Taste Of A Loss-Personal Narrative

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

There I was with 2 wins and on my way to the semi-finals. Only 2 of my teammates had made it that far. My first opponent the next day would be Bryce. As our team left the Pepsi Center and started heading for our hotel, there were some people disappointed and some proud of how we had wrestled. We got to our hotel and got settled in with

Next, I wrestled the kid from Jeff West, Hunter Thelen. We both started circling and then I tripped over my feet. He came running at me, he pushed me over then I reversed it and then I got him on his back and he was done by that point. I had him on his back for about five seconds. Then he gave up and I pinned him for the victory.

We rushed out onto the field for the last time. The chilly rain was pouring down. The field was soaked. With every step I took there was a sloshing sensation in my cleat. I put my game face on. No ball would get by me. We were going to score. We were going to win. For the next twenty five minutes, I watched a back and forth in the midfield. Several times I stopped the ball and passed it forward to Kaylee, only for the pass to be intercepted before we were able to score. And then, just as the clock was running down to under five minutes left, I stopped a hard pass just outside our circle. I dribbled for several

As I sat there in a motionless position similar to that of the Thinker, I was reminded of the fundamental lesson of sports: There is no substitute for winning. People today often accept a misconception to about the value of losing. Losing sucks; there is no sugarcoating it. When an individual completely invests oneself to achieve a goal, anything other than victory can only be considered a failure. Once we realized our opportunity to reach, and in our minds likely win, the state championship, our whole season seemed like the rising action in preparation for a deflating anticlimax. We didn’t have to accept failure, but we had to accept the fact that we had failed. I had to accept the fact that I had failed. Somehow, there is a bitter form of beauty in that dedication to a goal, but even more, in the perseverance to continue.

As my teammates and I practiced, throughout our first two weeks, we became better. After losing so much during my first year of competing in tennis, I learned to stay calm, confident, and focused during the matches in my junior year. The leading match of the season was remarkably challenging, but instead of succumbing to defeat, I rose up to the challenge and became victorious. Although I went on to win most of the matches I competed in that year, I learned more from losing than I did from winning. As the season came to an end, I competed in the tennis regionals and made it to the semifinals before I lost. My past failure not only taught me to become a better tennis player but also taught me to be a better

That is unit i realized that he would have to wrestle varsity to fill the weight class. Now I was a little weary about the future. When Lucas came up to me and asked if I was wrestling anyone, I told him no more to convince myself and stop my never ending worrying. After sitting in the locker room for twenty minutes we went out into the big gym. On the bleachers, the group of us pulled out a big snack and began eating away our hunger. Meanwhile my coach went over to meet with the Union grove team to figure out matches. With only one person in my weight class, and he 's wrestling varsity I had little probability to wrestle. After we were done eating, the JV started to warm up. With a few stretches and rough moves. We gathered to see if who was going to wrestle. With little chance of wrestling I was astounded when My coach said I was wrestling. At that moment nervousness filled my body. My coach explained to me that I was wrestling someone two weight classes above mine. Starting with the lower weights, matches began. I was the eighth match out of nine matches. I sat down to try and gather myself and think of how the match would go. Before I knew it, four matches had occurred before me. At that point my coach told me to start walking around and warming up once again. I had one of my teammates come over and stretch me out. Also like before the time had flown by, and my match was up. I strapped on my head gear, and went over to the scores table. I

ignored the negativity in my head and shook his had when ever the ref blew the whistle my mind went blank as in a coma and wrestled two minutes into the match i was sweating as if i ran a 5k in under 15 minutes my lungs were about to burst and my muscles were aching for a 2 minute break as we were reaching the conclusion of round two i knew who was going to be the winner as the saying goes once the first round is over you can already tell who's going to be the winner . for defeat was inevitable , i kept thinking to my self why didn't i wrestle harder at practice why didn't i train harder why didn't i work out longer but as the match was coming to an end it was coming more clear to me the reason I'm gonna go down when I'm at my peak is that beach I'm simply to weak to keep up, with his speed ,

