Michel-Gratton Research Paper

On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to.

It was that time of the year again, football season. Football is a sport in which I am very passionate about, I never knew I could or would be so passionate towards something, until one very specific game. It was a Saturday afternoon, the breeze was just right, the temperature was just right; not to cold and not too hot. Being the first game of the season I didn’t know if I was going to play or not. However, I was proven wrong Coach Smith hollered “Shawn!” I stood up startled at first and right then and there I knew that was my moment to shine and shine is what I did.

It all started when I walked into Island Coasts High School’s open house. I didn’t know what to expect, and was filled with trepidation about whether or not I would even know enough about football to sign up. I made my way to the cafeteria in order to sign up. I met the coaches,

Our team went undefeated for our first 16 games, and then our 17th game we had our first tie. We were used to killed the team we tied to, but that proves if you don’t come ready not everything is going to go your way. Some of the kids kind of took it the wrong way. We won 14 more games after that and kept playing strong. Then we had our final playoff game to see who was going to state or not.

It is the first round of the Basketball State playoffs, and with eight seconds left, the talented Northwest team is down by three. The star point guard speed dribbles up the court, the tension on and off the court is immense, the pressure is even greater. Everyone during and prior to this game, had witnessed a season full of promise, and the consensus conclusion for most recognized this team as the best team to have ever come out Northwest High School. This was our best and likely only chance for success. So as the point guard puts the ball up, time nearly stops, it has a chance, but in like in life, the game of basketball is unforgiving, he misses. As most made their pre-conceived predictions of the future, or lack thereof, a young sophomore and his Junior Varsity teammates, we were inspired by our elders walking off the court, and the doubters going home. Bonded together, and we believed we were destine for something historical, and mythological outside our small circle. Thus two years later the 2016 Northwest Varsity Basketball team, the discourse community, where I developed relationships with the people I still call my brothers. A community which has shaped my work ethic, and has given me the knowledge of the amount of effort and work it takes to be successful. All of which was in efforts for a goal not even pronounced among our teammates, to us the future was still a mystery, only realized to us a one

On that first Saturday in June 2012, my teammates and I fulfilled our life-long goals of winning a state championship together and proving to the people that did not believe in us that we could do it. On that day, those fifteen guys I had grown up through grade school with were no longer just teammates and friends, they became brothers to me. Another reason Huntington Park is so special to me is because I was the final pitcher in both championships, meaning I had the ball in my hand when the game was on the line. Standing on the mound in front of ten thousand people with all eyes looking at you is a nerve racking feeling but there was no better feeling then being the guy that our coach trusted to bring home the trophy for our team. Lastly, this baseball stadium known as Huntington Park is so special to me because after receiving that trophy and medal for winning the championship I also received my high school diploma at home plate because our team missed the graduation ceremony. There are not many people in the world that can say they received their high school diploma on the same field they won a state championship. Huntington Park may not be a special place for anyone else but it will always be a special place for my teammates and myself. Those two days our dreams became realities and that is something we will all look back and cherish forever. Whether it’s passing by the stadium in my car or attending a Columbus Clippers game during the summer time, any time I find myself back at Huntington Park I still get the chills from knowing I played on that

Throughout the season we had some big defeats from the tougher schools, however I was able to maintain our team’s morale throughout our wins and losses. And Fundraising. Oh boy those were tough. This year was very different from the previous with the new restrictions. However this brought out our teams creativity. These new obstacles brought pushed our team to think out of the box and work together in effort to raise money for the team.

All the emotions started sinking in as we started to cry with joy. After all the crying, we went to say “good game” for sportsmanship and returned to the mound to complete a bet. We bet Coach Cadena that if we went undefeated for the whole season, the team got to dogpile on him. And we did. All of us returned to the dugout with all of our families and the baseball team congratulating us. Seeing my fathers’ face with a huge smile made me feel so great he got to see me play with four single hits and no outs. I made a contribution to the game that I was awarded second region team. During the end of the awards ceremony, when we hold the championship plaque, all of us had the biggest smiles on our faces and returned home with

The team I played for the Butler Tiger’s had been chosen pre-season conference champs. We were a group of young men who had been playing

In the middle of June I’ll find myself on the football field drenched in sweat, hoping to make a “2-Peat”. I’ll be embraced by all the coaches and fellow players, we’ll all be like one big happy family. On game days the stands will be packed full of screaming fans, all confident that Monroe will win the game. After the win, the opposing team will leave with their heads held high, because we’re only good athletes, we don’t compare to the well rounded student-athletes at their school.

The water released from the clouds in the form of rain, sleet, snow or hail is called precipitation. For the formation of precipitation millions of droplets coalesce into drops large enough so as to sustain themselves during their descent. Two mechanisms have been put forth to explain this phenomenon, which are explained as follows:

George Grenville was born on October 14th, 1712. He was born in a small town named Wotton Underwood in the United Kingdom. He was born to a family of seven children. When he was old enough he started education at Eton and Christ church,Oxford. He studied there for 3 years. After being educated he was called upon in 1735 to the bar. He was known to be shallow but very intelligent well spoken. His wife ,Elizabeth Wyndham, was the granddaughter of Duke of somerset. She postponed the wedding because the duke did not approve of the wedding. George Grenville isn't known for his marriage he is known for his time in the house of commons and his expertise in the procedure of the

Claude Garamond was born between 1480 and 1510 in Paris, France. He died in 1561 in the same city a very successful man. During his life he trained as a type puncher with Simon de Colines and Geoffroy Troy. He created typefaces for independent publishers as well as the government of France. In the year 1540 three of his Greek typefaces, known as the Grecs du roi, were chosen for a royally-ordered book series by Robert Estienne. The typefaces themselves were originally modeled after the handwriting of the king’s librarian. Garamond made them extremely complex with many different variations of each letter to simulate actual handwriting.

The team was ready, we had been working extremely hard for the past seven months for this. We were all in great shape and very rested. A few of the returning players were meeting me at my house to carpool to the final game of the state championship tournament. Everyone knew that the hard work had paid off when we won the semi-final game the preceding day.

I looked up at the scoreboard and the time read 8 minutes left. As I looked at the scoreboard I felt a jolt of energy enter my body. I had felt as if a fire was lit under me. My eyes opened as if I had just seen a ghost. I remember thinking to myself, “how can we lose this game?” I made a promise to myself that I would win 4 state titles while being at Battlefield High School. This was my sophomore year of high school and I had already won one state title, how could I give up now and let my dreams be crushed, I worked too hard for that to happen. In that moment I knew there was only one result I was going to walk off the field with, and that was with a win and another State Championship. I took a deep breath and thought to myself, “My team needs energy. They need a leader.”