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I can remember the summer going into my sophomore year in high school, It was late june and I had just returned home from Boston University’s Summer Challenge. My family and I, we were sitting at our dinner table and my mom asks me what I will do for the rest of my summer, I remember I replied “ I’m going to get big for football.” and my parents both smiled at me and brushed my naive answer off. After that I knew my parents were not fond of the Idea of me essentially rotting at home, a month and a half before the beginning of football season. My mom called my brother later that night as asked him if he was willing to let me live with him in his off campus apartment for a few weeks. The offer was incredibly appealing and I decided to take it …show more content…
To give me a well rounded balance, my brother also contacted one of his teammates who had recently graduated college, and was trying to become a professional athlete, anyway I remember I did not clearly communicate with the individual whom I was working out with our schedule would look like so I assumed that we would go every other day. The next day I did not think we would work out so I did not go to the practice field, but little did I know that workouts were monday through friday so I missed that one and when my brother discovered this that's when he finally let me know he was angry, the thing I was most scared about was my parents reactions, but when I spoke to them they did not even mention it to me. I am very thankful for this whole situation, because honestly without it I would have never have matured into the adult I had today. After these few occurrences, my older brother and his roommate pulled me into their room and talked to me very calmly and put life into perspective for me. This was not one of those ordinary slap on the wrist talks where the behavior is distinguished for a few days, this was a life changing talk. To give you a general overview of what they told me was, to have a good circle of
One incident that happened to me that change how I thought about sports was when I first started playing soccer. It all started when my mom said that I should join a sport to get me more active. It took me awhile to choose soccer at first because there were so many sports to choose from. I told my mom I wanted to play soccer. She signed me up to play for a non competitive league (GYSA) so I can learn the basics of the sport. She also told me to play I would have to maintain good grades. After hearing that i always tried my best in soccer and school.
It all started freshman year of high school. I really wanted to get involved in some kind of sport or club. I couldn’t decide what to do. Many people said I should join the lacrosse team and my response was “I have never played before, how am I suppose to make the team”. I always had an interest in lacrosse however I was scared to go out and buy all the expensive equipment and not make the team.. I went home that night and asked my parents what I should do. My dad encouraged me to go out and try. He said it doesn’t hurt to try. That next morning of school, I raced to the athletic office and signed up for lacrosse, and when that bell rang after school I went to the lacrosse store nearest to me and bought all of the gear so that I could make the first tryout. The fist tryout was the day after I bought all of the gear.
Growing up in El Salvador, soccer was a sport that significantly impacted my childhood. My cousins and uncles taught me how to play soccer, as well as various techniques that would later benefit me on the soccer field. At the age of seven I started to play for one of most well-known soccer clubs in El Salvador. Practicing twenty three hours a week was really paying off, as I could see in my medal and trophy gain. Not only did they represent my accomplishments, but they also gave joy to my teammates, community, and family because they were the people who encouraged me to give my best. Playing soccer was also a way to release stress because when my family was going through hardships, it was easier for me to let all of my negative energy on the
I’ve played football for nine years now, and participated in over 85 games. I’ll openly admit that practices got to be the most dreaded part of my day by the time my senior year rolled around, nonetheless gameday’s never became wearisome. The miserable as well as submissive game day nerves can keep you from eating, thinking straight, and also make relaxing an unattainable task. Yet, as I sit here pondering back on football season, I’d treasure the displeasure of those nerves just one final time.
I started playing soccer when I was four years old. At the time I had a lot of problems. To name a few, I was bad at working with others, I was a sore loser, and I did not handle pain or disappointment well. When I started to play soccer I had a low self esteem and was terribly shy. Going up and talking to people was not on my list of things to do. This made it pretty hard for me to fit in with all the other kids and make friends. It was hard to enjoy playing soccer when I felt as though I had no friends on the team. My parents noticed my dislike in the sport, but urged me to keep playing anyway.
I was born and raised in Southeast Texas in a suburb hidden amongst loblolly pines. My home is a master planned community conceived and developed with the goal of creating the ideal family and work environment for upper middle class American families. And indeed, families relocate here from around the world in job relocations to make their homes amongst the trees. It is a kid's utopia - a township based on family with extra emphasis placed on the needs and desires of its children. I am fortunate to have grown up in a kid orientated community with excellent schools and a nurturing family.