I had just started practicing a couple months before and I wasn’t as good as everyone else. Just because I wasn’t as good, it didn’t stop me from trying my best. I went out there and tried my best and made sure that we would be able to go as far as I could. When I was in the middle of a game I was going to get a grounder and I had got hit in the face and got a bloody nose and had I had to be taken out of the game. After the game I felt better and continued to keep playing throughout the tournament. Towards the end of the tournament we started winning a lot more and we were able to go to the finals. When we had went to the finals we had played a total of five games that day and were moving onto our sixth games. Everyone was tired and we were about ready to give up. Before the finals we all tried to get pumped up and ready to be able to play out best. When the game ended it was a close match. We had lost by one run. After the game we were all disappointed but were able we were able to get second place out of the World

The only thing that was on my mind all week and on the flight, was me playing with the older girls. Before I knew it, I am lacing up getting ready for show time. I was taking the court against fifteen-year-old players from a great Team Ohio program. I did not start the game. It was pretty early in the game when the coach called my name to sub in. As a matter of fact, it was a dog fight. I was still nervous, but I played my hardest. After a few minutes, I got a steal then scored my first bucket. This is when I realized I was able to play at this level. This dog fight ended up going into overtime. This was the first time I was introduced to this concept “Sudden Death” over time. Before we tipped off the officials came over to us and explained: “The first team to take a lead of two points wins the game.” We win tip and coach called a timeout and draws up a play for me to drive baseline and shoot a floater. The play went exactly as coach designed it. Everything went well except that the floater rimmed out. The opposing team got the rebound and advanced the ball to get a wide-open layup. We

Me being one, if not the best d fender we have so naturally coach wants me out there to assure the victory which was not need since CHCA is very good, but that's because they're new to lacrosse this year. I get out on the field instead of a player that was new and did not know the speed of the A-team games so he was not doing very well. Soon as I got in there I got a ground ball which made boosted my confidence but soon after I got another gb (ground ball) and I took it down the field and the goalie stepped out of the goal to hit me and i spun out of the way put the head of the stick up high and ripped bottom corner and I felt so good but it was so hot so I had to take a breather so stepped out and I did not get a chance to get back in but that's ok can see the nervousness in my face and as the words finally creep out he

I could deal with physical exhaustion, and the ridiculous amounts of time that II gave up for wrestling but What really made up my mind was When I asked myself "Who am I doing this for?" I could no longer convince mysel that winning a state championship was worth the effort. I didn't think were the ring and the patch really worth it

He continued to attempt many shots but, my determination helped me to focus and defend successfully. My mouth feeling like a desert longing for water to alleviate the pain in my throat. The buzzer sounds again, now we move to double overtime while the last battle ends in a draw. I know my opponent was completely drained of any strength and feeling defeated, now it was time to dig deep in my mind to unleash the last bit off strength and courage that I had left to give. The ref signals me to mount my opponent; battle hardened and ready for action I slowly mounted my opponent with 45 seconds to either pin him or face a brutal defeat. The whistle blows, I strike my opponent in quick succession, locking my leg around his leg then began to pull his other leg with my arms. Screaming in pain I knew my opponent was ready to give into the ruthless war that has felt never-ending. Using the last bit of gas in my tank I forcefully finish my move knowing that victory would be mine. I hear the ref slap the mat and blow that final whistle relieving me of all the stress and worry in the minds of everyone watching. I was

It was 20-10 in the last volleyball game of the season. My team was down, and I could see the frustration showing on my teammate’s faces. When you’re down by that much, it can be incredibly difficult to come back, but it’s not impossible. I’m never willing to accept that it is impossible. We slowly inched our way back into the game until the score was tied 24 all. The points kept going back and forth in an amazing game, with long and tiring rallies. My team fought hard, but we lost 29-27. It didn’t matter. I had left it all out on the court and played as hard as I could for every point, and that is what counts.

As I crawled off of the mat in anguish, I couldn't believe that I let it happen again. My one chance to settle the score and truly prove that I was better, was gone. My coaches and friends tried to tell me how good I did and how lucky he got, but it only made the pain worse. They put into perspective exactly how close I was to beating him, and it just made me think more. Think about how this was his last year, and how I would never be able to avenge my defeat. It made me feel like everything that I had worked for all season was lost in a split second, one that I couldn't take back.