has drive to succeed- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072902366.html

Cooke provides a spark for Leonardtown- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092800105.html

Cooke's world- http://www.somdnews.com/article/20121120/SPORTS/711209728/1047/cooke-s-world&template=southernMaryland

‘Maldita’ runs away from Real World, meets kindred spirit- http://sports.inquirer.net/17095/‘maldita’-runs-away-from-real-world-meets-kindred-spirit

Heather Cooke:  Philippine Malditas' Jock of All trades- http://thelifeline-wvsucn.journ.ph/2012/11/03/heather-cooke-philippine-malditas-jock-of-all-trades/

Washington Spirit select six in supplemental draft- http://washingtonspirit.com/pro/washington-spirit-select-six-players-in-first-nwsl-supplemental-draft/

Red Stars announce announce 25 player preseason roster- http://chicagoredstars.com/chicago-red-stars-announce-25-player-preseason-roster/

Also, one of the people that participated in my fundraiser for my fam in the Philippines bought my national team jersey on ebay and displayed it-> http://thehistoryofwomensfootball.com/philippines.html

Lastly, my announcement with my new team in Sweden-> http://www.laget.se/LANDSBROIF_dam/News/3396008/ANNU-ETT-NYFORVARV

Update on my Lola and fam

Last month my mom traveled back home to the Philippines to visit her family in Iloilo.  Building had finally begun.  Carpenters had to tend to their own families before helping out ours and others affected by Typhoon Haiyan. My mom traveled with one of her friends here in St. Mary's County who also had family to visit back in the Philippines.  

Hours before my mom was going to be on a plane, she got a phone call from her nephew saying her mom, sister, and brother-in-law were in a bad motorcycle accident and were in the emergency room.  There were no details about how they were doing other than they were in bad condition.  My mom called her sister in Canada to see if she had heard anything (the wife of the brother-in-law).  She had heard nothing.  Because my mom was about to board the plane, she told her sister to call home right away.  My mom spent the next 24 hours traveling halfway across the world wondering and worrying what had happened with her family.  Upon arriving to her home country, she had another flight from Manila to Iloilo and then went straight to the hospital from the airport.  What was supposed to be a happy homecoming started with my mom spending a week at the hospital taking care of her family.

The accident happened when my family was going into town via motorcycle.  Meanwhile a tree was being cut down.  No one was blocking the road and to make sure it was safe.  When the tree was being cut down, my family was just approaching it and had no idea.  The tree fell right in front of them/on them.  My lola and tita, both were knocked unconscious.  All of them were taken to the hospital.  My tito was taken to ICU.  He suffered a spinal cord injury and couldn't feel his legs.  He recently had surgery, but won't be able to move for many months and they suspect it will be years until he can even walk!  My lola got stitches in her arm and my tita got stitches in her head.  All of them were covered in cuts.  This was definitely not the trip my mom had in mind.

Finally my mom's sister in Canada was also able to return home to see her husband and her family.  The whole family hadn't been home together in 5 years. Unfortunately, it was this terrible event that brought them back together. 

Sorry for the melancholy story… Really puts things in perspective. On the upside the houses are coming along well!   

Below are pictures of the roofs/houses being rebuilt. Thanks again to all who donated money to help rebuild my family's homes! It means so much to me as well as my family! 

<3,

Cookie 

Tita Elma, my mom, Lola, my cousin Ellery aka Noynoy after coming home from the hospital

Having a meal after a few of the relatives donated blood for my Tito Raymond

The new roof in the family room of Lola

The roof up close

Working on the roof in the back of the house above the kitchen

Brand new structures for the kitchen made of hollow blocks and cement (not finished yet)

Another shot of the kitchen

The old structure of the kitchen

The left side is the new structure of the kitchen.  The finished outside of the roof with gutters. Almost done!

My Tita's brand new house (almost finished). Her house was completely destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan.

 And the highlight of my mom's trip.. visiting the mall where I still have an ad for Big Apple Express Spa! Joke lang! (Kidding!)

