Personal Narrative-The School Soccer Team

Seven Roswell sophomores were selected to be on the Varsity girls soccer squad this year. This is an impressive accomplishment, because the team is typically dominated by upper-classmen. These students are Bella Akin (left back), Elise Baron (midfield), Meghan Connelly (winger/striker/right or left midfielder), Sienna Kent (winger/striker/right or left midfielder), Hayden Hammerman (center back), Anne Lescher (right back), and Kristin Liquori (goalie). At tryouts, the coach saw great potential in these players, especially in their ability to communicate and work together.

That team was called the Medford Strikers Soccer Club. This team was based out of Medford, New Jersey. She still continued to practice and play pickup games a lot outside of school and soccer practice. Her biggest mentor throughout her soccer career was a guy named James Galanis. He was working for the club when she started. James was the goalkeeping coach for the team that Carli was on. Carli wasn’t a goalkeeper but James still kept his eye on her a lot of the time. He knew from the beginning that she was going to be the star player of that team and any other team she would ever play for. Four years had gone by and James and Carli had still never talked but that was about to change.[James

Christian like's to play soccer but he isn't that good . He want's to make to the soccer team, but the soccer coach doesn't think that he is good enough to make it, The other soccer players and his parents don't believe in him either.

Throughout my high school career, I have been blessed with the students and teachers that have surrounded me. Thankfully I have never engaged in heated discussions with others in order to defend my beliefs. On the soccer field, I can say the same, however, I did speak up on matters that caught my attention regarding team efforts and the chemistry among my teammates.

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.

My freshman year I made the Varsity soccer team. Every practice I had to strive and work harder to be able to keep up with the upperclassmen skill level and talent. I was finally getting to where I wanted with consistent practice. I became a starter and the upperclassmen would pass me the ball more and help me on the field when there were opponents on me. It wasn’t until the middle of the season when everything changed. We were playing against a school who was very skilled and talented. It was in the first half of the game when one of the girls on the opposing team had the ball and was dribbling it down the field. It got past our midfield players and two defenders. I was the last one before it reached our goalie. I ran towards her and with everything I had I kicked the ball.

First and foremost, soccer is a team sport. Teams and communities require a group of people to work together while also contributing individually. Personally, I contribute to the Varsity Girls Soccer Team by working to be in the best shape I can be in, both physically and mentally. I spend a lot of time, both during the high school and club seasons, developing my technical and tactical abilities. Additionally, as the sweeper, I must direct the defense to make sure we are organized. When an individual is better, it makes the team better. Everyone on the team, starters and substitutes alike, has a role to fulfill in order to make the team as good as it can possibly be.

I used to believe that soccer was, well, just soccer. I'd play for my rec team, in which would consist of one practice and one game a week. Nothing special, and not too stressful. After I got tired of rec soccer, I joined a travel team. To be specific it was the Mahwah Raiders. It was a step up from rec, I now had two practices and one game a week. This wasn't too crazy for me- I was fine with the timing and schedule of everything.

We are coming toward the end of the season prepared to defeat Martin. Before the soccer game had started they were playing loud music to get us pump up to clear our minds for the game while the other team getting prepared for a competitive battle. As I looked around, I could see my teammates focus, serious, and talking to each other to get used to it when we head on the file. Seeing the size of the opposing team made me thinking to myself that they were going to smash me in little pieces. Even though, both of my coaches had the most confident look on their face as the players took the field. This excitement night we all was eager for this team arrive.

Entering that room, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. As I sat there my heart dropped when I heard the words, "you made the team", "you are not going to play much", and "if you tryout next year you will not make the team". I was in such a daze as I reemerged from the room. It was as if the wind had been knocked out of me and I was having trouble understanding what had just happened. I had never felt disappointment like I did in that moment in my entire life. Soccer had been the only sport I knew for 8 years. Change had always been a struggle for me since I was little so I was aware that trying a new sport was going to be difficult. Field hockey captains practices were held during the summer, so I decided to go to one and

Nothing brings a team closer than working together towards a goal. I discovered this especially during the final game of my soccer league tournament last spring. My team, the Saints, had just finished a bittersweet season. After losing our leading scorers the year before, we had defied the odds and made it to the third place game in our tournament. The team we faced were our longtime rivals, the Lions. We were not about to let any opportunity to beat them pass us by. Our offense was ready to score, and our defense was prepared for anything. From the starting kickoff to the final whistle, my team and I played our hardest, and taught me what unity actually meant.

Soccer is one of my first loves in life, so given the opportunity to pass this love on to someone else I jumped at the chance. During the spring soccer season of 2016 a competitive U12 girls soccer team needed a coach, and I jumped at the opportunity. The team consisted of fifteen girls between the ages of ten and twelve. I’ve played soccer for eleven years; in the past, I coached two recreational soccer teams. Coaching a competitive soccer team was something I figured I was up for the challenge of. Regular season play went reasonably well, but the highlight of the season was when the team went to The Yellowstone Cup in Rexburg, Idaho. This is where we had the most growth as a team and where I learned the most about tactics as a coach.

The memory still plays so clearly in my mind. I was at soccer practice and the results were to be posted on Durant High School's website between 3:20 and 4:00 pm. Oh how I had longed and fretfully awaited for these results; and finally, the time had come. I had glanced at the clock a couple minutes earlier, I recall reading “3:22 p.m.” I shouted to my friend, “Jenny, have the results come in yet?” “Not yet!” Jenny bellowed back. One sprint later I hear Jenny calling my name: “You made it Jade! You made it!” I had made the Varsity Cheerleading squad for the upcoming 2016-2017 season.

“I think we did really good” Hannah said after tryouts. “I don’t think I did that good.” I said out of breath. The next day we woke up bright and early to go to the fields to see who got in.

Coach Julian said, “Yes welcome! Just make set your stuff done and be prepared for what we are going to do.”