Why Do Nascimento?

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.

Everyone has that certain thing that makes them who they are. That certain thing for me is soccer. It’s my hobby, my biggest interest, and my passion. Soccer isn’t just a sport for me, it’s my life. It has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have played the intriguing game of soccer since I was four years old, and I have loved it ever since.

Soccer’s been nothing but good to me, providing those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities some may only dream of. From competing in nationwide tournaments,

As I stepped onto the field preparing to be a ball boy, I could feel my heart pounding inside me. When I spotted the players walking to the field, I was nervous and super excited at the same time. I had been deliberating what I should or should not do before the onset of the game. For example, if our team (Atlanta United) was winning, I would take a moment to slow the game down. On the other hand, if the opposite team was winning, I would demand of myself to be nimble and get the ball back into play as soon as possible. Finally, my dream of being a ball boy for a major league soccer team was becoming a reality.

Let me introduce to you, Tyler Martin. This ninth-grader is not only an amazing student with a thrive to pass ninth grade with flying colors, he’s an even more impressive athlete who has a passion for the sport he plays. While he continuously works on his academics, his persistence never seems to stop when it comes down to his favorite sport, soccer. Nothing seems to slow him down, not work loaded onto his plate, not an injury, and certainly not competition. If anything, competition makes him try harder, encouraging him to be the best. Everyone loves to win but to want to be the best? That requires a reason, a reason like wanting to make someone proud. Tyler’s reason happens to be his father, the man creating the passion for sports that Tyler

Constant running and never ending judgement from those around me. Yet, this did not make me stop. I challenged my teammates and coaches belief that I could not play and quickly became one of the most used players on the team. I nearly made the varsity team and started several games on Junior Varsity. I played amongst those who doubted me and became one of them. I became a soccer player, I learned to lead those around me, adapt to an environment I had yet to encounter, and how to change people’s opinion about me. It was the proudest moment of my adolescent life when the coach said an amazing heartfelt speech about how I would challenge both him and myself everyday at practice because I wanted to prove to those surrounding me I deserved to be playing on the pitch amongst them. The decision I made to go out for a sport I had never played my junior year of high school is by far the turning point of my life, I truly believe it changed me and gave me another dimension to my complex personality. I gave me an experience unlike that of any other person because I am not a natural athlete, I am just a child who has been doubted but has destroyed that doubt over and over

The sport of soccer, in Brazil is considered a people’s game,it started as a white players sport and then moved to blacks. The country had a complex national identity, made up of all different racial groups; soccer was the one thing that Brazilians could identify with. The poor Brazilians found self-worth in soccer much like the lower-class in Peru. For many Brazilians the sport derived from overcoming poverty, the poor turned to this sport

“I’m the best in the game,” said my seven year old self. I’ve played soccer for most of my life and was in the car on the way to a game. That day was foggy and wet; our

Primarily, a teengers vision for soccer can change in a matter of seconds. As a soccer player reaches the teenage years there are many threats one faces. For example, when I interviewed my friend, a soccer player, who plays for Los Xolos de Tijuana gave very concrete perspectives. One perspective he gave me is that he did not let anyone blind his dream. I think this is very important because many players let themselves be influenced by his surroundings.

Soccer is something every kid plays, it’s the staple game of the world; but to me, soccer was more than just a childhood activity. Playing soccer has taught me many valuable lessons but the most important lesson was that it wasn’t about the trophy, it was about the practices, it was about the teammates. When the end of the season came around, it didn’t matter if we had won or not; we had grown as soccer players and as a team,

They’re the best!”. This was just the beginning though. I played for several years from the age of 8 I believe up to my teen years. When I started high school, I only played two years of soccer which was during my freshman and sophomore year. Due to all the homeworks and responsibilities I had to do, I stopped playing my passion for soccer. One of my friends (Rubin) was in the same soccer team. He came up to me when it was passing periods during school and said, “Hey! How come you’re not in the soccer team anymore?”. I responded, “I have to focus on helping my family with the money, bruh. Or else we’ll go

Although I aspired to thrive, I found myself defeated. As a teenager, I was hard on myself because the only way to transform my parents’ aspirations into reality was to excel in soccer. But as my mother encouraged me with her soft words, I felt those dreams dissipate once I was benched every game as a member of the junior varsity soccer team in high school. In a sense, I understood

At the age of 5 I was given my first pair of Velcro-cleats. Back then; it wasn’t about getting an All-Conference Title, or wining a full scholarship to the school of your dreams. It was simply about having fun. By the age of 12, I was being developed and shaped into a player that would have a successful future with soccer, and would hopefully receive scholarships. But, that future for me crumbled by the time I was 16. I don’t know what happened over those 4 years, but I simply lost the joy in playing. It became more of an obligation to go to

Since I can remember, I’ve always played soccer. Whether it was kicking the ball around my kitchen and dining room (this didn’t go over well with my mother) or playing on a youth team, club team, or school team, soccer has always flowed through my veins and helped prepare me for the challenges I faced ahead. These early experiences foreshadowed my maturity and growth through soccer.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento or Pelé, was born on October 23, 1940, in Três Coraçōes, Brazil. Pelé began playing at the age of five and later joined the Santos professional soccer team at the age of sixteen. After his first full season at Santos, he was recruited by the Brazilian national team. Pelé was officially introduced to the world in the 1958 World Cup, where he scored three goals in the semifinals and two goals in the finals to help Brazil beat the host country. "I told myself before the game, he is made of skin and bones just like everyone else.