Personal Accomplishments Of A Football Player

I have not and will never forget those series of events. This time hurt me but also helped build upon my character. It was my freshman year of high school. I had decided to play soccer, which was not a hard decision for me since I had played travel soccer pretty much my whole life. Also my brother was in high school at the time and played for the boys soccer team, and had my dad as his coach. He loved it and was having a great experience playing high school soccer so of course I like to follow in my brother’s footsteps. I was very nervous at first. There were over eleven seniors on the team, and they were pretty intimidating to me. During the summer, I played with the varsity often and enjoyed it. As I kept playing with them and performing well, my nerves lessened. Finally when the actual season rolled around, I was put on full varsity. All my hard work had paid off. I was one of the two freshman put on varsity. I was ecstatic. I was actually very lucky at getting put on varsity because at this point in my life I played purely out of natural talent. I was never one to put in extra work outside of practice and be disciplined in the way I lived my life. I never really strived to be the best I could be. Making varsity made me somewhat of a threat for the older girls. Some were happy for me, others did not like the thought of a freshman on varsity. These girls were hard coore they were bound and determined to make it to state that year. They were not going to accept anything less than amazing. This put an incredible amount of pressure on us younger girls. I remember going to every practice nervous that I was going to mess up and they get mad at me. I never really felt at ease with them. In the first few games I got good playing time. I was doing really well. I was finally getting comfortable out there on the field, but that was not the direction God was taking me and with one swift kick of the soccer

I have learned a great many things from playing soccer. It has changed my entire outlook on and attitude toward life. Before my freshman year at Cool high school, I was shy, had low self-esteem and turned away from seemingly impossible challenges. Soccer has altered all of these qualities. On the first day of freshman practice, the team warmed up with a game of soccer. The players were split up and the game began. However, during the game, I noticed that I didn't' t run as hard as I could, nor did I try to evade my defender and get open. The fact of the matter is that I really did not want to receive the ball. I didn't' t want to be the one at fault if the play didn't' t succeed. I did not want the responsibility of helping the team

I was constantly looked down on, as through the practices, varsity players continuously knock me down and run me over. One varsity player named Jordan Zorbas hit me so hard I felt like a crash test dummy. Later in practices, the varsity roster was taped to the locker-room’s wall. I couldn’t place my name on the list, meaning that I was on the freshman team. I remember thinking,“ Why couldn’t I make it, “ but deep down I knew why. I began practicing with the freshman team at linebacker. September 7th we had our first game against Ida Baker high school. I remember making the first tackle of the game, with me wrapping the running back and stripping the ball from his meaty hands. Although I started the whole game, I was not satisfied with my performance and felt that I should’ve done

I went up Coach Griffin after that first practice and asked him what I could improve on to be a varsity player. He told me that I was at the skill level required for the team; however, my lack of experience was leading to a noticeable confidence issue. I would just have to work hard on JV that year, he said, and they would possibly pull me up later in the season. I took it to heart, and it was only after that season that I realized how wise he was to put me on JV. That year, I was the captain of the team and one of the best players on the field, and after a few games, I was dressing for

I started the first few weeks wanting to impress the head coach to prove to him I deserved a spot within the starting nine on the varsity level. I practiced hard, never goofed off, and went to the cages with my dad on the weekends. I wanted to make the varsity level to show my family and myself that I could do it and that I was good enough to compete at the varsity high school softball level. When I was younger, I made the team I wanted, I never considered failing to be part of me. The big week came, the teams were posted all seven freshmen had made a team but yet to find which side of the paper their name

We would always begin our practices with sprints and one long run before we continued with technical drills. Many girls struggled with the endurance aspect of soccer. I would always do my best to finish the run, then immediately head back to the last person running in to finish so that they would not feel singled out during these athletic struggles. I thought of how great our soccer team was going to become. The chemistry seemed just right and to the point where we could see ourselves winning the district tournament at the end of the year. Unfortunately, my dreams of victory came to a halt when I started to see divisions on the team. These divisions started due to one of the seniors talking down to underclassman, especially to one of the most talented girls on the team who became our top scorer. This particular senior became jealous of our top scorer and decided to ban girls together so they wouldn’t assist her in her attempts to score. Thankfully our team’s talent led us to win most of our games, but I could see how much these divisions were hurting us as a team. I decided to talk to my soccer coach about the matter to get his opinion. He reminded of my captain position, and how I am expected try to resolve these situations as well. I concluded that

At that moment I realized that I had to add something to my game in order to stand out. I soon learned that practice and physicality could only make me better. Freshman year came around and i didn't have a coach that was willing to support me and help me develop into the player i know i am today. Its been a whirlwind of emotions with all the pain and failure I've experienced since my freshman year, when i watched the team go 4-11, To say the least i didn't get a single game but that only taught me to fight harder for what i wanted. Sophomore year came around, and with that a new coaching staff that gave me an opportunity to shine from day one. At the beginning of my sophomore season i thought i wasn't meant to be a goalkeeper, so i switched to attack, after a few games, i didn't like it and my coach could see that i was frustrated not being able to settle in. During a game against Flanagan High School, our goalie let in two goals in a matter of seconds, and our coach

