Personal Narrative: Sheridan Sports Team

It was a nice day so I wanted to see if my friends could play, I rode my bike to Alex and Tony’s house. I got to the door and rang the bell.

On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to.

For a lot of kids, it’s not until it’s all said and done, and they look back on it several years later, that they realize the difference the sport made in their lives. They are proud of playing the game. Have you ever met anybody who accomplished playing four years of high school football, and at the end of that run said, ‘Man, I wish I wouldn’t have played’? It doesn’t get said. Football players aren’t perfect. Nobody is. But millions of former players, one by one, can recount the life-altering principles they learned from football. They know the value of football is the values in football.That’s why high school football – and particularly high school coaches – play such a vital role in our society. Our football coaches are on the front lines of the battle for the hearts and minds of the boys in our society.

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.

Sixty pairs of ears belonging to the sweaty high school boys still in their lacrosse pads eagerly tuned in to the list Coach Griffin was relaying. First, he sounded off names of seniors, followed by juniors. Then he started reading sophomore names, and I perked up, anxious and nervous. He read off about six or seven names, but not mine. He then folded the paper he was reading from in half and slipped it into his pocket. As he did this, my heart sank, for I knew what he would say next: “Those names I just called have been selected to be on the varsity roster for the 2015 Marmion lacrosse team. Congratulations! Let’s have a great year. If I did not call your name, you are on the JV team.” I was devastated.

Ottawa-Glandorf athletics taught me more than I ever thought I would have learned. Being apart of Titan sports comes with a stigma: a stigma to be great, to work hard, and to carry good sportsmanship. I participated in Ottawa-Glandorf sports so I could be apart of a team, enhance leadership skills, and build relationships with peers. My freshman year I decided to join the girls soccer team. I was a little hesitant as I was the only Glandorf girl on the team, but after the first week of practice, I met some of my best friends I have today. Although I didn’t get much playing time, I always tried my hardest, gave it my all, and was a leader on and off the field.

Sports are a significant part of society and spectators enjoy particular events regardless of the type. However, there are many players who develop special working and social relationships with whom they are participating regardless of the type of sport. The relationship and how people interact with one another can be the determination of how successful a team can be. The particular film based on a true story that I chose is titled When the Game Stands Tall. This film consists of a high performing football team of De La Salle High School in the state of California. Jim Caviezel portrays the head coach (Bob Ladouceur) as a man with such vision and passion that goes beyond the fundamental principles of coaching the game of football. The football team had won 151 games without being defeated which is the highest winning record a team has had in the game of football. The film shows the internal struggles of the players in their lives as people, and how they perform on the field. It also shows the external tragic difficulties that they face while they attend and play for De Le Salle High School. In the movie, the head coach helps the students/players by not only coaching them but also showing them how to live a flourishing life by committing to endure difficult life situations and the way to overcome them. He helps teach the principles of brotherhood and companionship with the team that they build. In the movie, the head coach and the staff had taught the players

I recall arriving at the first game. The opposing team, although small, were almost two times my size. They looked intimidating, but I did not let judgement cloud my mind. When huddled together, our coach spoke to us, telling the team that we is what we practiced for, that the other team did not practice as hard as we did, even though he had no knowledge of the opposing team’s practice was. As he continued to intensify our spirits, a fire sparked amongst my companions. The plays flourished throughout my brain. I felt confident. Before I knew it, a whistle blew and I was fast forwarded onto the field

As summer football practice begins, readers are introduced to the notable players of the 1988 Permian Panthers; Boobie Miles, Jerrod McDougal, Mike Winchell, and Brian Chavez. We are introduced first to James Earl “Boobie” Miles Jr., the team’s all-star running back. Boobie lived a very hard life from the start. At the age of three his mother moved to Oklahoma and left Boobie with his grandmother. He lived for a short time with his father, but allegations of physical abuse resulted in a lifetime of being bounced from foster home to foster home. Before Boobie started high school, his uncle, L.V. Miles, adopted him giving him a stable home and a positive role model. Influenced by his uncle, Boobie began to excel at sports, especially football. Football provided another “home” where Boobie got the kind of attention and admiration that led to opportunities someone from his background didn't typically get a full ride scholarship to college. He also gained a lot of attention for his attitude that was that nobody was as talented as he was. In the book Boobie is constantly quoted in the book as saying, “Put Boobie in if you wanna win” (Bissinger, Buzz). Next we are introduced to small offensive lineman

Gibson County Soccer is where my love for the game all started. I showed up to my very first game ready as ever to play. I had my hair in pigtails with fluffy scrunchies on each of them. I was ready to take on any opponent that was thrown my way, but first the referees had to check if we had the right equipment on. Apparently soccer cleats and baseball cleats are a very different thing. My mom and I had no idea and I was wearing baseball cleats and with them they have a toe spike and that is against all soccer rules because you could hurt someone with it. So there I am sitting on the sideline and my coach proceeds to cut off my toe spike.

The John P. Fadden Award recognizes a student who has overcome physical adversity to make a contribution to his/her team. This award was established in 1966 to recognize the contributions of athletic trainer and friend of Harvard athletes, John P. Fadden. Todd Preston is the best representative of the intended spirit of this award. Todd’s story not a unique one in the rise and fall of an athletes career that’s marred by adversity, highlights and coming up just a little short. It is unique in the way handled the positive and negative events on his path all while being a leader, mentor, and friend to his team mates.

The temperature rises in the warehouse-like building as six teams attempt to hit their individual pyramids. Five hours, lunch, five more hours, dinner, three more hours; repeat three days for best results. It’s June, and the season has just begun.

It was a casual summer day when I heard the good news. I came downstairs and saw my dad with a big grin on his face and my mom with a camera.

Above the chatter, whistles, drums/instruments, and thud of pads, the PA system carries the announcers voice for all to hear. Young men decked out in pads, helmets, jerseys, cleats, and eye black attempt to settle the butterflies going crazy in their stomachs as they warm up. Coaches pace the field yelling anything that will motivate their players. They too are nervous, but they do their best not to let their players detect this. Coaches pace the field yelling anything that will motivate their players. They too are nervous, but they do their best not to let their players detect this. Moments later the crowd, cheerleaders, players, coaches, and referees put their hand over their hearts as the small school’s vocal talent sings the National Anthem. For a moment everything is still. As the words “Home of the brave” echo over speakers, clapping and cheering end the silence. It is Game time, the moment that everyone has waited all week for. Saturday morning the Old men of the town can be found at the local coffee shop discussing last night’s game. They discuss the state of the current team, reminisce previous years, and debate who the town’s greatest teams and athletes have