Personal Narrative: A Career As A Football Student

In August of 2012, at Grand Rapids Community College, I was placed on Academic Probation due to my cumulative GPA dropping below the 2.0 threshold. Prior to this action, I was not driven to take the action to perform well in my classes. I was lost in the options for my future and unaware of where I would end up. It was this lack of focus and drive that reflected in my performance. This was a strong turning point in my life, and after being placed on academic probation I came to appreciate the repercussions I was facing by not prioritizing my education. It was in this year that I decided on where I wanted my college career to take me. Through the influential factors I discussed in my personal statement, I had both my mind and my future set on

Besides graduating from college, being accepted into the Counseling program at NOVA Southeastern University was the greatest day of my life. I was on my way to a much greater success by working on my Master. Paying for college out of pocket was a struggle, but I understand that success comes with great sacrifices. However, I wouldn’t really call paying out of pocket for school a sacrifice, but rather an investment in my future and my family. My first semester went marvelous. I was motivated and enthusiastic about the courses. I must admit graduate school is much harder than I imagine, but I manage to make time for studying and ended making A’s in both of my classes, which I didn’t expect less than that. When the summer semester I arrived, I was as excited and motivated as my very first semester, aiming to make nothing less than an A grades. However, unexpectedly my world seemed to have turned upside down in a matter of time. My mother and I decided to take a week to go

It was just another school night in the seventh grade. Our recreational tackle football team had a practice at 730pm until 9. It was a very swampy night and from that I felt myself very sluggish. At the time, I was a backup running back. I was always left on the sidelines facing the chills of the cold wind during games. I typically didn’t get to see much playing time on the field, but that night I got my opportunity. I was receiving kicks during a punting audition and all I was doing was catching the ball and throwing it back, nothing unique. One throw after another, my coach began to praise my arm strength. Seeing me pass the ball was a true eye-opener. That night, I went from a backup running back, to the starting quarterback of my rec

Football is back as the first preseason game was played last Thursday. With football coming back, so does fantasy football. Like a lot of people (myself included), you’re scouring the internet for rankings. There’s plenty of rankings out there, but none of them tell you where to take a defense. I am going to present my strategy.

My stomach tightened. I had never played free safety before. The ball was snapped, and I watched as the tailback widened out to receive the pitch. Never had I felt such an adrenaline rush.

Upon entering Cal State LA, my goal was and still is to attain a business education focusing on accounting to aid in commencing a satisfying long career. To accomplish this goal, I have had to make disillusioning sacrifices that have left my family saddened, particularly my mother, as I am not present at events where she wishes to see all her children together. My partner has also had to endure similar absences, however she understands my reasoning and in contrast, is supportive and keeps me motivated, and for much more than just that, I am beholden to her. The desire for my family’s better future, the motive behind my actions, keeps me advancing. My strong work ethic can be seen in the grades I have earned at this university. I did not just want to complete my courses, I wanted to excel and in so proving to the self-doubt in me that I do have the intelligence and dedication to succeed. I transferred during the spring of 2015 with an overall grade point average of 2.33. By staying focused while working at McDonald’s and attending school full time, I have earned only A’s and now maintain a core grade average of 3.97, raising my overall cumulative to 2.701. I am

Stephen is a senior transferred to WCSU from Miami University in Ohio, it is better known for the home of the famous NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. That one fact made it a little easier to bond and converse with Stephen as I am a huge football fan and he happens to coach football. It wasn’t Stephen’s idea to transfer but his parents, they decided it was too expensive for him to go to school so far from home. He therefore transfer here and now lives in his parents basement in Ridgefield CT, and he commutes to school. Stephen is majoring in media studies and he hopes to do something in the field of being a promoter or a publicist. Stephen coaches high school football mainly to freshman's and he also is part of a baseball league. Stephen also loves to sing even though he claims he isn’t so good at it.

