“Congratulations, this is the 2013-2014 Mission Vista Men’s Varsity Soccer team.” I still remember the words coming out of my high school coach’s mouth as he spoke to the new varsity team after tryouts. I was the shortest and one of the youngest players on the team, but my passion for the game was not any less than anyone on the team. I was one of the only three sophomores on the team with a team dominated by juniors and seniors.
When I first thought about how soccer impacted my life, nothing really came to mind. I was that kid who mostly looked forward to the end of the game snacks and bringing around the goal jar. But when I actually began thinking about more about playing soccer I realized that soccer was the first place where I was fully submerged into something completely new. I learned how to make friends, how be a leader, and how to have good sportsmanship. These are all things that have made me into the person I am today and it all began on the soccer field.
This is the reminiscence of my first soccer game that I refereed. I was volunteering for the local soccer league as they needed assistance. As a fourteen-year old, I did not know what to expect. All I could think about was the roaring of the parents, and how much pressure was on my shoulders to make the right calls. It was ironic since I was refereeing a game for thirteen-year old players.
The start of my freshman year was a thrilling experience for me. To start out my freshman year I made the schools Varsity soccer team, a huge accomplishment for me. However, I was naïve to the coming situation to myself. I was on the path to continuous harassment from teammates as I was surrounded by seniors. Many of the seniors had egos, full of themselves in every aspect possible.
When I was younger, my father gave me a lecture on having a desire. He told me that to be successful, you must have the desire to work for whatever you seek. Now that I am old enough and have been through some trials and tribulations to understand the concept of his philosophy, I believe in having a desire and having the will to work. When I was in the seventh grade, I felt as if I was a car with a dead engine on a highway during a winter storm. Even though I was a straight A student I had no desire to work, especially with the troubles I had at school and at home.
If I could go back in time I would go back to the day I signed up for school sports and switch the little check in the football box to the soccer box. It was sixth grade year and it was the first year I could play school sports and I was the happiest kid alive. In my head I thought football was going to be super fun but, in reality, I wasn 't very good at it. I stuck with it for a couple years
Soccer, or football as it's known in many parts of the world, has a unique way of bringing people together. It's a sport that transcends borders, languages, and cultures. For me, soccer has been an integral part of my life, and there's one moment that changed everything. This moment wasn't just about winning a game or scoring a goal. It was about discovering my passion for soccer, overcoming setbacks, and achieving success on and off the field.
“A house is made of walls and beams… A home is made of love and dreams,” (William Arthur Ward). As teammates, we are brothers on that field, and we have to put everything out on that field together. We have to show love towards each other because without it; we will fall. We have to work together to see our dreams realized or we will be crushed.
I waited for what seemed like forever but found, within me, the courage to walk inside. Without saying a word, I held up my blank piece of paper in front of him. “It wasn 't a mistake, you just aren’t tall enough”, said the coach looking down at me. That one sentence, twisted a knife in my heart. I was told I couldn’t do what I love all because my physical stature.
Participating in high school soccer has taught me many life lessons, of which “determination” was the most important. At Fleetwood High School, soccer is a highly respected sport. As a freshman, I competed against many talented upper classmen for a spot on the team. Being one of the youngest players trying out was intimidating, but it forced me to establish a goal for myself. I was determined to, not only make the team, but to make the varsity team.
If I have to choose a favorite sport it would have to be football. Football is physical hard-hitting contact sport that is full of excitement rooting for my home team the New York Jets. Back in 1997 is where I developed a full interest; watching and playing football at a young age. I have played fullback and linebacker both positions took a lot of hard work, conditioning, and practice to execute my performance on the field.
Being shoved to the ground and coming up with a mouthful of turf and a bloody nose isn’t the ideal way to spend a friday night, but for me, it's something I put blood, sweat, and tears into. Soccer has been a passion of mine since my father dropped me off at the local YMCA when I was at the tender age of four. Spending all of my free days for thirteen years running after a soccer ball is arguably what made me into the person I am today. Unity, tenacity, passion and pride have all been morals that are valued within the sport and in my own philosophy. I have explored places I’d never give a second thought to because my sport took me there.
One of my best days was when my soccer team won the championship. I won several other championships ,but with other teams. This was my first season playing with this team. The major characters in this event were me, my teammates, my coaches and the parents. This event took place in a park at sanger during the summer.
One of the most significant activities in my life would have to be soccer ever since I got a hold of the ball in 10th grade, it sparked my interest and a fire was ignited. It simply stared with a few friends asking me to join them then slowly progressed into everyday after school I would go outside to kick around the ball, I never really knew it was for me until I started getting more into it, soccer became my outlet more like an escape for me, it was somewhere I could go when I needed to be alone just the ball and I. Honestly, I never knew that it would affect me in the way it has, it started out as a just for fun kind of thing, then it escalated into actually playing games, turning more into a passion and I could actually see myself in the
Failure Failure has always been a part of my life. As a child, I fell short of minor goals such as riding a bicycle, doing a pull-up, or beating a difficult level on Super Mario Bros. Although these set backs were small, I constantly kepy trying untill I could accomplish the task at hand. In fact, I would say one of my most euphoric moments in my child hood was when I learned how to ride a bike. As I got older, failure got tougher.
