Tryout Narrative

When I was 9 years old, I started this thing called competitive or all-star cheerleading. My goal at the time was to make it on a level 5 team and compete at the World Championship. Within my first 5 seasons I had a lot of trouble with my tumbling, which prevented me from moving past level 4. Before my sixth season I switched cheer gyms. My parents believed in my goals so much that they drove me an hour and half to and from practice two to three times a week. Within my first year at Tribe which was my new gym, my tumbling issues never got resolved. That left me on a level 3 team where I never believed I was good enough. The next year I was again put on a level 3 team. Now in my eighth season I was put on a level 3 team yet again. I wanted to quit, but my coach showed me that tumbling did not define me and allowed me to fall in love with the sport all over again.

I waited weary in anticipation of what name would break out of the happy-go-lucky collegiate cheerleader’s boisterous mouth as he was announcing the two lucky 2017 National Cheerleading Association All Americans out of all 4 Belton cheer squads. I replay this moment in my most vivid dreams, feeling the excitement of the halcyon moment grow greater and greater as the nerves and emotions grew stronger and stronger. A moment as imperative as this showed me in the most transparent way that hard, continuous work and growth pays off in many more ways than one.

I was playing center field waiting for those flying balls to come straight at me so I could catch them to get the players out. The girl that was batting hit the ball so hard that it sounded like she broke the bat. The ball was about thirty feet in the air and I shuffled backwards to see if it was going behind me sure enough it was. I sped up my speed to keep in sync with the ball, I put my glove out in front of my face and with a lot of force the ball landed right in the glove. The crowds started to cheer, and so did my team mates. I threw the ball to second base and got the runner out on a double play. The crowds cheered and roared with excitement. The game passed quickly, and we were in the last inning. Our team was the last to bat. The bases were fully loaded. The crowd cheered for a beautiful hit. It was now my turn to bat. My chance to show everyone that I improved. As I was walking my team mate shouted, “You got this, Andre!”. Then all of a sudden everyone started to chant and scream my nick name. This brought tears to my eyes because they all believed in

I started the first few weeks wanting to impress the head coach to prove to him I deserved a spot within the starting nine on the varsity level. I practiced hard, never goofed off, and went to the cages with my dad on the weekends. I wanted to make the varsity level to show my family and myself that I could do it and that I was good enough to compete at the varsity high school softball level. When I was younger, I made the team I wanted, I never considered failing to be part of me. The big week came, the teams were posted all seven freshmen had made a team but yet to find which side of the paper their name

I started on the high school football team and didn’t do too bad. I ended up getting all district defensive back which was good to have. I also started on the high school basketball team. This was a pretty good year we didn’t do to bad but got beat out in regionals. It was one of the most painful times of my life because it meant a lot to me and the team. I couldn’t believe it happened. We worked so hard. A good thing about it is that I improved and did better that year. I also tried a crazy thing which was to play baseball. I have never played baseball in my life nor did I like it. I went ahead and tried it out anyways. I enjoyed it but I was not good at it. I couldn’t seem to find the ball in the outfield. I was a decent pitcher and batter though. The best part about baseball was the bus ride I enjoyed them a

I became so much better than I was the year before that I was able to join the team at districts that year. I may still had have my sister's hammy downs, but I was more confident and more skilled in the game. Each year I got better with more experience, and became higher on the list of players on the team. Sadly after a couple of tournaments during the golf season junior year, I severely injured my wrist. I pulled a tendon, had a gap between my growth plates, and lost blood flow to a bone just in one wrist. I was out of the game for six months with tons of physical therapy, but what my failure from seventh grade had taught me was not to give up. During the time of my injury I helped the team by coaching them during practice and being a cheerleader. I may not have been able to play, but at least I was there for the team and gained some more knowledge of the sport from watching. Right after my injury was healed I went right back to practice. I know have arthritis in my wrist and there are days that I can not practice because it hurts, but I pushed through it. The whole year was hard on me but I was able to make the team again. This year I am no longer in the top five of the team, but I am still able to play and help the team

My teammates and I were over-confident and had made some early mental errors. This allowed Cascade to earn three runs in the first inning, while we got none. In the huddle after inning one, our coach said, “Where’s the energy boys? You guys look flat out there!” In the next few innings, we found ways to pick up two runs, only while allowing Cascade another. It was a defensive battle, as neither team could get any runs. By the time we reached the sixth inning, the score was tied four to four. I started to get nervous, as I knew I would have a pivotal at-bat this inning. The first batter got on base with a walk. Our team, was very excited as he was the winning run. Our excitement instantly faded, as the next two batters struck out. This left me up with the last out. Our man on base had stolen to second, putting him in perfect scoring position. My teammates yelled from the dugout, “Let’s go Hinch! You got this big guy.” My coach said to me, “Alex, sit back and drive the ball. Make sure it’s a good pitch!” I could feel the pressure of the moment, but wanted to be the guy to get us the win. The at-bat started off slow as I got two strikes and two balls. On the fifth pitch, I got a ball right down the middle. I made a big swing at the ball and felt it come off my bat. Immediately, I started sprinting towards first and was signaled to go for second. The winning run had scored and our team went wild! We had won the game, and left Cascade with two victories. From this point on, I was much more confident. My teammates also felt a new sense of belief in me. The rest of the year was very enjoyable and left me with many new friendships! It was a summer I will always

