Personal Narrative: The Game Of Soccer

I used to run down the sideline shaking the goal jar, now I run around with a cash box at every school event asking for donations for the senior class. I’ve realized that some things never actually change, they just evolve to become something bigger. Soccer challenged me, brought me a great amount of happiness, and truly inspired me to be the leader I am

Summer was at full blast, Sunday league was starting and I was playing soccer every single day. I was ready for the next season of high school soccer to come and I was training myself to the limit because I wanted to be one of the best players on the field and to possibly be captain for varsity this year. This year was also the year our new coach, coach Jay was in charge of us because Olivier had left last year to to go to Michigan with his wife. Jay had already seen how well of a player I was because I played in his soccer club and immediately placed me in the varsity roster but as a defender and not a striker. The transition was difficult but I learned fast.

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.

Has there ever been something that you pushed for or strived for as a team? For my soccer team, that was the end of season playoffs. In the spring of 2016, my team had finally earned the coveted spot of being one of the top four teams to qualify for the playoffs. After having an excellent season with only two losses, my soccer team was one of the top four teams to earn a spot in the GAASA tournament.

My determination to get better and overcome my obstacles paid off my senior year when I awarded second-team

With the encouragement of my dad, we decided that it was time for me to move to a team that would face better competition and have players of a similar mindset to myself. In the beginning of 8th grade, I had moved to my first club team after being on a town travel team for four years. While this was the right move for me, it was definitely a shock for me to realize that I was no longer the best on my team. I struggled through multiple winter training and conditioning workouts before the season had begun, though I tried to remind myself that this was only helping me in the end. When the first game of the summer season arrived, I was somewhat surprised to find that I was not in the starting lineup or in the field.

At Carmel High school, Chandler Grey was the guy with it all, he was the star striker for the soccer team, he was dating the captain of the cheerleading squad, all the guys wanted to be just like him, but, he was flunking, If his grades stooped any lower he would be benched on the championship game, and no one would want that. Ryan had a big Algebra final coming up and if he didn’t pass he wouldn’t be able to play in the big championship game. Ryan had been studying every moment of everyday, yet he still wasn’t confident he would pass. He knew the formulas and he knew the expressions, but something in the back of his head was screaming at him to study more. He felt as though the weight of the soccer teams future was on his shoulders.

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.

Participating in high school soccer has helped change me into the person I am today. I was extremely nervous going into my first year of high school soccer. The thought of

Each experience has helped me to develop my skills as a teammate and as a leader. I played as a member of the York Soccer Club, York High School (Varsity starter as freshman) and also competed as a member of two club teams, Seacoast United and

Splat. A girl slipped on the mud and stepped right on to the soccer ball, face-planting on the ground with a thud. I cringe and blow my whistle, signaling a foul. Before I can even ask if she’s all right, I heard thunder booming in my ear, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? YOU’RE

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.

Walking in with wrists still taped and a swollen upper brow, I donned my royal blue “Marshall Acadeca” team shirt as I sat down to take the science exam. My senior year I decided to subject myself to the lunacy that consisted of maintaining my role as the running back of my football team, and simultaneously competing for our nationally ranked academic decathlon team. As my head still rang with the intensity of a church bell, I powered through the test and nine more the same way which I had powered through the opposing team’s defense just a few minutes ago repeating to myself “almost there”. The combination of mental and physical strain that football and decathlon created had become the norm for me over the past 4 months and my thoughts at night reverberated between regrets, and dreams of flying to West Indies to escape it all.

Initially, my mind was set to join the soccer team. However, I found out there weren’t any openings available. The only team that had an opening was The Cross Country Team. I was terrified…my parents encouraged me to join as there wasn’t an option not to.

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