There will come a point in everyone’s life when they realize they are simply not good enough at a certain task. It is this negative energy that can fuel some and ruin others. When I was in 8th grade I simply was not good enough to make a club soccer team, but that heartbreak did not dissolve my desire to play, and eventually taught me lessons I will take to my grave. Getting cut from a team hurts, but as devastating as it is it does not have to define a person. In elementary school I was better than most at nearly any sport we would play in P.E., especially Soccer. It was in Middle School when things changed. Now most kids that played were playing competitively, including myself, but most of these others were taller, faster and stronger than I was. What I have noticed in my time around the game, American youth Soccer has a lot more to do with physical attributes rather than technical ones. I was, and still am, short and scrawny for my age which did not bode well for me despite my knowledge for the game. I managed to cope with this for two years, but then when eighth grade …show more content…
Taken the easy way out per se. I decided that would not be me though. Whether it was working out more often, or going for runs when I was unable to due to a broken wrist, I knew that only the joy of making a different team could replace the sadness of not making the original one. As a Freshman in highschool the thought of being on the Varsity team hardly ever crossed my mind. Varsity is the pinnacle of high school sports, and is generally only made of Juniors and Seniors. Though Juniors and Seniors are the usual make up of the team anyone that puts in hard work has a shot. I took that shot, and sure enough I made the team. Being one of only two Freshman to play Varsity Soccer had, in my eyes, all to do with the way I took failure on. This lesson is one that makes me appreciate what getting cut actually did for
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
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.
In my first beginning days of highschool, I became interested in playing soccer for my first time ever. I’ve had no prior experience with playing soccer, only that many of my friends and my idealistic brother also played, so this was a major part in my beginning.I began training as rigorously as could have imagined. When the time came when my highschool team announced tryouts for the school I knew I couldn't resist. Many other players that I knew suggested that I didn't tryout for the sake of my dignity, but of course I shrugged them off , excited to prove them wrong.When tryouts came,I pushed the hardest I can. I sprinted the fastest I could,I ran the longest I could, and I put everything I had in me right on the field. I didn't want to leave with any regrets or doubts those few days. It was finally time when the team's roster was announced and possibly the worst day of my life when I saw that I didn't make it on the team. I ran home after school that day,slammed my door shut,and compltely confined myself in my prison, crying in my darkness,alone. I fell into a state of depression and overwhelming of hatred for myself that was impossible for me to escape from. I worked three times harderthan everybody else just so I could get close to the level that they already were. I felt the need to quit and hang up my cleats before my friend came up to me. He said to me that I surprised him how much more I improved and that I should have made the team since I was better than some of the others. He told me not to give up but to continue to strive to improve myself because at this rate I will exceed to impress everyone that doubted me and to show myself that I can accomplish my dream. I was in a really low place for myself that I felt that I thought I should throw away my hard work and accept my failure, although with the help of the single light
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 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
When I started my soccer career during my freshman year, I began in the junior varsity team. I was not so familiar with sports until I started playing football and soccer. I once believed that I was not good enough to join the team, but after committing myself to conditioning and being determined to give my best to every practice, I proved myself wrong. Not only did I make it to the team, however I was also a starting player. For the following year, my sophomore year, I transferred into a different high school. There, I played in the Varsity team as a right defense for my sophomore and junior year. This year, 12th grade, I will be a captain for the soccer team. I was able to not only build strong friendships with my teammates, but also with
Getting cut from the soccer team was a wakeup call that taught me a hard lesson: Talent alone won’t guarantee success. The coaches didn’t pick me not because I failed to show my skill but because of my nonchalant attitude at tryouts. Instead of holding their critique personally, I took their comments as motivation to change my attitude. From that experience on, I learned that attitude play an important role in success.
