Personal Narrative: My First Football Coach

We walked together to the field, the spikes on the bottom of my cleats clicking with each step on the parking lot pavement. A huge field with onlookers filling the bleachers on the far side came into view, lit up by the soft evening light. I spotted the girls on my team and my tired looking grey-haired coach. Me and my dad split up, me going to warm up with my team and my dad going to sit with the team parents. As I was passing with my teammates I watched the opposing team carefully. I observed how neat their drills were and how accurate their shots and passes were. They all looked so athletic and that really made me doubt myself. How was I supposed to prove to everyone that I was a good player if I had to play against a team this good? What if I mess up and the other team completely destroys my team? The loud buzzer that ended the warm ups sounded and both teams went to their side of the field. My coach called today’s starters out, and luckily he didn’t choose me. Relieved, I went to go sit on one of the hard metal chairs they provided for the teams on the sidelines. The chairs were uncomfortable but that didn’t bother me. I had other things on my mind. I sat shivering watching the events of the game

It all started when i was in fourth grade. It all changed what inspired me came by whole big dream that i wanted to be successful at. I was at school just a normal day, and it was times to go to PE, and my coach got out a circular ball that i had never seen in my life. It was kinda colorful, it had some weird word written on it, but i couldn't see from where i was standing. My coach handed us each one of these balls, and coach called them volleyballs. My coach told us what to do and what not to do, so i was at this net, and just gave the ball a high five because that's what he said to do. Coach came over to me, and kinda directed me through and told me it was called a serve. That day i went home thinking about it, and i decided i want to do

When a coach focuses on favorites instead of the good of the entire team, it really will set a bad vibe through the gym. I never kissed butt to get where I wanted to be. My parents did not pay loads of money for me to play on clubs so they could pay for my playing time. I came to work, but that was never good enough. I was working in overdrive to get my playing time, but again, the coach focused on the favorites and the girls who

On the last day of tryouts, the coaches made cuts for the teams. They called each one of us separately to meet. The head coach started off by saying that I was a good player and that I had a lot of potential. Then, the praise quickly dropped off.

Walking out onto the opponent’s brightly lit turf field setting up for the kickoff of the second half just gave me the feeling that everybody knows, my hair starts to stand up, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach, and everything seems to slow down. Looking into the stands and seeing that our hometown fans had traveled four hours in order to outdo the home crowd gave me a sense of comfort. Looking into East Jefferson’s stands and seeing that our fans, despite having to travel all the way down south, outnumbered their fans by at least 70 people. I found myself thinking that this meant just as much to our town as it did to our school and team. This feeling would be just the motivation we needed in order to finish this game

I was constantly looked down on, as through the practices, varsity players continuously knock me down and run me over. One varsity player named Jordan Zorbas hit me so hard I felt like a crash test dummy. Later in practices, the varsity roster was taped to the locker-room’s wall. I couldn’t place my name on the list, meaning that I was on the freshman team. I remember thinking,“ Why couldn’t I make it, “ but deep down I knew why. I began practicing with the freshman team at linebacker. September 7th we had our first game against Ida Baker high school. I remember making the first tackle of the game, with me wrapping the running back and stripping the ball from his meaty hands. Although I started the whole game, I was not satisfied with my performance and felt that I should’ve done

It was a brisk fall evening, and my seventh grade youth football team and I had traveled to Aberdeen to play the undefeated Chiefs. We had worked harder and longer than we ever had that week to show that we were a threat in the league and ascend from our third place ranking. We knew it was not going to be easy; the Chiefs’ team had the fastest running back in our division, and they had scored more total points per game than any other team in the Southeast Idaho Youth Football League. The field was neater and greener than we had expected in this town. It was a great day for football, and I was with all of my best friends. I knew going in that it was going to be a learning experience whether we won or lost that night because the Chiefs were

At New Milford High School, I will belong to the community of Green Wave football for the duration of my life. As a player, my footprint is not simply measured by the amount of wins our program had during my three years on varsity, but it is measured in the complete revolution of the program under Coach Badaracco’s direction. My freshman year, the football team was a bit of a joke, a meeting ground of players who lacked dedication and work ethic, who continuously were being suspended from school, doing drugs, and partaking in other nefarious activities. When Coach Badaracco was hired, he looked to me to lead. He continuously asked me to display what a proper athlete should look like, someone who excelled in the classroom and was active in the community.

