Personal Narrative: How Soccer Changed My Life

In life, you encounter many situations and people that aid in molding you into the person you are meant to be. When these instances in time occur, we may not realize it, but looking back they made a huge impact on our lives. For the past four years, I have been a member of the Navarro Runnin’ Lady Panthers Basketball Team, and while the sport itself taught me many lessons and skills I can use to be successful, there was one coach that managed to do the same.

The famous Scottish soccer player Bill Shankly once said, "Soccer is a matter of life and death, except more important."

There has been many important events that have occurred since I have been born but there is one in particular that has sparked a light in me that has changed the way i have looked at things. It happened when I was playing with the Sacramento FC and everything was going well until the middle of the season. When we got to the middle of the season things started to look shady. I wasn't getting playing time and that really opened my eyes to reality. Soccer was not the only thing that I needed to do in order to have a good life. I needed to start focusing on my dreams and different routes to success other then just soccer. It really showed what I need to do in order to survive in the real world. If it was not for my family's support through this

As we walked in the door we were greeted by the second year head coach Chris Murdock. He was very friendly and shook all of our hands. He explained how the next 12 weeks would go. He told us that the goal of being here was to become stronger, faster, and skill full in football. Next we walked into the weight room and met a guy who would be helping Coach Murdock out with the lifting program this year his name was Yuri. Yuri was only about five foot tall, but he was the most muscular man I had ever seen, and I was immediately intimidated by him. The first few weeks went by smoothly as we learned all the new lifts. Until around week four, that’s when it became hard. Yuri also picked up his intensity. He would yell in your face one minute and coach you up on how to do the lift the next, but i guess that’s what he was paid to do. Near the end of July we had our first camp and being a freshman you go out thinking you are going to stomp all the other teams out there, but in all reality lots of the kids had no idea how to

I believe that I am a product of the environment that I have been raised in. The world that I live in has allowed me to become much more than a unique DNA sequence. I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with a privileged life. My parents are happily married, have steady and well paying jobs, and love my sister and me immensely. Growing up, I never had to worry about money, whether that be for new clothes or to go on a trip with my church, or if we were going to be able to have a decent meal. I am truly blessed for that and I hope one day I will be able to provide for my future kids in the same way, and I feel the best way to achieve that is through a higher education. The one thing that has been always expected of me is to get

Growing up in a house with all boys in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, I was taught to be tough and injuries were very common but easily shaken off. When it came to sports, I would put all my time and effort into one thing: soccer. Soccer was always a true passion of mine; as a matter of fact, it was more of a lifestyle than just a sport. I would spend weekends traveling around my local area playing the game I loved with people I enjoyed being with. My teammates became like my second family after countless seasons and we did almost everything together off the soccer field. The idea of putting on my jersey and lacing up my cleats was a moment I would not trade for the world and something I would never take for granted.

Soccer is my passion because it has given me so many opportunities in life and I have most of my best memories from playing soccer. Ever since I was young years old soccer has been my number one sport, I have played other sports like basketball, softball, volleyball and tennis but soccer has been the main one that has stuck with me. Soccer has benefited my life in so many ways it has helped me stay in shape, meet new people, go to places I have never been before, taught me how to be a great leader, improved my reaction skills and fastened my decision making skills in tough situations. This sport has relieved my stress lowered my anxiety levels and overall has made me a happier person. Soccer has helped me so much with my anxiety and I am thankful

I learned about life with a ball at my feet, is a quote by arguably one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Ronaldinho Gaucho. I relate strongly to this quotes because if it wasn't for the impact of sports(soccer) in my life, I would not be where I am today. My parents always told me that since I could crawl I have always had a thing for a soccer ball, and I cultivated my interest from there into other sports. I strongly believe without the impact of sports in my life, my life would have to take a different turn. Sports (Soccer) has completely changed my life and has given me a better shot at life with the chance to earn a degree and make a living in the sports world.

Growing up I had focused on competitive soccer. Soccer challenged me both physically and mentally and I learned to love these demands on the field. These challenges helped me foster a self-confidence in myself when it came to athletics. When I fractured my tibia playing against my rival high school, sending my knee cap into my thigh, I was faced with a new test. The sport that I loved was taken away from me for an extended period of time and it took away part of my identity. Who was I without soccer?

There comes a time when you have to grow up or are forced to. You learn from past experiences and base your recent scenarios from it. Since the age of five, soccer has been part of my life. From having practice twice a week, to having practice every day of the week not including games. I felt like soccer was my pathway to success. I felt like I could do big things from it and I had all the confidence in the world but never would show it when others asked me if I was good. I’m the shy quiet girl that shows you what I’m capable of without saying a single word.

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

Along with working hard to make the team I wanted to be on most, once I was on the team, I learned that I can’t always control everything. Being knocked down through the seasons, I have less desire to continue playing. “Tough love” would be an understatement on how some of the coaches have treated fellow athletes and I. Never earning a “nice work” or “good job” begins to get frustrating and you get harder on yourself as an athlete. These challenges have grown me as a person and taught me that I shouldn’t give up, no matter how hard it

I chose to play another year of recreational soccer, making sure to come back the next year to prove a point that I can put in the work and give myself the best opportunity to make the top team. Everyday after school, I would head to the fields and practice every aspect of my game. I would arrive an hour early to every practice, and I would leave an hour after practice. Day in and day out, I worked diligently on my fitness. For a year, I stopped at nothing to give myself the best chance I could to reach my goal. Motivated after that dissapointing tryout, nothing could stop me from doing my best. Standing on a different field, one year later, tryouts began. I was determine to produce my best performance. Two hours later, every player stood single file. Coincidentally, I was the first person called up; the coach informed me that I made the top team. However, this team played for a different club than the one I tried out for last year. This team competed at a much higher level. Not only did I make the team, but I gained the knowledge and appreciation for hard work and dedication. People rarely receive everything they want; however, they can always put in their best effort to provide themselves the best opportunity at obtaining what they

As we all walked away my coaches called me over, which I thought was normal. As they started talking I realize that the strange man started walking straight towards me. Since I was in front of my superiors I stayed calm and didn't give off a sign of fear. The man approach me and removed his cap, I quickly began to realize who he was. "Kiana I would like to introduce you to B.J Snow, the head coach of the U-17 women's national team." Not be able to hide the joy in my face, I quickly and eagerly went to shake his hand, my excitement made him laugh. I begin to wonder why he was at my practice I stupidly said, “why you are here coach aren't you supposed to be training for the World Cup?" He laughed and took me aside and began a conversation I will never forget. He started telling me my strengths on the field and how I do everything for a reason. I was so flattered that someone of such a high title was taking the time out of their busy day to come watch me do the thing I

Soccer is not only a sport for me, but also my childhood. I remember that when I was a little boy, I followed my older brothers and their friends to play soccer every day. We did not have the soccer fields. We played soccer on the quite streets or on the fields, not soccer fields, wherever we had spaces to run and control the ball. Because of I came a person like soccer. I like to play and watch others play it. Soccer is running is my blood. I am really interested in the soccer.