Personal Narrative: My Journey To An Athletic Team

It all started in 7th grade, our football team was at the time undefeated and we were in our second to last game. We were up by quite a bit and our team was feeling sanguine, our coach didn’t put too much thought into it, and called a run up the middle with our star running back Michael Lundy. He Got the ball and ran for Three short yards then suddenly tripped over a pile of angry, impassioned, irritable teenage boys. Michael had landed wrong and you could see by his expressions he was hurt, his dad came on the field and helped carry him off. We were forced to continue the game without Michael, which wasn’t all that bad because there were only three minutes left in the game. We the Philomath 7th grade braves had won our second to last game

When I was in the fifth grade a friend and I had made that decision that I should become a part of his town baseball team. When I got home from school that day I asked my mom if I could join and her answer was no. The next day at school I talked to my friend and he told me that his practice was that night and that I should come and try it out. He told me that he usually rides his bike because his dad is not home and that we could meet up and go together. So when I got home my mom was home and around the time I needed to leave to meet my friend she usually went to the nearby school to walk around the track for exercise. She had asked me if I wanted to go with her I declined and she left. I started my journey to the baseball field that was probably

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.”

Clouds mugged the sun of light as the day progressed. Dusk filled the air on the baseball diamond where I would leave my legacy. Forth, was the championship game to be played, and the pressure of the starting pitcher, was not fazing me. In the zone, we said the Little League pledge. Jolts of excitement filled my muscles as I recited the piece that I know all too well. Warming up, I was controlled, and was ready to bring it. The game began with a bang. Strikeout after strikeout I fired, giving my all every single pitch. ‘BOOM’ went the glove after every pitch, whizzed right by the petrified batter. However, this was not much different for our team. Just two hits filled the board, I and my teammate Ian Keth. Scoring off of this was efficient,

With a score of 44 to 37, the Varsity Football Team won against the Midway Panthers last Friday night at Waco.

From my earliest memories school sports have been a part of my life. When I was in elementary school I watched my older siblings play basketball, football, baseball, and even male cheerleading. I couldn’t wait for my chance to play on a team, and make a difference. I have been very fortunate to be a part of many great teams at Mandan. I have grown and developed not only as an athlete, but also a person through the athletic programs. Sports have taught me to be accountable, to show up on time, to work hard, to practice, and to push myself to the best of my abilities. They have made me mentally and physically stronger than I ever thought possible and taught me to help push other members to be the best they can possibly be.

I grew up as an older sibiling who really had no one to express myself with. There are kids who live in secluded areas or just don't have the social skills to find other friends. Organized activites changed my perspective as a young child on how to actually have fun with my other peers. I personally liked playing basketball and was quite decent at the sport, I quickly developed friends who enjoyed the sport as much as I did. After awhile I started hanging out with a variety of different kids who were mutual friends between my friends and I.

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

“Friday night games with huge crowds. That atmosphere is hard to beat.” Senior Hunter Martin is playing through his fourth and final year on the Varsity basketball team. For two years in a row, he has been the starting foward. “Basketball hasn’t always been easy but I’m really glad I stuck through it all four years,” Martin said. Looking back on his accomplishments, Martin said that his favorite memory was was win the team won districts his sophomore year. “Nothing can compare to that moment of celebrating with my team.”

While proud of what I was able to do to give back my community, my only regret is that I was not able to assist in a couple of areas. The most regrettable instance of this is Franklin Township’s Varsity Football. While we did leave behind some important moral codes behind that has already begun to sow the seeds necessary for success, we could not bring back the winning culture Franklin Football had in the past. Looking ahead, I now know the tools necessary to being successful and will work to be a greater influence in order to aid towards that success. Additionally, I’d like to be a more vocal person. Waiting until the middle of Junior Year to take a leadership role was a poor choice, as that was not enough time to turn an entire program around.

It has been three days since the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards began and I'm still surviving behind the facade. I created this entity because I wasn't comfortable with new people or breaking of my comfort zone. I have never been away from home and surrounded by 99 strangers before. To other campers, I'm sassy and love the Kardashians. I would crack jokes and try to get by. Behind the facade, I was frightened and refused to leave my comfort zone. I refused to utilize the opportunity. I just wanted to get the camp over with. I never fit in with straight guys so I never bothered to interact with the guys. The girls loved the facade and at that point, I did as well. It was the only thing that kept me safe and made me feel strong. On the fourth

Our softball team had been practicing all week for softball state at the new evansville ball fields. We were excited to be the first team on these fields and the first team to win on these fields. We had caught, fielded, pitched, and hit so many softballs we were now unbeatable- “Practice makes perfect”.Everyone had attended these practices because they were so important that nobody had dared to skip, they were the key to our win. “Swing” was the team to beat. We are everyone’s rivals but our own. We never got down on anyone. We keep our spirits high through the best and worst parts of the games. Through losing, through winning, through anything, through everything thing, we were a team. That is why we one state.

It was the spring of 2001, the season that would mark the first game of my softball career. All twelve players showed up to the field, but the real question was, how many came to play ball? It was only best to expect the unexpected from this group of six year olds. The game started, and one player hit a roller towards the outfield. At this very moment the team of twelve became divided. This division separated the team players from the self-servers. My natural instinct to play as a teammate forecasted the kind of person I would soon become.

Annually around St. Patrick’s Day, we do performances at a myriad of different nursing homes and assisted living centers around the Pittsburgh area. Sometimes, our audience is not all that attentive to our performance. They tend to take the opportunity to take an afternoon nap instead. One time, there was a frail, old lady in a wheelchair in the front row who looked sad and lonely when she was wheeled in. There was a moment, at the end of our performance that I caught this lady’s eye. Then, out of no where, this sad, lonely lady gave me the biggest smile she could manage. Then, there was the Answers for Patrick Foundation. This foundation was created to raise funds to pay the hospital bills for a boy who was a medical mystery. I was approached by a friend to set up a performance. I had to be the leader. I choreographed and ran the entire performance. When we finished, we met the family of the young boy. The mother was in tears and embraced each of us explaining that they were finally getting answers and Patrick was moving towards recovery all because of the money we helped to raise. Both the elderly woman and Answers for Patrick enabled me to see that all of time I volunteered and the hard work that was included was worth

One rainy night in November, I arrived to the church gym for my first basketball practice of the season. As I walked in the doors creaked and you could smell the gym floor. As I already heard the basketballs hitting the ground, bouncing up and down. My friends Brittany and Destiny walked in right behind me through the door. That was when we realized we were the only girls surrounded by all guys. As practice came to a start we began to run, it felt like we were never going to stop. Up and down the court as we ran suicides, you could hear the squeaking of shoes as we went from the next line back and then on to the next. Before we started scrimmaging, the two captains were boys. Brittany, Destiny, and I stood in amazement as we were the last three standing there. You could see by their expressions they didn’t want any of us on either team.