Being an older student in my grade, I have always played up an age group during the club season. As a freshman, I played club soccer with many of my sophomore friends from school. When I entered sophomore year and tried out for high school soccer, I half-expected to make the varsity team with all of my now junior friends. To my bewilderment, I was not even given the opportunity to try out with the older group of players, as I was forced to try out with the other sophomores and freshmen. After making the JV team while my clubmates earned a spot on the varsity team, my pride took a hit. To cope with my damaged ego, I began to carry myself on the field in a way that was both self-defeating and harmful to the team. I refused to pass the ball, shot from wherever I felt like, and rarely listened to the advice of my coach or teammates. Six games into the season, I realized that I was not playing up to my ability, nor was I enjoying the playing experience. The arrogance in my thinking and playing had gotten the better of me, and was ruining one of my favorite hobbies. I understood that a change in mindframe and behavior would be necessary to have a successful soccer campaign in which I may improve myself and my team. I started playing with more humility, as I was more willing to pass, track back, and listen to those around me. I could feel the shift in my behavior improving my game, which was an incredibly rewarding feeling. Thanks to this change in my self-defeating behavior, I had a fantastic season, managing to earn the MVP award for the JV team, as well as a varsity call up for the playoffs. Overcoming this sense of arrogance was essential to my growth as a player and as a human being, for it taught my younger self that I am entitled to nothing in this life. Moreover, all opportunities must be earned,

I played competitive soccer for a very long time, and right before one outdoor season, I got the news that I was dropping a level, and it shattered my heart. I thought I wasn’t good enough for the competitive team. When I showed up to the first practice, I thought to myself, ‘This is going to be a long season’. These girls couldn’t quite play like how I was used to; quick, intense, and losing wasn’t an option. I acted like I was better than them because I had played at a higher level for most of my life. I thought that if the coach would see how much of a better player I was, they would send me back up to the more competitive team. However with each practice and game, my frustration grew and I started yelling on the field, things like what to do, what we should have done, and if we messed up, I made it quite obvious that I was frustrated. I just really wanted to get back to my old team, that was my only goal. When my coach called me off of the field for a “substitution”, I was utterly confused. I was doing the best out there so shouldn’t I stay on? When I got off the field my coach sat me down and told me to smarten up and shut up or I wouldn’t be getting on the field again. He told me that he knows I played on a better team, but my attitude needed to improve because this was my

I didn’t think it was fair for a fifth grader to make varsity when she didn’t put in the effort, simply because her older sister was also on the team . I didn’t find it fair that we were placed on the lowest team and we tried as hard as them if not harder, we were as good as them, if not better, and we came to every single conditioning, practice, and meeting. Yes, I know I was given the option to leave if I felt this way, but I was determined to show them that I deserved to be right along with everyone else. Through tears, practices, games, extra workout sessions, additional batting cage time , and many arguments with my mom over the stress softball was causing me I was moved to freshman. I felt so accomplished, yet still unamused by the fact there were fifth graders dressing varsity. I don’t care to admit if someone is better than me but, they weren’t. Simply because they had siblings on the team or knew a coach personally they were placed on varsity. Fifth graders who came to about one week of conditioning moved up because of unfair circumstances, and in the end it created an unpleasant environment and negative energy over the

U-15 team camp will continue to play a major role in my life. I expected team camp to be a magical time,therefore, I would build new friendships and learn valuable skills to help my soccer career excel. However, it was a challenge to change my teammate's minds with a gorgeous goal. The soccer field was covered in dew, due to the mid-August humidity. As I sat down to stretch, I realized everyone was staring at me. I thought the glares were because I was new to the team. However, I neglected to realize what they truly meant. No one believed was deserving to play for such an elite team, as I was only an eighth grader and they were all about to start their journey to high school. This made my stomach turn and I began to go haywire. I knew they

Going into the 8th grade I had high hopes for the season, but everyone began doubting me. At this point, everyone was maturing faster than me. I was always small for my age, but in 8th grade everyone else grew but me. The coaches underestimated me because of my size. I could've played and done better than the kids ahead of me, but I was put down because of my size. 8th grade was a tough year, and I ended up quitting half way through the youth season. I was considering not playing in high school, but I received confidence from a great person. The varsity coach, Mr. Blank, heard about me quitting, and came to talk to me before school one day. He sat me down and said, “I'm sorry to hear this season didn't go well for you. I know you were underplayed because of your size, but I still have high hopes for you, and would like you to play next year.” This changed my mind big time.

My freshman year of high school Coach Specht was the assistant soccer coach, at tryouts he told me that I would have a bright future as a player and could possible play varsity as as a freshman. Throughout the year I keep putting in the time and finally half way through the season I got my chance to play my first varsity game. This

Sophomore year of my high school career I was determined to make junior varsity for my school’s volleyball team even though I was on the 9A team the previous year. The morning of tryouts I arrived outside of the activity center along with my sister. Walking in I saw everyone in their groups circled around each other contemplating the possible drills we would do and what team everyone would make. The tension and anticipation was thick in the air.. The coach then announced tryouts were to begin, everyone distributed themselves around the court to watch the demonstration. After we split up into groups and ran the drill. Tryouts followed this pattern for the three days it lasted. Finally, the coach said we would be made aware of what team we made the following morning at 8AM sharp. My sister and I woke up extra early that following day to ensure we would arrive to be the first to see the results. Once we arrived, our parents waited outside while we went in to find out the results. Walking in we saw the paper but it was illegible, slowly walking forward I was met with a surprise that made me double take. My name was listed under the varsity roster. I froze for a second thinking about all the different opportunities I would have because of this one decision the coach had made and was filled with contentment because the work I put in finally payed off.

I’ve never been much of a writer, don’t get me wrong I don’t hate writing; I have just never excelled at it. Originally when were given this assignment I thought it would be simple, I already had an idea of what I wanted to write about, but like always I knew I would struggle with finding the right words to use in order to actually write the story. Although I knew what I wanted to write about I still wasn’t completely sure if I wanted to write about this topic, not only because of the challenges it would present but because It was going to be a story about a real friend of mine. The story was going to be about the life of an illegal immigrant who like many others had the dream of becoming a professional football player.