My First Season Of Recreational Soccer

Ever since I could remember, soccer had been in my life. If there was a soccer team that needed a coach, my father was always the first to volunteer. There were almost too many strenuous weekends spent hours away from home for soccer tournaments to count. My entire family, consisting of my parents, my siblings, my dog, and myself, packed in a mini-van heading to a city that I had never heard of for soccer games. But when I entered high school, all that would soon go away. I kept playing the same sport that I always had, although now I had to wake up at five in the morning for six hours of high school soccer practice in the smoldering summer heat in order to make the high school team. High School sports were more competitive than anything I had done before. I put in as much effort as I could to make the Varsity High School team, staying out past dinner to practice even longer. I was utterly divulged in soccer and trying to be the best I could be. Soon, I would regret placing a game over spending time with my family.

The first day of tryouts came around and I woke up that morning shaking with excitment and shear nervousness. I ate my bagel and chocolate milk, (a pregame ritual of mine) laced up my cleats, and was on my way. The second I got to the field I knew I was in for a long day. Most of the guys were double my size and looked like they were professionals. After a few days of the long, hard, and grueling tryout process the coaches posted the team on their website. When I saw my name wasn't on the list I felt spiteful, angry, even a little ashamed with myself. I knew I deserved a spot on that team and I was determined to claim it.

The next big milestone in soccer for me was when I was a freshman in high school. I went to Troy High and didn 't think I was good enough to play high school soccer. If it wasn’t for my best friend’s dad, I really wouldn 't have played. He told me that I would regret not playing and that I had a lot of potential. I decided to try out with my three best friends and we all ran and did exhausting fitness exercises for weeks during tryouts. First, we’d have to do five laps around the track. In the beginning of the season, those five laps are a killer. By the end of the second one, I am usually out of breath. After that, we’d get into groups and do stations, like jumping over bars or doing sit-ups and push-ups, basically anything to get us into shape. The third part of practice was sprinting. I like sprints because I am way better at running faster for one-hundred yards, than doing a long distance run. The next part of tryouts were the best, all the girls would get put into two teams and we’d just scrimmage so he could see our real soccer skills. Coach Haviland, who was the varsity coach, decided teams after the tough two weeks. He said I had a little maturing to do on the field and that I will be on varsity in no time. I was shocked! I didn 't even think he was considering me. I had a lot of fun with the Junior Varsity team and made lots of friends. By

Soccer is my favorite sport, no I don’t watch it on tv, nor do I have a favorite soccer team. So, it all started when I was eight years old I believe I told my mom that I didn’t want to do a certain thing anymore and that I wanted to play a sport a.k.a soccer. She of course told me sure. So she signed me up for soccer a couple of days later. I was so happy I was jumping up and down with excitement. Little did I know that I would love the sport. So, the day of the first soccer practice I was nervous I never done anything with the team and I had these questions running in my head like what if no one likes you here? Or what if you like the sport? Or what if you aren’t even good enough ? but I let these questions slide and I had learned how to play the sport. In that amount of time I thought no more like Challenged myself and said “ Cassie you can do this you are going to be apart of this team and you are going to be the best.” From then on I challenged myself, I practiced almost all the

February 3rd 2013 was tryouts for the high school baseball team. I can remember I marked it on my calendar at home in early fall of 2012 and I worked hard every day so I could be my best and make the team. I remember counting down the days witch felt like for ever and ever. Then the day hit when I had to go out onto the field and show the coaches what I was made for. Before me and the other freshman’s had to be on the field we all were in the field house and seating around waiting on the coach to come and tell us to come outside. I remember all the older kids talking bad on me, they were saying " wow the coaches must have lost it letting you try out for the team”. I told myself to just let the be the fuel to your fire and go out there and be the

The heat was oppressive and the drills were challenging, but I could succeed. Three hot days of drills and games, laps and running, and the try outs were complete. The tryouts were now over, but the waiting had now begun. Texts crossing paths, everyone anxious, refreshing the emails; it was more than I could bear. Would I make it? Would I succeed? Although I wanted to, I knew it would not matter. It was the confidence and determination I displayed that had really affected me. After hours of waiting, I finally received the email, and opened it hesitantly. Expecting a serious, not so inviting message, I was nervous; however, once I read the email, I was pleased to see the positive expression, “Congratulations!” spread across the top. I made it. I was finally a part of the