November 14, 2015 was a day that I will never forget. It all started with a couple phone calls that I received and had to make a few weeks prior to November 14, 2015. During my summer of 2015, I received word that Rutgers University liked and was interested in me for baseball. I always saw the coaches and recruiting coordinators at my games, but never really knew that they were interested in me and wanted to keep watching me play. As the summer season ended I had to call the Rutgers Baseball Coach at a specific time so he would pick up. Due to NCAA recruiting rules, they could not call me, so that phone call had to be set up through the head coach of my travel team. Once I got hold of the coach, we talked for a few minutes and then he informed

It was my first year playing lacrosse and most of the other girls on my team had played for two to three years. Going into our first game, I had practiced with my stick and was fairly confident in my ability. However, when I stepped onto the field of my first lacrosse game, I was mistaken. The girls were much stronger than me and had obviously practiced much longer than I had. In one of the plays, I had the ball in my stick and was running down the field. I was so excited that I had actually touched the ball, I had forgotten to cradle. My defender quickly checked my stick and brought the ball all the way down the field to score. I was so mortified after my first game that I used my embarrassment as fuel to my fire. I practiced as much as possible and tried to always have my stick with me. Annoyed, my mother would always complain when I bounced the ball against the house to practice catching. I set the goal of score one goal in my season and leading up the championship game, I had still not netted one. In the car, my dad made me close my eyes and visualize myself scoring a goal. At the time, I thought this was silly and that it would not work! However, as I ran down the field with the ball in my stick, I cut to the center and beat my defender, just like I had envisioned. Frustrated, the defender slashed my stick in the 8 meter and I got a free shot. I could not believe that this was happening. I had a

In eighth grade, I was playing in a scholastic bowl tournament at the sectional level. We were 2 questions away from winning the tournament, and advancing to state. A math question was asked; we had to multiply two polynomials. While I was working, the other team buzzed in and answered incorrectly. I waited on my answer, because I wasn’t sure that I had the right answer, and I wanted to make my team proud. Finally, I buzzed in at the last moment and answered correctly, but the question had to be thrown out due to a technicality. We were devastated. The replacement question was a literature question, a topic that we are not strong in. I was disheartened and had practically given up at that point. However the game wasn’t over. I consider this

First of all, there is me, we also have someone in our band named Brody Bauer, and we just needed one more person in our band but we couldn’t find anyone! So one day we had "tryouts", our "tryouts" did not have very many people there so we put signs up that night for the next morning and there was so many people there. We were looking for the perfect person for it, but then they realized our age and about half of them left, at this time we were only 11.

We went and got checked in, then prepped for bowling. I remember as soon as we got there, the other girls were queasy and complaining about their tummies. I felt fine, but everyone insisted, “No don’t eat those poisonous Timbits. They will kill your stomach.” Being the rebellious daredevil that I am, I ate them anyway and said to them all, “It’s fine it’s not like I’m gonna die.” Coach just told the girls to calm down because it was probably just nervous jitters. We sat in the dimly lit bar, waiting for what felt like an eternity. Then finally, the announcer said that we could get to our lanes for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. I know that this is supposed to be a serious moment, but it seems like every time we have a tournament they play the one with the saxophone. The saxophonist is so obnoxious at some parts that it makes people giggle every time, and I just can’t help it. After they played the banner, they announced for practice to begin, and like always, I throw a gutter my first ball. It never fails, I do horrible in practice then make up for it in the game. The first game we bowled, I got a 253 (my highest score ever). That score put me in first place. I was so happy. People were so impressed and coach even said that some of the other coaches were impressed too. After that game, we bowled about five more (I honestly can’t say if it was five or six, because after three you start to lose count), and after each game I got more and more tired. At least I was staying in my normal 150-170 range though (that’s not too bad, but others can do better). I was slowly knocked down from the top. At the end of the tournament, they announced that they were taking the top 16 out of 50 something girls. I was really nervous because I had gotten the one 200 score (the highest game of the day) and the rest were in my normal range, plus the other girls were so good. They announced the first one through

The whistle blew and I had lost the match. I was completely overwhelmed in disappointment at the fact that I let my entire team down as I lost the match. After I got off the mat I sat down and started to tear up as I the thought of being an utter waste of a varsity space. As the dual concluded my coach took us all into the the locker room and started yelling at us. He said how terrible we were and how we embarrassed him and AHS in general. As he did this my spirit just went farther and farther down into my stomach. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then he stated something that changed how I was thinking. He said “It’s crazy that I have to rely on a one-hundred and eighty-two pound freshman (me) to go out on the mat and get out wrestled but still keeping trying and pushing to win”. After he said that I felt an enormous amount of stress and anxiety just kinda melted off my

Within the thirteen years in both school and bowling, there has been an extraordinary amount of items that has helped influence my life and goals that I have for the future."Be a Leader. Not a Follower". This quote expresses how I choose to portray myself in everyday society, in quite a significant matter. Though my philosophy, I feel like that if I choose to be a role model, then this will help the future generations try to be the same way. With the guidance of various bowling organizations,I have been able to act as a role model and push for people to be more of a leader than being a follower. Bowling has been able to help me express myself in a unique way. I have been able to find a sport that accepts you, no matter the skill level that you are on.

In my freshman year I was nominated to be the team captain of my baseball team and that night I was really nervous because I didn’t think I was the right person for the job because I am a quiet kid and I just go to baseball to do two things, win and get better. I also get angry at people when they mess up but I do usually keep it to myself. I was also really nervous when I was up to hit because I didn 't want to get hit by the ball. So I didn’t really know how to be a team leader. That night I was sitting around table eating dinner when I started talking about what I should do. My dad gave me this tip that when I’m up to bat say to myself, I can hit the ball, I can hit the ball. This gave