I’m naturally exceptionally athletic, and, as such, have always been one of the top players on my soccer team. I never felt challenged to be better, or try harder, because I was good enough without having to put in much effort. Then, I was put on JV soccer my freshman year. Though crushing at the time, it made me realize that I needed to push myself harder. Going into high school, I was nervous, but fairly confident that I would make varsity. That is, until I went to try outs and saw that my coach wasn’t paying attention to me. He put me on a field with the other freshmen and then turned his back to us so he could watch his returning players. When I saw my name on the JV list the next day, I wasn’t surprised, but it still hurt. Initially, I was angry with my coach for not giving me a fair chance, but later I became determined to make him notice me. …show more content…
I started to see improvement, and my coach must have noticed as well, because he invited me to come to the varsity tournament that weekend. I was excited for the opportunity to prove myself, but after sitting for the first two games, I worried that I wasn’t going to get my chance. When I saw that I wasn’t starting in the third and final game, I gave up nearly all hope that I would get to play. I was starting to wonder if all my hard work was even worth it, when, all of a sudden, my coach told me to get ready to go in. As I entered the game, I felt a little nervous, but I knew I was prepared. This was the opportunity I had been waiting
I went up Coach Griffin after that first practice and asked him what I could improve on to be a varsity player. He told me that I was at the skill level required for the team; however, my lack of experience was leading to a noticeable confidence issue. I would just have to work hard on JV that year, he said, and they would possibly pull me up later in the season. I took it to heart, and it was only after that season that I realized how wise he was to put me on JV. That year, I was the captain of the team and one of the best players on the field, and after a few games, I was dressing for
When I showed up to softball tryouts at the beginning of my senior year, I was convinced that I was going to be put on the junior varsity team for the fourth consecutive year. I was sure that I would never be moved up to varsity, regardless of how hard I played. My junior year I was embarrassed to be one of only two juniors on J.V. I was so self-conscious, that I had considered quitting so that I wouldn’t be the only senior not on varsity. However, I decided that quitting would be more humiliating than being on J.V. and forced myself to play my final season of softball. I showed up to tryouts the first week of school, and I played with every ounce of effort that I had. When teams were announced, I was legitimately shocked to find out that I
I started the first few weeks wanting to impress the head coach to prove to him I deserved a spot within the starting nine on the varsity level. I practiced hard, never goofed off, and went to the cages with my dad on the weekends. I wanted to make the varsity level to show my family and myself that I could do it and that I was good enough to compete at the varsity high school softball level. When I was younger, I made the team I wanted, I never considered failing to be part of me. The big week came, the teams were posted all seven freshmen had made a team but yet to find which side of the paper their name
It is my junior year of high school and basketball season is right around the corner. I am on the verge of either making varsity or junior varsity this year depending upon my skills. Went through the tryouts and was able to make the junior varsity again for my second year with coach Maloney. I was all excited to play there again seeing I was one out of the three kids that made it back there again. From there it was Cam, Anthony, and I who thought would lead the team because we were the only ones who knew how to run Maloney’s offense and defense well that’s what I had thought was gonna be the case but in reality it wasn't. I thought I would be a starter for the team, but in reality I ended up being a bench player or how I thought of it as a
I have gone through many experiences and journeys throughout my life. However, out of all of them, one stands out the most. That one journey that stands out the most is making the middle school basketball team. It was a two long journey that I will never forget. It all started seventh grade year at Sebring Middle School when I tried out for the basketball team. The whole month before tryouts, I conditioned and played basketball nonstop preparing for the week-long tryouts. Finally, the first day of tryouts came and everything went well. The second day of tryouts came, which is when they do the first cut, and I was lucky enough not to get cut. After the second day, the next two days were a breeze. Then Friday came, the last day of tryouts. At
I went home full of excitement and quickly recounted to my mom the success I had that day at baseball. I went to bed that night with more confidence than I thought possible and looking forward to another day of baseball. Made my way through school that day visualizing my performance that afternoon for tryouts. With more excitement than nerve I began the second day of tryouts. Thursday we worked on throwing and catching skills, friday was batting. An area in which I struggled a little more than others but with confidence pouring out of me I stepped into the box. Even with the confidence boost working on my skill I struggled heavily and was not happy with my performance. So trying to keep my confidence up I tried to finish that day of tryouts but I could tell that the coaches were less pleased with my performance that day. There’s not a much faster way to be served a large slice of humble pie than to realize you may not be all that you once thought you were. So keeping that in mind I finished the day doing my best. When we gathered together to make final cuts I could feel my heart beating in
It was a cold day in November: an icy breeze blowing across a green soccer pitch in Jackson, Mississippi. Fans along the sideline cheering on the Jackson Elite FC. I took the field feeling the pressure of gameday bearing down like i had weights on my shoulders. This was the first time I had every started as a forward in a soccer game. The referee brings the ball to midfield and sets it down. I hear my parents cheering from the sidelines. The opposing team kicks off and the game is on.
