Personal Narrative: Junior Varsity Soccer Team Captain

I had spent most of my childhood happy, without much pain or adversity; as a result, the moment I learned I did not make the Junior Varsity volleyball team my freshman year, I was especially devastated. When I showed up on our first day of tryouts I was excited. I looked forward to playing volleyball all summer with my friends. I worked hard, and I felt really confident at the end of the two weeks; certain that I had made the Junior Varsity team. The coaches took me to a secluded room and sat me down to explain which team I had made. I was almost already thanking them, not realizing that they were telling me, "We think that your skills at the moment would shine best on JV2; work on your technique and practice being a leader.”

In a flash, the referee blows his whistle, and the game is over. Legs striding, I chase after the ball, stealing it from the other team. Amidst the excitement, I lose track of time, and minutes go by in seconds. I started playing soccer when I was 7 years old. For as long as I can remember I have loved to play soccer. When I play soccer I forget about all my worries. Since then I have played for many different recreational teams for Verdigris and Catoosa. I have also played for a competitive soccer team for West Side Alliance. Today, I play for Verdigris High School soccer. I have played for their junior varsity team for two years as the captain and the junior varsity player of the year. I have also played for the varsity team.

Sophomore year, I was elected team Captain of the Fairfield Union Girls Varsity Soccer team. Even though I was ecstatic to be a leader for the soccer team, I did feel slightly out of place, since there were many girls that were much older than I and wished to uphold a Captain position. I decided it was right for me, as a co-captain, to let the others lead with words, while I,

First and foremost, soccer is a team sport. Teams and communities require a group of people to work together while also contributing individually. Personally, I contribute to the Varsity Girls Soccer Team by working to be in the best shape I can be in, both physically and mentally. I spend a lot of time, both during the high school and club seasons, developing my technical and tactical abilities. Additionally, as the sweeper, I must direct the defense to make sure we are organized. When an individual is better, it makes the team better. Everyone on the team, starters and substitutes alike, has a role to fulfill in order to make the team as good as it can possibly be.

It was my third time trying out for middle school soccer. I felt strong, fit and ready

I used to believe that soccer was, well, just soccer. I'd play for my rec team, in which would consist of one practice and one game a week. Nothing special, and not too stressful. After I got tired of rec soccer, I joined a travel team. To be specific it was the Mahwah Raiders. It was a step up from rec, I now had two practices and one game a week. This wasn't too crazy for me- I was fine with the timing and schedule of everything.

My freshman year I made the Varsity soccer team. Every practice I had to strive and work harder to be able to keep up with the upperclassmen skill level and talent. I was finally getting to where I wanted with consistent practice. I became a starter and the upperclassmen would pass me the ball more and help me on the field when there were opponents on me. It wasn’t until the middle of the season when everything changed. We were playing against a school who was very skilled and talented. It was in the first half of the game when one of the girls on the opposing team had the ball and was dribbling it down the field. It got past our midfield players and two defenders. I was the last one before it reached our goalie. I ran towards her and with everything I had I kicked the ball.

It was a cold day in November: an icy breeze blowing across a green soccer pitch in Jackson, Mississippi. Fans along the sideline cheering on the Jackson Elite FC. I took the field feeling the pressure of gameday bearing down like i had weights on my shoulders. This was the first time I had every started as a forward in a soccer game. The referee brings the ball to midfield and sets it down. I hear my parents cheering from the sidelines. The opposing team kicks off and the game is on.

To start off, in high school, I was the captain of Football, Basketball, and Track. As captain I am held to a higher standard because the other athletes are looking up to me. That being said, if some one was messing around or not doing something right, it was my position to help coach them to do the right thing, work extra hard on the next play, or whatever it may be.

One hobby that I enjoy doing is playing soccer. I have been playing soccer since I was in the second grade. I originally started playing soccer for our local AYSO club. Unfortunately, before long I realized that my towns AYSO club wasn't very good. I always seemed frustrated with the AYSO team; therefore, I knew I wanted to switch teams. My family and others watched me play, and they said I was excellent. It was then, that I tried out for the Birch Run Elite travel team. Robert Oberski, a previous AYSO coach, was my new soccer coach. When I first started playing soccer, I was a forward and midfielder; now, I am a defender and midfielder. I have actually played all of the positions on the field, at one point or another. My current coach says

I have always loved soccer, ever since I was small and had just started it, along with kindergarten. Now I was venturing into a new level of soccer: elementary school soccer. For the past year, I had been watching professional soccer, making sure to learn from every important detail that had made those larger than life players so extraordinary, so talented, and so perfect. I wrote down facts, statistics, and formations that seemed to bring them success. I practiced soccer often. For a while, I would practice for an hour or more at home after school, and when it got too cold to go outside, I would go in my garage to juggle and shoot the ball, then up to two hours at a time. I was so excited for the elementary school soccer program and I thought

This year I was captain of the varsity cheerleading squad at my school. We trained through the summer and trained to do extensive strength and cardio training to prepare for the difficult stunts and tumbling needed throughout a routine. We began choreographing our routine in July. Our first competition was in November, but we needed to prepare for football games. So, during July and August, we really buckled down to learn cheers and the beginning of our routine to perform during halftime of the homecoming game. I prepared a cheer video consisting of twenty cheers for the girls to learn for football. They were able to learn the cheers online and then perfect them together, and it took up much less valuable practice time that we needed for our

In the summer before my senior year, I tore my ACL while playing a small soccer scrimmage. The doctor explained my injury as very common in female soccer. But the heartbreaking reality made me feel much more than the statistic on the dry erase board that Dr. Mayer held. I loved waking up, going to school, and finishing the day with some type of sports practice! After the incident happened, I cried and whimpered for hours as my leg swelled to the size of a balloon. But the pain was much more than skin and muscle deep. With a post-surgery recovery time of nine months, I realized my high school athletic career had come to an abrupt and expeditious end. I had also ran out of college credits at my small school in the same year. Because of this,

In the spring of 2016, I began to think about my senior project while I was preparing for my own spring soccer season to start. My friend, Atya Van Ness, reached out to me about an opportunity of coaching a U6 team that same season. I enjoyed the idea of coaching the next generation of soccer players and building their skills and passion for the sport the same way I did almost 10 years ago. I immediately told her I was interested and began the process of searching for a mentor.

Throughout my lifetime, activities, events, and services that I am involved in have shaped me as a person. The one thing that I personally think has had the most impact on my character is being a soccer coach for Lil’ Kickers, it has given me qualities of leadership that will carry on throughout my entire life.