Michael Hyland: The Most Influential People In My Life

Soccer has always been a sport that I’ve loved throughout my childhood. I’ve watched superstars like Sami Aljaber and Yousf Althunyan put on epic performances through the expression of soccer. However, I never truly understood what soccer could do for me until I signed up for my first soccer team. It was in high school, and I was only sixteen years old at the time. I was very excited to have my own team, and to have my statistics being recorded throughout the season. I definitely wanted to test my skills on the soccer field against true competitors that wanted to win just as badly as I did. There were local schools that we had to compete against, and then if we made it far enough, we would get to compete at the state and national levels. When I signed up for my high school soccer team, I truly didn’t know what to expect. I expected to have some fun with my new teammates and friends, but I didn’t realize that it would teach me a valuable life lesson about hard work and discipline. This paper will explain the ups and downs that I’ve had throughout my high school soccer years, and how it helped me become a better person today by instilling positive traits such as hard work, determination, and discipline.

As a young girl, I was introduced to soccer by my father. I think I was about eight at the time when I first played on a recreational team, and I remember that I had always wanted to play goalkeeper. In soccer, the goalkeeper is the last defensive player, but is also the first offensive player once the play turns. The idea of playing such an important position thrilled me, and it didn’t hurt that the goalkeeper gets the opportunity to use their hands as well as punt the ball across the field. From the age of nine until the age of eleven, I played competitive and recreational soccer as a goalkeeper, and stopped in the sixth grade. I picked the sport back up as a freshman in high school, after my younger sister had urged me to join the school

There are a lot of people that have impacted my life. Some of them affected me in a really negative way or in a positive way. My family really helped me in my life and guided me to the right path. There are three main people that stand out who impacted me for the best and mean everything to me.

I approached the gym, nervously changing into my soccer gear, and facing some very skilled players. I felt that because I had practiced so much, my abilities had definitely improved. Not only this, but because I had already experienced two nerve wracking years trying out, I knew exactly what Mr. McBurney would throw our way. My past would

He was the top star on JV for Marshall High School Soccer. During the season, Ethan and a couple of his teammates led them to a successful season, winning a good amount of their games. Also, he kept everyone in the game and they all got better. On the other hand, he has taught me a whole bunch of skills in soccer. To begin with, I used to barely dribble because I wasn’t good at it, but now, I am extremely good. Plus, he has taught me how to do a “rainbow”. A “rainbow” in soccer is when the ball is in between your legs, and you flick it over your head, usually facing sideways, but can be done either way. I tried, but I just couldn’t do it. Not until my brother saw me struggling with it. Ethan could do the “rainbow” with ease, and once he showed me how it is supposed to be done, it was easy for me, too. He told me when I place the ball in between my feet, I need to flick the ball the same direction the side of my body is facing. So, I tried it a couple of times, and it worked. What I was doing wrong was that the ball was not parallel with the side of my body. I want to follow his footsteps and be a star on JV, or even make the Varsity Soccer Team, if I can. My brother has given me some beneficial and extremely useful pointers that I can use later in life. Ethan grew a lot while he got more focused in school and soccer. His height has exceptionally helped him, although eating healthier impacted his

Yet my apprehension prevailed as I continued to fear getting put in the game in case another player was injured. I was still afraid of making mistakes and getting blamed by screaming coaches and angry teammates. Sometimes these fears came true. During my sophomore season, my position led me to play in the varsity games on many occasions. On such occasions, I often made mistakes. Most of the time the mistakes were not significant; they rarely changed the outcome of a play. Yet I received a thorough verbal lashing at practice for the mistakes I had made. These occurrences only compounded my fears of playing. However, I did not always make mistakes. Sometimes I made great plays, for which I was congratulated. Now, as I dawn on my senior year of soccer, I feel like a changed person.

“Grace, take the kick!” My coach yelled. My heart hammered in my chest, my palms sweaty. I scanned all of the people from my team and the other team in between me and the net. If I make this shot my team will win, but if I miss it, we will probably lose. The field grew silent. I eyed the corner of the goal, and then the white and blue ball. That is where I wanted the ball to go, now I just had to get it there.