Pennsauken had only lost once earlier that year to my team, The Braves, while we were undefeated and I could tell that they didn’t want to lose again. After the opening Kickoff, I was in at Defensive Tackle. Every play I felt like it went quiet all I could hear was the beating of my heart, the motivational cheers from my family and the blow of the whistle. The game started with an interception on 3rd down and now the Braves were on offense. Our running back D.J. awarded the Pennsauken defense with a big run for a Touchdown on first down. He came to back to the sideline shuddering from the cold and panting like a dog. The whole team thought that we were gonna be winning the game, for the first half at least.

We were practicing for LSU when a heated argument with Defensive Coordinator, Doug Mathews ensued. To make a long story short, he accused me of loafing because I stopped running during a play. I explained that I stopped running to avoid hitting a tractor on the sidelines. We went back and forth with each other with serious aggression. The heated exchanged alerted Coach Majors’ attention. He sent me to the locker room trying to keep matters from escalating further. I was suspended from playing for the rest of the season. For the second time in two years, I was sidelined while my teammates were securing the ‘89 SEC championship and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl. The victory of Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl gave the Vol Nation reason to look forward to next season. For me, Tennessee was the last place I wanted to be. I was at a crossroads in my

Tonight was a game that determined the outcome of the season. Tonight they had to win. Tonight was the night where they had to improve their record. York High is a tough team full of many talented athletes, but lacking the knowledge of the game. Or so we thought. Walking into the locker room, you could feel the intensity of the guys. They knew that their season depended on tonight. It was their last night as freshman football players, it was their last night to make a name for themselves. They tried to play it off as if they weren't nervous, but I could tell otherwise. Dani, the injured guys, and myself had the water filled and ready to be loaded onto the bus in no time. Now it was just a matter of getting all the guys onto the bus. At 3:30 the bus arrived, and that meant game time would soon be approaching.

I was pushed around, yelled and cursed at by some of the biggest dads I have ever seen, but I kept my spirits high in order to pursue greatness. I wasn’t used to wearing a helmet and pads, so catching a football was a challenge. A few weeks down the road, after many hours of observation, the coaches put me on defense in the position of Defensive End. I had no idea what this position was and what my job was. I learned that the Defensive End (DE), plays on the very end of the defensive line and the job of the DE is to rush the Quarterback and to stop any run plays in my direction. I wasn’t very good at doing my job and my coach sought me out and reminded me of that every

I refused to cheer too much because I know it would drive my focus away and it was best to stay humble. I reminded the offensive team this because it would be our hubris if we let our victories envelope our heads. By the end of the final quarter, we had won our game by only a 2-point conversion. The cannonade from my chest was still lunging towards the outside world. Throughout the game I feared failure, yet I overcame it. Realizing that my role was more influential than I known previously, I adapted to the pressure. I reflected on my own performance and knew I could do better. There was so much I could improve on and I was determined to be the

Our season was coming to a close, and we were all excited for our final game of the season; that is, until we found out that the coaches and parents of the opposing

Freshman year of football was an eye-opener for me, and the rest of the team. It was our first year in highschool and all the big changes distracted a lot of us. Us, as players, learned new plays and new techniques that we would use all throughout our years at West Delaware. I remember feeling swamped in all the new information that was thrown my way. Coach Morris, and Worden did an outstanding job of letting us process the new material and made us comfortable with what we were learning. Practices were very fun and laid back, but our performance on the field showed that. Yielding a 2-6 record that year, I recall my thoughts walking off the field for the last time after getting . I was thinking, “Is football for me? Should I really play next year?”. The question stayed in the back of my mind all through the winter. Eventually spring rolled around and I was forced to make my decision.