Soccer Adjustment

Ever since I could remember, soccer had been in my life. If there was a soccer team that needed a coach, my father was always the first to volunteer. There were almost too many strenuous weekends spent hours away from home for soccer tournaments to count. My entire family, consisting of my parents, my siblings, my dog, and myself, packed in a mini-van heading to a city that I had never heard of for soccer games. But when I entered high school, all that would soon go away. I kept playing the same sport that I always had, although now I had to wake up at five in the morning for six hours of high school soccer practice in the smoldering summer heat in order to make the high school team. High School sports were more competitive than anything I had done before. I put in as much effort as I could to make the Varsity High School team, staying out past dinner to practice even longer. I was utterly divulged in soccer and trying to be the best I could be. Soon, I would regret placing a game over spending time with my family.

Lush, green grass began to massage my bare feet. Sunshine beamed off the clean, white goal posts. With my cleats in my hands, ball in my bag, and my freshly washed shirt, only one thing came to mind: soccer. The sport I love and have devoted the past three years was evolving. Many of my friends were shifting from recreational to club soccer. After three years of recreational soccer, I decided to take my game to the next level and tryout for club soccer. Eager to showcase my skills, I stood on the field bearing confidence. Before tryouts began, my thoughts solely consisted of playing club soccer with my friends. I thought little about tryout preparation, because I didn’t know what to expect. No one gave me information about how to perform well

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

“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.

Within this Sport and Fitness Internship, it was my agreement to coach a minimum of 40 hours at Darrough Chapel Park through a partnership with the Kokomo YMCA’s Soccer Program. This permitted me the chance to put all my knowledge and skills to the test, whether it was being recalled from my soccer experience growing up or getting the first hand feel of how to apply what I have learned from my courses at IU Kokomo University in the past semesters. Regardless of which method gave me better insight on coaching, this internship has become a stepping stone in showcasing my efforts don’t go unnoticed and that I am going to do great things

Growing up, sports never seemed to be my expertise. Dancing my youth away, I never imagined to show passion for such an intrusive contact sport. My friends continued to nag at me saying “You have to try out for the soccer team.” My first year of middle school I stepped out onto the field. Occasionally forgetting to breathe,I focused right on the ball. I started to think to myself that I could get used to this. I mean how bad could it be? What I didn’t realize was I did not have much soccer skills under my belt, but making the team already was an accomplishment. I respected the captains when they talked, and I tried, day after day, to pick up the skills they possessed.

The sport, soccer has been around for centuries with its roots tracing back to China,

“Hi, ladies! I’m coach Monroe, and I’m the head women’s soccer coach here at the University of Miami. First, we will do some footwork,” said the woman. Although she was short, she was intimidating. She showed the exercises, and I had some trouble with them. Other girls were getting it; however, I could not grasp how to move my feet and the ball as quickly as others.

“McClure, you are a waste of oxygen and life”, my verbally abusive coach spit from him flaming mouth one last time as I walked out of his office. I was numb, and in shock, but relaxed, oddly feeling at peace with myself and my decision. Soccer had brought so much confidence, passion, work ethic, and pure joy to my life, it was something so stable and rewarding for 15 years. 15 years of endless passion enwrapped in pain and sweat, accompanied by life lessons I could not have gone on without, yet within 2 years, this wonderful aspect of my existence collapsed.

My season was unfortunately cut short by a demoralizing ACL tear in my other knee. At this point in my life I began to feel depressed and I could not understand why this happened to me, again. I questioned if rehabilitating and continuing to pursue my soccer career was really worth it any more. With immense motivation and encouragement from friends and family, I decided I would continue.

It was the second semester of my senior year, and soccer season was just getting started. Prior to the first game, our coach put us through an extensive winter conditioning program. Looking back, it was the hardest I have ever pushed my body to this day. Having worked so hard, I was very optimistic about the season ahead. That optimism, however, quickly changed.

I have been playing soccer as long as I can remember. Of course, I grew up kicking a ball around with my uncles not knowing what the I was doing. Eventually, growing up, I understood more and more; such as understanding that the ball needed to go in the goal. When reaching my middle school years, my parents registered me on a soccer team. As usual, It was close to the same running around my parents had experienced when I was younger. Of course, now I had better knowledge of the game and knew a bit more about how to play. When I reached my high school years, I noticed I wasn’t the best at the soccer. Now, I see myself improved in accuracy, "chemistry," and teamwork.

Looking back to the kickoff of my freshman year made me feel frangible. At this point, I had been a little more than halfway through my freshman and everything had transmuted once again. This time in a good way. I had just gotten out of my nerves cast about a month ago. It had been a fortnight since getting out of my cast for my broken ankle and but now I had just been able to commence utilizing my ambulating boot. The visual perception of my leg after being in a cast for 4 and half months Frightening. An aberrantly minuscule leg, can it even work where my poetic conceptions. My peregrination commenced at that moment. Two months until the commencement of club soccer season. For about a month my job in the school was to study and steadily start ambulating around the school.

Spring sport season came. Minh, a senior, my Vietnamese friend, asked me to join soccer. I declined the friendly offer, blaming on the schoolworks that flooded my schedule.

Playing soccer on his current soccer team has been the most significant event in Dennis’ life. Five years ago, Dennis was a victim to his malicious allergies. Exposure to outdoor activities were difficult for him as he constantly had extreme reactions. At that time, we decided that Dennis would have to combat his allergies rather than temporarily subside them through medicine. Then, we found a soccer team. At first, Dennis seemed curious and ready to play, but the team he played for was unstable and new with a constant losing streak. With his allergies only getting worse, he faced the decision of quitting. However, friends and family prevented him from taking the easy way out.