Personal Narrative Analysis

The sun glared down on our bruised, tired, and dirty bodies as we hung our heads in defeat. Dropping to the losers bracket on our first of three days of the State Softball Tournament meant we could not lose again or we would go home and I would never play with this team again. Attitudes and hope started to fade as Coach read us our new schedule. We would have to play eight games in a row without losing once in order to make it to the championship. Everyone started to say goodbye and thank you to one of our coaches and a teammate that would not be there the next day. Halfheartedly they included a doubtful “see you on Sunday”.

On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to.

Walking out onto the opponent’s brightly lit turf field setting up for the kickoff of the second half just gave me the feeling that everybody knows, my hair starts to stand up, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach, and everything seems to slow down. Looking into the stands and seeing that our hometown fans had traveled four hours in order to outdo the home crowd gave me a sense of comfort. Looking into East Jefferson’s stands and seeing that our fans, despite having to travel all the way down south, outnumbered their fans by at least 70 people. I found myself thinking that this meant just as much to our town as it did to our school and team. This feeling would be just the motivation we needed in order to finish this game

The game is slowly approaching, making everyone itch to see the players back on the field. Giving it all they have got, the players practice as hard as they can day after day. The band is working diligently to put on the best performance of the year, while our cheerleaders practices their routines.

It was a brisk fall evening, and my seventh grade youth football team and I had traveled to Aberdeen to play the undefeated Chiefs. We had worked harder and longer than we ever had that week to show that we were a threat in the league and ascend from our third place ranking. We knew it was not going to be easy; the Chiefs’ team had the fastest running back in our division, and they had scored more total points per game than any other team in the Southeast Idaho Youth Football League. The field was neater and greener than we had expected in this town. It was a great day for football, and I was with all of my best friends. I knew going in that it was going to be a learning experience whether we won or lost that night because the Chiefs were

Tonight was a game that determined the outcome of the season. Tonight they had to win. Tonight was the night where they had to improve their record. York High is a tough team full of many talented athletes, but lacking the knowledge of the game. Or so we thought. Walking into the locker room, you could feel the intensity of the guys. They knew that their season depended on tonight. It was their last night as freshman football players, it was their last night to make a name for themselves. They tried to play it off as if they weren't nervous, but I could tell otherwise. Dani, the injured guys, and myself had the water filled and ready to be loaded onto the bus in no time. Now it was just a matter of getting all the guys onto the bus. At 3:30 the bus arrived, and that meant game time would soon be approaching.

It was 7:00 in the morning when we arrived at the Johnston City High School. Once everyone arrived at the high school, we got on the bus and headed off to Benton. As we stepped foot on the bus, we all sat there quietly, nervous about the results of this game. This was the game that determined whether or not we went on to state. Coach Simon and Coach Shane gave us one of their what we like to call "before the game warm-up talks". We were all nervous of course, but we were all determined to win this game. We had been looking forwards to winning regionals and going to state the whole season and that day was the day that we gave us the opportunity to go to state. After the thirty minute bus ride, we finally got to Benton and once we got there,

Did you know that 2 years ago I played in my school championship game ? We were at Chichester high school . We came out as nervous team shaking legs were non-stop on the bench the starters were even scared. We have not even started Kick return and the team was sweating I got to be honest my self I was scared myself ! I wasn't that scared though only thing i was worried about was Coach Ryan and his son Ishaad Maultsby. They came out all excited and they were coming out so flashy, Ishaad was treated like Cam Newton at the super bowl game !

We have our first game against one of our rivals. We all played a great game, linemen knocking the defense around, running backs running right through their defense, and our defense shutting them down and kept them to one score. All coaches and players were pumped up and excited after starting the year strong.

I drove home from breakfast pumped for the game and more ready for this game than any I had ever played before. I just had this feeling in my heart, that if we all came together as a team and laid everything out on the line, we could come through with our first Monadnock victory. Hours passed, and there was still a nervous pit in my stomach. Bus time came, and we boarded united as a team. Nearly an hour later, we would arrive at our rival’s school. Together, we walked onto the field with an air of confidence and swag. We worked through the usual warm up. Our nerves were still buzzing when we heard the sharp squeal of

As I sat there in a motionless position similar to that of the Thinker, I was reminded of the fundamental lesson of sports: There is no substitute for winning. People today often accept a misconception to about the value of losing. Losing sucks; there is no sugarcoating it. When an individual completely invests oneself to achieve a goal, anything other than victory can only be considered a failure. Once we realized our opportunity to reach, and in our minds likely win, the state championship, our whole season seemed like the rising action in preparation for a deflating anticlimax. We didn’t have to accept failure, but we had to accept the fact that we had failed. I had to accept the fact that I had failed. Somehow, there is a bitter form of beauty in that dedication to a goal, but even more, in the perseverance to continue.

3…2…1…BZZZZT. The buzzer sounded and tears flooded my eyes as I sunk to the ground in what felt like slow motion. I couldn’t breathe. As I looked to the left I watched the blue and gold sea of fans as they rushed to file out of the stands as if they were being herded like cattle. As I looked to the right I saw the scoreboard, both making the tears fall faster. This was our shot, one win away from making a state appearance in over eight years and we blew it in the sectional final game. That was the last time I would ever play high school basketball.

Football is a favorite American pastime. Everywhere in America, young men in high school dream about one day playing for a college, or even a professional team. For them, it may have started at a young age, but it is most relevant when playing in high school. This dream is different for each individual, but each team has the same goal at the start of every season. This goal is to make the high school state football championship playoffs. Of all the things that the playoffs bring, the atmosphere of each game is what makes every practice and game worthwhile.

We met daily at 6 A.M. for weights and speed training. Then it was quickly time to start two a days. All of our coaches knew it was going to be a great year and that we had a chance to win state. “We could take state this year guys!” said Head coach O’dwyer and the others. When he said that it sent tingles down my spine. Game time had arrived. We were scrimmaging against the Wray Eagles. We

The team was ready, we had been working extremely hard for the past seven months for this. We were all in great shape and very rested. A few of the returning players were meeting me at my house to carpool to the final game of the state championship tournament. Everyone knew that the hard work had paid off when we won the semi-final game the preceding day.