Constant running and never ending judgement from those around me. Yet, this did not make me stop. I challenged my teammates and coaches belief that I could not play and quickly became one of the most used players on the team. I nearly made the varsity team and started several games on Junior Varsity. I played amongst those who doubted me and became one of them. I became a soccer player, I learned to lead those around me, adapt to an environment I had yet to encounter, and how to change people’s opinion about me. It was the proudest moment of my adolescent life when the coach said an amazing heartfelt speech about how I would challenge both him and myself everyday at practice because I wanted to prove to those surrounding me I deserved to be playing on the pitch amongst them. The decision I made to go out for a sport I had never played my junior year of high school is by far the turning point of my life, I truly believe it changed me and gave me another dimension to my complex personality. I gave me an experience unlike that of any other person because I am not a natural athlete, I am just a child who has been doubted but has destroyed that doubt over and over

We decided to pass the ball around to help kill time. I saw many familiar faces many of the girls I grew up playing with on rec leagues were going to tryout. At exactly 5:30 sharp the tryouts commenced. We started with a simple 3 lap jog or so it sounded. At the pace the older girls were taking those three laps they might as well have called it a three lap sprint. After the worst three laps of my life I was drenched in sweat and breathing as heavily as a dog after it chases a squirrel. After we got past the sprinting and stamina part I began to show what I could really do. I tried my hardest on every drill that they had us do so I could ensure myself a spot on the team. After that there was still one day of tryouts that would be the following day. The next day we did mostly the same stuff we had done the day before but you could feel that everyone was trying their best to impress the coaches that were judging us. As the tryouts came to a close I hoped that had done just enough to catch the eye of one of the judges. After the second day of tryouts the coordinators told us that know who did and didn't make the

Ever since I was in grade school, I was one of the smallest kids in my class. I have always loved the game of soccer. Because of my size, I knew as I got older that I would have to practice really hard and in my spare time in order to keep up with the other kids. Since I had my heart set on becoming a starter, I had my mind made up that I would work hard on and off soccer season.

When I was a freshman in high school, I tried out for the Minnesota High Performance Hockey Team. I was so excited that I got invited to try out because I knew this is where all of the best players in the state came together to play hockey. After the tryout process, I anxiously awaited the news of whether or not I made the team. A couple days later, I got the tryout results. I was devastated that I did not make the team. After I thinking about it for a few days, I decided that I was going to work extremely hard and make the team the next year. I put forth my best effort at all of my different practices, and put in extra time outside of practice to work towards my goal. Sophomore year tryouts came, and once again, I was determined to make the

However, my parents pushed me to continue playing, and I then came to the decision to tryout for another team. I started to prepare intensely, in hopes to make the team. When arriving at the first tryout, my stomach was in a knot, and I felt ill. When hesitantly and nervously walking into the gym, I was the opposite of optimistic. I felt hopeless, and that making the team was not even a possibility.

The day of the tryout I began to feel just how real it was, and I was horrified. I couldn’t help myself from imagining what was about to happen. I foresaw the judges and their intimidating glares. I could almost hear their pens glide across the paper as they examined my every move. I felt like a tiny mouse in the large desolate gym. I tried to calm myself down, but every attempt I made was futile.

What seemed like a normal day, Saturday, December 8, 2012, turned out to be anything but normal. I had a full day of soccer planned, and for me, that wasn’t anything new. I was competing for a spot on the North Carolina ODP (Olympic Development Program) soccer team.

When i was 5 years old my dad enrolled me to a soccer game. I started of with no experience and it was tough for me since i didn’t really know how to play the game of soccer. When i first went to practice i had a hard time fitting into the team since i was far behind and they all were used to running and the drills the coach made us do. That day i remember they made us ran a lot and i threw up. The next day i didn’t want to be in a soccer team and i wanted to quit but my parents didn’t let me because they wanted me to be in a team. I practice for four days and my first game was up, i didn’t know if i was going to play or not. Before the game started they didn’t have a goalie so they asked if anyone would be the goalie for this game. I decided to be the goalie with zero experience. I regret playing goalie that game because they scored like more than 10 goals on me and one of them i wasn't even paying attention and looking at the sky. I remember that the assistant coaches tried making me a goalie and improve on being a goalie but i didn’t want to. All i remember is that but i remember i kept going to practice and they tested me on each position defender, midfielder, and attacker. I was chosen to play defender. I remember i hardly ever played games and my parents were mad at the coach for never letting me play. I soon played games i played right back and i was number 4. I remember playing games against teams that looked much older than us. I remember playing tons of games and

referee blew his whistle announcing the game was about to beginning, it's was our biggest rival, Silver creek.“Let's go ladies . We can do this!” Our captain told us so that we could go out there and take the win. It was 7:30. When the game had began,The bleachers were full of people from both teams. This game was the most important game so far because both team were tied for first so whoever won this game was the champion of the league . As the sky got darker and the crowd couldn’t stop from screaming. With the first half ended, The score was 0-0, were playing good lady's but we can play better ” Coach told us. He then turned around and started walking away.