Typhoon Haiyan Update!!!

First, I want to thank all of you who have helped my family out.  We really can't thank you enough.  Thank you for opening your hearts and giving my family a roof over there heads.  The fundraiser had an awesome turn out, more than I ever could imagine.  Between the eBay auction and donations, we raised over $5500!!!!  This will go a long way in the Philippines.  Below are some photos that I have received from my family abroad.  And even after all the destruction, my family rallied to celebrate my Lola's 83rd birthday!  I wanted to show you all exactly where your money is going as well as who you are helping.  Mariming salamat!!!

<3,

Cooke

Post typhoon.  Family and neighbors meeting together to ration out the rice.

The lechun for the fiesta!  It survived the typhoon and made the perfect main dish for Lola's birthday/town fiesta!

My mom put together 6 boxes to send to our family in the Philippines.  Extra supplies and presents for the fam!  (All money raised is going directly to the rebuilding of my family's homes; these boxes were solely compiled and funded by my mom and dad.)

Lastly, a big thank you from my family!!!

Typhoon Haiyan- No Joke

I know wikipedia is frowned upon and in college we are banned from using it…but my blog, my rules.. and thank goodness I won't have a prof grading this!  The following is a brief description of the recent typhoon that plagued the Philippines via wikipedia:

"Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, was an exceptionally powerful typhoon that devastated portions of southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, in early November 2013. It is the DEADLIEST Philippine typhoon on record,^[1] killing at least 5,235 people in that country alone.^[2] Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the fourth strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed.<sup>[3]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Haiyan</sup>

I know we have all heard about it the news. Seeing it is one thing, but knowing your family is actually going through it is far worse.  As many of you know I am half Filipino.  My mom is born and raised Filipino.  She grew up on Panay Island, in San Enrique (near Iloilo), in Barangay Braulan.  I have had the pleasure of visiting her home three times before, and nearly all of her family still resides there to this day.

 Map of Panay Island

This was two years ago when I visited my family after a tournament with the Malditas.

Earlier this month I was away from my parents house down in South Carolina for a friend's wedding. I had been driving and prepping for the trip so hadn't been on social media or any media for that matter. One of my friend's texted me and asked if my family and friends were okay because there was a typhoon on its way.  Well, I have been in the Philippines during  typhoon and it is a usual thing there.  There has already been at least 10 this year so hearing about a typhoon didn't alarm me at first. Then when I saw it on the news I got worried after realizing the severity of the incoming storm.  I called my mom to see if she had spoke to the family.  The news in America was telling us it was a Level 4 storm, but for some reason my family in the Philippines only heard it was a Level 1.  My mom was only able to get a hold of one of her relatives and during the conversation they were cut off.  Typhoons and rain always mean terrible phone service and often times the electricity will go out, but with what we were hearing in the news, my mom and I were both worried.  My mom went into big sister mode (being the 2nd oldest of 6) and started to make sure her family was ready for the storm and really knew was heading towards them.  

The path of Typhoon Haitian

If you compare the picture of where my mom's family is located up above with this one you can see that they are pretty much right below that red swirl.  Now, we could only wait and see what cards the universe would deal my family.  Luckily, my family in the Philippines were all safe and alive and no serious injuries.  My friends in Manila, as you can see on the map, were hardly affected, just the normal strong winds and heavy rain dampening a day in Manila.    

But back to the barrio (the term we use to describe the neighborhood or area in the countryside, similar to "campo").. my family pretty much live in one designated area.  There's my lola's house and then her kids have their homes nearby, all within walking distance of one another.  And then the wives and husbands of my aunts and uncles also have family members nearby.  That is why when you go to the Philippines, EVERYBODY is your family, and why filipinos are known to be friendly and welcoming (unless of course you catch me in a soccer game or on a mtv challenge then my maldita side comes out :p). 

Just a few of my relatives!

Inside my Lola's house last year with my cousins, tita, and lola

In front of my tita's house last year. Houses like these suffered significant damage.

In my tita's house two years ago. Much of the houses are constructed with bamboo. 