The next big milestone in soccer for me was when I was a freshman in high school. I went to Troy High and didn 't think I was good enough to play high school soccer. If it wasn’t for my best friend’s dad, I really wouldn 't have played. He told me that I would regret not playing and that I had a lot of potential. I decided to try out with my three best friends and we all ran and did exhausting fitness exercises for weeks during tryouts. First, we’d have to do five laps around the track. In the beginning of the season, those five laps are a killer. By the end of the second one, I am usually out of breath. After that, we’d get into groups and do stations, like jumping over bars or doing sit-ups and push-ups, basically anything to get us into shape. The third part of practice was sprinting. I like sprints because I am way better at running faster for one-hundred yards, than doing a long distance run. The next part of tryouts were the best, all the girls would get put into two teams and we’d just scrimmage so he could see our real soccer skills. Coach Haviland, who was the varsity coach, decided teams after the tough two weeks. He said I had a little maturing to do on the field and that I will be on varsity in no time. I was shocked! I didn 't even think he was considering me. I had a lot of fun with the Junior Varsity team and made lots of friends. By
Exactly 11 years ago from today...Score! Another goal from Emily! (Everyone clapping) GO EMILY! YAY! GOOD JOB! “She might just be the best on our pre-k team” said her teammate Brooke. “She definitely will have a very good future” said Maddison, another teammate. They got ANOTHER win that day. Their coach told them to bring it in, and they did their team on three cheer. After the girls were walking to their parents cars, Mikayla, the next best soccer player on that team, comes up to Emily and says, “I will ruin your life if you don’t quit the soccer team.” She then walked away from Emily and she was terrified. After that Emily went to a new school, Harrisburg. While Mikayla went to O’Gorman. They’re both now fourteen years old. Before they
As a sophomore, I tried out again. There were enough girls to create a junior varsity team but again, I was a benchwarmer for varsity, still not useful enough to play, but too experienced for junior varsity. During this year I started to realize that blaming other players for my failure was
“When your legs can’t run anymore, run with your heart.” Spring is the best time of the year, because it is soccer season. Spring of 2016 was a special time to me, because I was a freshman at Wahlert Catholic High School trying out for the women’s soccer team. I went into the first open gym scared, nervous and excited all at the same. The open gyms were for use to get in shape for the actual season and for the coaches to get a better look at our soccer skills. Previously in the year of 2014 I played for a club soccer team called DSC or Dubuque Soccer Club. After that 2014 season was over I decided to quite DSC and try something different. So going into open gyms I knew that I was going to be a just a bit rusty because I haven’t played soccer in a while. As open gyms went on some upperclassman were telling me that the coach was very impressed by the skills I had. Being only a freshman it was very flattering to know that the coach thought that about me. Knowing this it drove me to keep pushing myself hard and hard, because my goal was to make it on varsity.
Call it failure to capitalize on an opportunity or failure to commit 100% effort to my team; both would be true and both failures lead to lessons learned my junior year on the high school varsity soccer team. From the time I was little, with my dad as my coach, success came easily and failure was a concept not easily grasped. Playing on the JV team my first two years of high school was pretty much a given, and in hindsight, I realize how valued I was on the team. I started most of the games both freshman and sophomore year and played a significant amount. As my junior year was approaching, I knew this was not going to be the case. Desperately wanting to make the team, lots of training and hard work was how a majority of my summer free time
There will come a point in everyone’s life when they realize they are simply not good enough at a certain task. It is this negative energy that can fuel some and ruin others. When I was in 8th grade I simply was not talented enough to make a club soccer team, but that heartbreak did not dissolve my desire to play, and eventually taught me lessons I will take to my grave.
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.
I have always been told that I got blessed with my genes. Everything I do athletically just comes natural to me. I have had the opportunity to play multiple sports whom of which I have had success in. In all of the sports I’ve participated in I have loved soccer the most and track is just the most natural sport for me. I’ve played soccer for over half of my young life. Soccer just makes me happy when I play. I have also been blessed by being average at soccer too. I didn’t do well my 9th grade season so coming into being a Sophomore I wanted to change that. I worked hard in the off-season and I became a varsity Captain and I finished the season 3rd in the area for assist and was a 2nd team All-District player. I was proud of myself but i knew I didn’t give it everything I had.