Personal Narrative: How Soccer Changed My Life

As a child, I grew up playing softball and that 's it. My mom played softball, my cousins played softball. It’s just all I knew. When I reached the seventh grade at Gardner Dickinson (my elementary and middle school), my friends all played soccer and I reluctantly joined as well. Each year I had my ups and downs with soccer, but it grew to be a part of who I am and has taught me a lot of things. For example, to try new things, to work hard, to never give up, and to step up and be a leader.

Ask anyone who knows me about my childhood, and they will tell you that I was one of the shyest kids there ever was. It made my life difficult, talking to people was a struggle, and presentations were disastrous. If it wasn't for soccer, I would probably still be that way today. Soccer has had the most positive influence on my life. It has taught me how to be a leader, the importance of teamwork, communication, and all of the other cliche skills that participating on any sport team will teach young adolescents. Even though these important values are learned from every sport, soccer has taught me much more.

As a child, I grew up playing travel soccer, and it was what my life revolved around. My weekdays were filled with practices, my weekends filled with tournaments. Soccer was all I knew and all I wanted to do. I had dreams of making my high school varsity team, and even one day playing when I got to college. This all changed during one weekend tournament. My team and I were in the first half of the first game that weekend when I was injured and carried off the field. From that point, I never stepped foot into a soccer game again.

Despite having quit playing soccer on leagues due to school, I decided to try-out for the soccer team at school in 7th grade.

I grew up with a love towards sports. Sure I started off in ballet and gymnastics but one day my best friend told me I should play soccer with her. So of course I begged my mom to let me do another sport. Little did I know soccer would have such a big impact on my life. I started off with playing recreational league soccer. My first coach, was my softball coach, and he decided I would be a perfect forward. As the years went on and I got a different coach my position changed. I went from a forward to a midfielder then finally a defender.

I fell in love with the game that not only has taught me about my origin but also about my future. Cancelling events due to practice, weekend games, and family night watch parties are some of the ways soccer affects my life. Soccer is a passion I found that shapes me as a person with its frenzy and positive spirit but it also ties me to my family, culture, and heritage. For instance, every four years the World Cup brings my family and me much joy.

In my life I have always been a procrastinator and never really pushed myself to do the best I can. In school, soccer and my job as a bagger I never really took value in what I did. All I did was get the job done whether that meant i put 100% in it. Throughout my whole life i have played soccer but never put in the effort outside of the league to get better. Once I got to highschool I really started to love the game and began to go home everyday and practice. During my junior year I started to see a big improvement in my touch and shooting. Coming to my senior year all my friends that had played with me my whole life had quit because they didn’t want to play on varsity. I personally was on the edge too and they were trying to talk me out of it. I really wanted to play but at the same time i'm lazy and varsity is a lot more effort and commitment. Not only would it be work on the field but it would take time away from my homework and job.

Soccer and a park, throw in some friends and it magically becomes fun. I can tell you this without a doubt because I did this myself on Friday. When I got to Emerald Glen, I saw that Vince, Justin, their dad, and Matthew were already there playing soccer on the grass field by the skate park. I went ahead and joined them, and we did some simple offense and defense drills. After a few minutes of that, Vince and I played a weird little game that seemed like a soccer version of volleyball while Justin, his dad, and Matthew kicked the ball around to each other. While we were playing our soccer volleyball game, me and Vince talked about random little things like how there’s a Fawaz A and Fawaz B, But there isn’t a Fawaz C or D. Later, we took turns at the goal while the others kicked.

I grew up playing soccer as kid and participate I various tournaments in highs school playing for school team. Soccer has been a part of my life from the beginning. My family are all soccer fanatics heck my nation itself (Nigeria) are soccer fanatics. “Football” as we call it back home was almost like a tradition and very much part of our culture as a nation. I played soccer at every chance I had whether it were on the streets barefooted or on a proper field. Needless to say, it is my favorite sport and I play with a couple of friends on the weekends. However, when I’m not raving about soccer, I do engage in artwork and animations. I love to draw, mostly cartoons or comics. I find it very relaxing to just pick a pen or pencil and draw. I often

I have played soccer since Preschool, and while I don’t receive any MVP trophies, I can play fairly well. Soccer is who I am. Correction: soccer is who I was. Going into my junior year, I thought I would continue to play for my high school as I had my sophomore year. But , they said “they couldn’t find a spot for me on varsity.” My friends and family expected me to feel shattered, but I didn’t, not yet at least. I felt numb, not fully realizing what this meant. Not realizing that I wouldn’t spend the fall with the friends I trained all summer with, not realizing that I wouldn’t feel the pride for the great Oak Hills High everytime I put on my jersey, not realizing the embarrassment I would feel when people questioned why my name was absent from the roster. Putting on a brave front, even for myself, I told everyone I didn’t care; however, a few days later I realized all the cherished experiences I would miss and I sobbed. It’s challenging to hear that all of your hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the past twelve years, which at sixteen made up

“Yeah, my team’s going to regionals now!” said my older cousin, Noor. He’d been playing soccer since he was about 8 years old, and had recently turned 16.

I’ve been playing soccer a long time, longer than i remember. My dad says i've played since I was four. Despite that, as a freshman in highschool I still wasn't very good. id simply drifted through ten years worth of summer and fall leagues, only picking up enough skill to become the captain of my school's C team.

When i was 9 years old i had some friends at my apartment complex and we would climb this wall to get onto a street and we were bored and we climed it one day at had the bright idea to just jump off into a bush and so we did it and i twisted my ankle.I had some friends by the age of 10 who were older than me and we were walking around in the southlands mall and we walked passed a mattress store and i was dared to go in there and jump on all the beds and fall asleep i did it and got in trouble.Later that day we walked to safeway and bought some stuff them messed around i chucked a football across the illes and we ran back to my old elementary school and of my friends had a date come by and i got bored so i saw some kids playing football so i

The sport of soccer ( called football in most of the world) is considered to be the world’s most popular sport. Just kick it up, just kick it, goal kick, to the the goal, get your kicks.

I was walking down the field on the soaked soccer pitch towards my team. I saw that they were already stretching,