Anyway, of the homes, my lola has the strongest, so a lot of the family gathered there.  Lola Iluminada (what an awesome name!), had around 30 people cram into her home during the storm.  And good thing too, because all they other homes that weren't as sturdy were partially shredded as you will see in pics below.  

Roof blown off

Roof blown off and even inside is damaged

Destruction and debris

 More destruction

and more

Tree damage

Well, what is going on now?  Because so many people were affected by the typhoon most resources are limited.  Carpenters for rebuilding are tending to their own families right now.  Generators are triple the price and are only in main cities.  My family is currently trying to acquire one, but it is turning out to be a arduous task.  One of my cousins in Manila might have to get it there and then travel by boat instead of by plane to get a generator to my family.  Power is out for the next few months probably and that is why a generator helps!  

 The make shift kitchen for the meantime

For now, my family are back to how our ancestors lived which for a filipino in the barrio won't be as hard as it would be for some of us.  For me, I don't know if I would survive!  When I visit there, one second I see the chickens basking in the afternoon sun, next thing I see my 10 yr old cousin snapping its neck and then I see the chicken and all its parts on the dinner table :).  They don't waste a thing out there! Luckily, nearby neighbors have generators and charge a mere 40 pesos for phone charging (though that is a dollar here and that adds up!).  So I guess I would survive.. as long as I could charge my phone and my cousins can snap chicken's necks.

We're also lucky that the newly paved main road is still open, linking us to the nearest open town that is still up and running. The hospital is also in good condition. Unfortunately my lola is there now after being injured in a post typhoon motorcycle accident.  Why my badass 83 yr old tiny-but-tough-as-nails Lola was left on a motorcycle to be hit by my careless cousin who's motorcycle was stuck in the ridges of the muddy mountain road... I don't know.  But I am sure when Lola is back to her normal health some one is going to get pinched. Hard. Lola is THE boss in the barrio. I also think this mini accident happened for a reason, because my Lola can be stubborn and she refused to see a doctor after her terrible cough and aches and pains as she had too much to do in the barrio!  They just suffered from this crazy typhoon.  So I get it. Family first.  Gotta make sure everything is getting done.  Well, lola, you can't do all that when you're sick.  And because my family dragged her to the hospital (hopefully they took the trike this time), she found out she had tuberculosis and pneumonia.  My lola has been able to get the proper care and STILL after all this tragedy, sickness, bruises, etc.. she in high spirits.  That is my lola.  And I see my lola in my mom today.  My mom is always reminding me family is everything, to be thankful for what I have, and to help people whenever I can. I am so proud to be related to both of them and that is why I am so proud to be a filipino.  

Lola and i

Nanay (mom) when our family went to visit the Philippines for the first time. never thought I would ever see my mom do this!

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP!!!
So in light of this typhoon and the destruction that it has caused, I have decided to find a way to help my family who have been directly affected.  The last few weeks I have been accepting donations to paypal account heathercooke13@gmail.com and I have also been auctioning off items on eBay where 100% of the money is being sent to my family in the Philippines to help rebuild their homes. 

Autupgraphed Photos:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171623911?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171623198?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171622420?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171621283?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171620050?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171616278?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171612868?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171611488?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Also, my fellow challenge buddies Sam from Real World San Diego and Robb from Real World St. Thomas, on their own accord contacted me and sent me their jerseys to help raise money!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151171606613?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151174920437?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151174924371?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

So far, I have raised over $3000 between ebay and paypal donations.
My challenge jersey from Rivals 2 went for over $300!
My recent Philippine National Team Jersey went for over $400!
Other jerseys and items relating to soccer and real world made over $800!
So for the people that have already helped, thank you so much!!! Know that you are directly helping my family rebuild their homes lost in Typhoon Haiyan.  They will have a much easier time thanks to all of you.  Some of you I know, and some of you I don't, either way I can't tell you how thankful and grateful my family and I are for your generosity!

I will be trying to update my blog as I receive information.  Thank you so much for reading!

<3 Cooke