As I was growing up I always had a personal goal to play sports. My parents never had the extra money for it though. Despite the lack of money, it never stopped me from trying to pursue my goal. One year, when I was in the 7th grade the answer was finally yes! The joy I felt when I heard that three letter word was the same joy of opening presents on Christmas morning. The road to my goal was beginning to become visible.
It was an eventful summer, or you could say a summer with one major event. July sixteenth in particular was that one day that stood out bolder than the rest. It has been over a decade since the time I started investing my summers with sports practices and games. Each year, I took it up a notch. I didn’t really know how I felt about sports. When I was younger, I continually nurtured my skills for a future I didn't even see. Much like how I used to always read. The vocabulary, grammar, and structure I gained knowledge from reading didn't seem to matter back then. Until sixth grade, I really didn’t have a spark that motivated me to do anything. I believe the exact phrase my friend Emily said was, “I will teepee your house every single night until you decide to try out for Citadel.” This Citadel travel soccer team is what gave me better sense of who I was.
As the Nike football spun through the air on a breezy fall day, all I could hear was “catch it with your eyes”. At 3 years old I could not understand what my dad actually meant when he said that.
Sadly, my family was going through financial struggles, forcing me out of the school zone I was destined to attend. When I discussed the situation wih the high school coaches they told me they would pick me up from my new house and take me to school every day; with the condition that I’d play football for them all throughout high school. Even though this was illegal I continued to go ahead and accept the offer. My first year of high school was so exciting that it went by in the blink of an eye. Sophomore year came and the clock ticked closer and closer to when everything would change. I started in varsity as a corner back but soon would have big shoes to fill as the team’s quarterback. Not only did this require skill and hard work but the ability and qualities of a leader as well. Ultimately, playing this position helped me acquire traits that would soon be necessary for success. That year was tough for us because the majority of the team consisted of inexperienced players, however the coaches knew I would be the one to lead the
I played a lot of sports growing up, but my main focus was soccer. My mother had put me in soccer when I was around three because I had too much energy, and I don't think she thought soccer was going to be such a big part of my life. I was never really a shy person growing up and I think soccer was a big part of that because I was always around a lot of other people. Also through soccer I had also learned what it meant to be a part of a team and learned how to communicate and work with others. I played soccer in a club league and I also played in middle school and high school. During my club season I had met a lot of girls who were worried about college recruitment. I had never really thought about playing college soccer before until this point.
I was a very talented, left-handed pitcher and could have gone very far in baseball. My mom hated the idea of me not playing baseball because of my talent so they pushed back and told me that I shouldn’t and should at least finish the season. I respected my parents and hated making them upset so I did just that, I pushed through till the end of the season dreading it more and more every day. 7th grade was now over and the season had ended, but practices for the next were already beginning so I approached my parents once again. This time they got my coach to talk to me and ask me to keep going for another season. Once again I was pressured into playing. About half way through the season I had had enough of playing for good. I told my parents that I was done and didn’t want to play anymore and that was my final decision. It made my mom so upset but after a while she accepted it and forgave me. I learned through this experience that I should never let other people pressure me into doing something I don’t enjoy just because I’m scared of what they’ll think of me. Having quit baseball, I’ve moved on to doing theater and absolutely love it! I now try to keep that lesson in my head every day, to do what I enjoy and what makes me a better
I have grown up with soccer, I played all thru out my youth on special teams and played in high school as well. I even continued my love for the sport and became a referee. With many years of experience on the field, I have put expectancy violations theory to work many of times in trying to predict moves and seeing the outcomes from these moves. With 25 years combined experience both as player and referee I felt as though I had a pretty good handle on what to expect and how to handle situations that are unexpected. In a regional final though I found no matter the years of experience you can always be thrown for a loop.
“It’s broke, all right. You won’t be playing any sports for a while,” the doctor announced. My head drooped down, and I started shaking it slowly in disbelief. This all started on a spring day with only five more days of school left of my eighth-grade year. Excited for the approaching summer break, the whole class went outside to play. “Football time!” I shouted as my friends and I ran outside to the softball field, where we always played football. Once we picked teams, we began playing.
My parents applauded my academic success, but hardly knew the price I paid for it. I vividly remember one night when my mother couldn't fall asleep. She kept going to bed and getting up again. Every -, time I heard her get up, I'd turn off my light so she wouldn't catch me still awake. By 5 o'clock that morning, I was so sleepy that I didn't hear her footsteps as she shuffled down the hallway. When she saw the light under my door, she came in and demanded to know why I wasn't sleeping.