I was an incoming freshman, two weeks prior to my first day of high school, and I was terrified. I knew that I loved the sport of football, however I had heard stories from my brother about how tough Stepinac’s freshman football coach was. Everything that I was told was true. One of the coaches great lessons that he taught me was that a hardworking disciplined team is typically more successful than a team that has all of the talent in the world, but is not disciplined and does not work hard. That summer was the hardest that I had ever worked up to that point to start in a football game. The hard work never paid off, and I left at the end of that season defeated. I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t fast enough, and I wasn’t strong enough. I had only played in two of the games, one, for a snap when

“Fumble! There goes Salem’s number 69, Jonathan Haddad with the football, he’s home free!” I recall the PA announcer. That specific moment was probably the most memorable highlight of my high school football career. Seconds later, my football career would come to an end as the opposing running back lunged at my ankle and I felt a snap and crackling sensation, causing me to immediately fall to the turf. Turns out I broke my ankle and that it would take months to recover before I could even walk. Frustration, anger, and denial were the main things on my mind during those few months. I thought about how hard I worked in the summer; busting my butt to get ready for the season, and wasting a ton of time and money on something that would end in an utter failure.

The next games went by so fast it was October now a month or so left in my high school football career. Just very infuriated at this moment feeling pathetic, since the back therapy I was going threw was almost over. I had a feeling that nothing was going same again this season our record was now 8-0, still not satisfied. Because we only had two games left in regular season and they were against central catholic on Oct,24th 2014 varsity football team lost Friday's home conference game against Central Catholic (Toledo, OH) by a score of 56-33. Now one more game we were 8-1, I was finally done with my physical rehab it was about time missing 8 games total.

Saturday morning, and sweat is running down my face. Dirt is covering every inch of my body. Breathing hard I hear the coach scream “GO!”. Already tired I force my beaten body to run as fast as I could. I see my opponent come into my view, and I know what I have to do. Speeding my way towards the ball I tackle the kid in front of me. In the distance I hear satisfaction from my coach. “Nice tackle Dylan, you get better everytime I watch you.” applauds my coach. I thank him for noticing that I have been working hard throughout these two a day practices. Sprinting my way towards the  next drill I run my coach's words through my head which helps boost my confidence for what is to come next. I was halfway through the week filled with these gruesome two a days, but I knew from my improvement each day I would make it.

My transition to Oak Knoll was excellent but arduous. I loved the spiritual community and the close knit class. But, I had a harder time adjusting academically. The rigorous academic classes at Oak Knoll resulted in a drop in my GPA. These grades don’t reflect my work ethic and I enjoy the challenge of a more difficult school. These were enhanced expectations that I couldn’t meet at the time. My lowered GPA resulted from a sickness that extended through my sophomore years. Once I was better, I was able to do better in school, which shows in my previous year grades. These year’s show my true academic potential. I am confident that I will be successful at the college I plan on

I think what has influenced me the most has been my decision to play football. I joined the team at a time that most would not. Our high school football team had not been doing well and had also undergone multiple coaching changes in a short period of time. I made the decision to join the team to do what I could to improve our program.

During the Fall semester 2014, I came back to ANC for a fresh start after being a failed dropout in 1997. The following semester of 2015 I was enrolled in four classes and working a part-time job to help pay for them. About three weeks into that semester is when I endured a back injury that led to an MRI scan, this led to the discovery of an anomaly, which required the immediate attention of a specialist neurosurgeon. It was later determined to have been what they call a Giant Cell Tumor that caused all the trouble, and it was

The game of football has been a crucial part of my life and an integral aspect in my maturity as a young man. From playing, watching, or teaching the game, I have learned many qualities that are needed to be successful in life. I have gained toughness from many long workouts, practices, and games. I have also learned how to take criticism in a positive way and become better from it. At Michigan, I would hope to continue any role possible involving football. Whether it would be playing, coaching, or even helping with equipment, I would love to participate in any way