Once again a preseason of hard work led to a season where I could not start a single game in the season. However, because I had learned to work even harder than I had before, I saw much more playing time, playing in seven of our twelve games, including one playoff game, and I had found a spot playing on special teams. I also was able to make a few tackles, and our team improved, as we went from a team that won less than half of our games, to a team that had one regular season loss, and lost in the championship. In my junior season, I started to get much better, in many ways due to the fact that the offensive line coach on Varsity was better than that of JV. However, the playing time that I received only slightly improved, because I was hampered by being stuck behind one of the best offensive linemen in school history. He won all-state, all-league, all-section 1, and lineman of the year in our league. So again, I failed to get into the starting lineup, but I knew that I was very close to making
Freshmen year I scored five goals and assisted more. After a season like that I was thrilled for sophomore year. Sophomore year came for me and things were not going the way I expected. My Dad moved to New York for work suddenly, making an impact in my life and I did not mesh with the Free State Varsity coach. I made Varsity sophomore year but did not have the passion or excitement I normally had. I used to love going to practice, and see my teammates. Instead practice would be a prison where all my flaws on and off the soccer field would be pointed out to my whole team by my coach. I became distant with the program and that showed in my playing. Freshmen year I scored five goals, sophomore year I only scored one. I did not like the varsity coach at all, and vise versa. We had different views on how the sport should be played and I respect my coaches but the decisions he made had me question him. I remember the first time I scored a goal on varsity looking over thinking my coach would be happy for me. Instead he sat slumped over with hands on his face looking ashamed and took me out immediately, not saying what I did. After that encounter with him I decided I would not play for a coach like that and went back to running
I knew I wouldn’t be able to play Varsity as I had hoped, but I had a choice to make. I could get upset and let my entire Sophomore season pass by without playing at all, or, I could talk to my JV coach and let her know
I instantly felt dismayed at the remark the coach had said to me and left wondering what I'd done wrong. As I got home, my dad asked me how the practice had been that day. I confided what the coach had told me and he advised me to forget about it and to work hard during the practices. So, every time I played volleyball I played hard and rigorously, even when it was just meant to be for fun. My dad also supported me by taking me to the church building so I can practice there, we'd set up and start doing drills. I ended that volleyball season playing the most with the junior varsity team. The coach congratulated me because he noticed that I had improved a lot since the beginning of the season. Once I began my junior year and tryouts came, I was more confident about my ability to succeed, this newfound faith in myself led me to re-join varsity and to become starter of the
Soccer has always been a sport that I’ve loved throughout my childhood. I’ve watched superstars like Sami Aljaber and Yousf Althunyan put on epic performances through the expression of soccer. However, I never truly understood what soccer could do for me until I signed up for my first soccer team. It was in high school, and I was only sixteen years old at the time. I was very excited to have my own team, and to have my statistics being recorded throughout the season. I definitely wanted to test my skills on the soccer field against true competitors that wanted to win just as badly as I did. There were local schools that we had to compete against, and then if we made it far enough, we would get to compete at the state and national levels. When I signed up for my high school soccer team, I truly didn’t know what to expect. I expected to have some fun with my new teammates and friends, but I didn’t realize that it would teach me a valuable life lesson about hard work and discipline. This paper will explain the ups and downs that I’ve had throughout my high school soccer years, and how it helped me become a better person today by instilling positive traits such as hard work, determination, and discipline.
Sophomore year came, and I was nervous because now there was jv dark and varsity to worry about. I came to tryouts, and gave all my effort on volleyball as well as my friends. They had made the teams, and I never expected to be in jv dark. My best friends didn 't made it to jv dark but I couldn 't miss this opportunity. In addition, I was depressed that I could not be with them, but I needed to be in a team that I knew it was going to help me become better. It surely did because now there was more tasks that I could do. My serves were something no one could receive. Consequently, the only horrible part of jv dark is that I never had the chance to play. I came to practice everyday and I followed instructions, I never complained if we ran, but the coach never showed me that I could be in the court. I did showed her, I tried to show off my abilities in volleyball for her to notice. As a result to that she always put me aside. In effect of this, it brought me down I
On the last day of tryouts, the coaches made cuts for the teams. They called each one of us separately to meet. The head coach started off by saying that I was a good player and that I had a lot of potential. Then, the praise quickly dropped off.
I tried out ninth grade year and made the B team. The start of high school volleyball was extremely hard because I was out of shape, and again behind technically. This meant that for the next three years of my life I would have to push myself past subconsciously set limits, and attempt to not only catch up with my fellow teammates but surpass them. This entailed summer workouts Monday through Thursday from eight to ten, starting club volleyball, and staying positive through it all. Despite all of my efforts, during the off season of my junior year my coach told me I was not likely to make the varsity team. Everything I had planned since seventh grade was slipping through my fingers, and I felt completely helpless. Furthermore, that off season consisted of my coach’s indecision on whether I would make the team, and my growing dislike for the sport. Needless to say my last months in volleyball were emotionally draining and because of that I decided not to try out my senior year.