Narrative Essay On Soccer Clinic

When I was five years old, my parents enrolled me in a four-week soccer clinic at the local YMCA. On the first day of the clinic, I refused to step on the field. I would just stand on the sidelines and watch the other kids run around. The reason for this according to my mom was that I was just too nervous to put myself out there. My whole family loved and does love soccer, both my parents played in college, and all three of my siblings played for as long as they could. Most parents would have pushed their kids to step on the field, and maybe even yelled at them. After all, my parents had paid for the clinic, driven me out, and loved soccer themselves, so I should too. But they did not force me into playing one bit and let me watch from afar.

So that’s what I did. Though I was willing to watch I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the game for the first few clinics. But during the last clinic, I finally decided I was willing to give it a try and I mustered up enough courage to step on the field. It was essential though that my parents did not push me. I had to get used to the scene before I got involved. While soccer and sports, in general, may not have been for me, I still found myself on many fields, hockey rinks, and baseball diamonds watching my siblings compete. I did and still do look up to my siblings and watching them play all the time got me kind of interested as I aspired to like them. So a year or two after that first soccer clinic, my parents enrolled me in another clinic this time through Wellesley soccer. This time around, I loved it. I now had the confidence to both play and talk to other kids. Not only was I enjoying myself but fortunately coming from an athletic family, I was pretty good out there. Still, though I hated being watched by others, especially people I knew and especially my family. So while I would always watch my siblings they would not watch me often. I preferred that only one parent was there watching, usually my mom, and that’s just how it

I began to referee youth soccer games. Getting certified was a process and it took lots of patience but in the end, it was worth it. Refereeing allowed me to be around the game that I loved while also helping Wellesley Youth Soccer who had done so much for me. Refereeing takes a lot of concentration and confidence when you have a lot of people watching you and counting on you to make the right calls. I went from a kid who was concerned about being on the field in front of people, to being at the center of the game. To be a good referee, one must be assertive and professional while also being a good communicator to coaches, players, and parents. These are skills that I learned through my time playing soccer through the game, but also through interacting with my teammates. I also realize the importance of learning from others and past experiences, which I was able to do with refereeing. My older sister and older brother used to also be referees so I would hear them tell stories good and bad, about experiences they had on the field. It prepared me to know how to react on the field when something went wrong, and how to handle myself in certain situations. Being a soccer player myself, I also have a unique perspective on both refereeing and playing. I can better understand how it feels to disagree with a referee or know what it’s like when a referee is put in a tough position. It has given me a newfound