September 14, 2007 became the best day of my life and the worst day of my life combined into one. During one of my high school soccer games, I had the realization that my passion for soccer could come to a screeching halt, not by choice, but by injury. Here is where that emotion filled day started. I worked so hard to earn my first starting game as a freshman goalkeeper, and on that cool autumn night, I finally got what I had been working hard for, that high school Varsity starting spot. Before every game, the announcer announced the starting lineup for each team in the stadium for all of the fans to hear. Hearing my name announced in my high school stadium for the first time felt like no feeling I have ever felt before. So much joy, anxiety,

Entering that room, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. As I sat there my heart dropped when I heard the words, "you made the team", "you are not going to play much", and "if you tryout next year you will not make the team". I was in such a daze as I reemerged from the room. It was as if the wind had been knocked out of me and I was having trouble understanding what had just happened. I had never felt disappointment like I did in that moment in my entire life. Soccer had been the only sport I knew for 8 years. Change had always been a struggle for me since I was little so I was aware that trying a new sport was going to be difficult. Field hockey captains practices were held during the summer, so I decided to go to one and

I have always loved soccer, ever since I was small and had just started it, along with kindergarten. Now I was venturing into a new level of soccer: elementary school soccer. For the past year, I had been watching professional soccer, making sure to learn from every important detail that had made those larger than life players so extraordinary, so talented, and so perfect. I wrote down facts, statistics, and formations that seemed to bring them success. I practiced soccer often. For a while, I would practice for an hour or more at home after school, and when it got too cold to go outside, I would go in my garage to juggle and shoot the ball, then up to two hours at a time. I was so excited for the elementary school soccer program and I thought

Being a goalie, Mr. Robert Jaffe, the head coach, paired me up with a special needs goalie named Josh. He was a fifteen-year-old, which was the same age as me at the time. Mr. Jaffe told me that Josh had autism, but was very easy to work with. When I met Josh, he looked so excited to see me. After talking with him briefly, I could tell that he had a true passion for the game and really wanted to improve. I was very impressed that despite his disabilities he was able to physically perform a very involved task. Mr. Jaffe told me that Josh had improved a great deal since last year and that he expected me to help him continue to improve. This made things a little more meaningful for me because now it was not just a job but a

He didn't know much, but he took what he knew already. My dad had taken the soccer drills, that he knew, and he made me practice them all. At first, I didn’t know how was this practice going to help me in and way, he said: “everything you do always help you”. Later on during the practicing, I realize that he was trying to help me out with my footwork. After the footwork drills, we started working on agility, acceleration, and awareness drills to work towards what I already know and improve it. We had been practicing for two hours now, I was about to die, but my dad did not let me give up. “You can give up, but I’m not going to give up on you ever”. A few days had passed, but it was a humid night. My dad said, “you have a big game tomorrow.” With respect, I looked at him. Before I say anything, he grabs me by my shoulder and I just smile and hugged him

Today I am on a different called Valladolid in Pingree Grove, playing as a goalkeeper for the u16 premier league and the u18 Premiership league where I play in college showcases. If I had never joined the Crystal Lake Force team and had never met Jason my chances of being where I am now are uncomparable. From day 1 of soccer, people saw me as a mediocre player. Today parents and coaches I knew from park district and past travel teams, have come up to me after game and would tell how much I have improved. I often think about how If I ever saw Jason again as a player I would want to be the most confident and skilled player on the team. I would also want to be equal with my teammates to a level where we can play together and not in individual worlds and mindsets. This way we would be friends and teammates and not just acquaintances that play in a game every Wednesday. Jason helped me from

The coach was a male as usual, friendly and skilled. I was excited but fearful at the same time. The sense of people watching me while I was on the field put a shake in my heart because I did not want to look foolish. We practiced hard every day to prepare for our first game. After a month of practice, the game was scheduled. When I arrived at the field, the crowd was giving me confidence and hope. I went on the field as a striker-my favorite position. Everyone had the choice of the position they had the desire for. I had wanted to be striker because I had the desire to be the person who scores. Being a striker is the hardest position on the field; I had to be fast, and my accuracy had to be perfect. Our first match did not go well; the other team had scored multiple goals. My team lost every game. The season ended quickly in shame and

Mr. Vital told us how he went from wanting to be a professional soccer play to becoming a successful head coach at the college level, that gave me insight into how life can really work. He had the goal from a young age but along the way he found himself in a position in which he felt comfortable and thought would help him out in the long run. I started my journey at the age of thirteen at a local baseball park on the sole journey of enhancing my ability to speak Spanish but in my five years at the park, I found areas in which I excelled at and that put me on the path that I am on now. The whole track of my life is now in motion for now on a track to end in the major leagues but after listening to Mr. Vital he made me open up my mind that our futures aren’t completely set and we need to experience the things that will help me broaden my horizons. He came from a background where he was told not to pursue the dream of