It started just as any normal Saturday would; December 8, 2012, I woke up, went through my morning routine and went to soccer practice. I was competing for a spot on the North Carolina ODP (Olympic Development Program) soccer team. Training was being held at fields about two hours from my house. I sat in the backseat of my dad’s car with my two sisters and as we rode to the fields I began to mentally prepare myself for how I would play my best and make the team.…
A few hours later when I went to the hospital, I discovered that I had torn my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Initially, I did not know what to expect from the situation, but I came to realize how much it would affect my life. The ACL functions as a ligament that connects the tibia and the femur. It provides stability in the knee, and with this injury, I could not participate in competitive soccer for 10 months. To undergo this painful experience at such a young age is extremely difficult; however, I chose to embrace the situation rather than let it destroy me. I could no longer play the sport I loved, but I could not change anything about that; I could only control my attitude in this predicament. I went above and beyond at every physical therapy appointment, no matter how strenuous/painful the workouts were. Times frequently came…
When I stood at the bottom I did not think I could make it. half way up, I knew that I could not make it. Now, standing at the top, I look behind me at the amazing challenge that I have just conquered. Not only is the hill at Eau Claire an infamous feat that every student must traverse, but it is also a metaphor for every hardship that has entered into my life. One hardship I have faced, was my sports injuries during high school. My junior year track season started off being the best experience i’ve had. Unfortunately, this time was cut short. I ripped a ligament in my leg ending my entire spring season. I was angry at the world asking, “why me”. However, I knew I still had a team depending on me. Day in, and day out, I would show up to practice…
In my neighborhood, one can always find a group of people playing football in the park or on the streets. The majority of the children preferred football to other sports. I was also in love with the sport and I started to play football since the age of 10.i would often play football with my neighborhood friends at the park or I would just roam around the house juggling with the football and kicking it across the walls of my room.…
A cold sweat began to bead at the base of my neck as I urged the muscles in my knee to work their way through the set of squats my physical therapist had asked me to perform. My appointment was scheduled at seven in the morning, but already I could feel the adrenaline rushing up and down my spine as I watched the sun rise over the waking city through the large paneled windows of the gym. Sharp pain shot up the inside of my right knee as I slowly lowered myself, making it difficult to continue the squats. As I pushed the muscles in my knee to lower myself further, I gazed intently at the wall in front of me for inspiration. A quote I had learned to cherish over time as my personal mantra adorned the wall, reading, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." With these powerful words lodged into the back of my mind, I dropped my body into an even lower squat and continued to complete the set with strong determination to get back to soccer, the sport…
I had to deal with disappointment from teammates, coaches, parents, and, above all, myself. On the first day of tryouts my freshman year of highschool, I was kindly hypothesized to possess “potential”. I was horrified. Potential was the label given to those who stood on the brink of mediocrity; those who walked the terribly broad line of “nothing special.” I was painfully average. After being praised for my talents throughout the course of my entire soccer career, you can imagine my surprise and disappointment upon hearing the mortifying pronouncement of my amateurity. I didn’t know it at the time, but my coach did me a huge favor with his frankness. I realized that not everything in life would be handed to me on a silver platter. In fact, most of it would not. I had to prove myself worthy, not only to my coach, but to myself as well. Through my extra workout and practice sessions, I developed determination and a tireless work ethic that I apply to every facet of my life. I’ve learned how to take criticism and losses and transfigure them into improvements and…
Starting from the first practices with my local baseball team, I was worse than all the other kids. A dislike towards the sport added to the uphill battle of getting better. My desire to go back and play soccer kept on growing. Even with the failure I was experiencing playing baseball, I fought through the year like a soldier, attending every game and practice, with a goal to make dad happy.…
Through all the broken bones I had over the years from jumping and diving I never once complained, I always aimed to finish. ‘’No one was going to wear my gloves!’’ I thought. My injury’s started with a broken arm. It happened at a practice but I brushed it off and was thrilled to play at Soccer Park the next day. When the ball hit my hand I would feel like screaming but I had no substitute and didn’t want to let my teammates down. I wrapped my arm and hoped for the best. The most recent, dramatic injury of my life was a shattered sesamoid. I was playing in the 1st day of a tournament when a girl stomped powerfully on the bottom of my foot. I continued to play although I knew something was wrong. The pain grew every second, I looked down to see the bottom of my cleat was shattered. I could barely move my toes but I didn’t give up. I played the 2nd day and the following week. Two weeks later my…
Two years ago, a soccer ball was blasted into the side of my head and knocked me to the ground. It left me with a concussion that not only took me out of soccer for six months, but also affected my day to day life. For months, it made me nauseous to even jog around the block or walk down a crowded hallway. I was in physical therapy, vision therapy and on a special learning plan at school. Even though the blow to my head could have altered my life completely, I pleaded with my parents to let me continue my soccer career. It took two more minor concussions to make me realize it was not safe for me to play anymore. Looking back on my time playing soccer, I question why I kept playing. Why did I put the sport and my team ahead of my own health?…
As a young boy of about nine or ten, it was a dream of mine to play on my school’s Varsity Soccer team. I spent many nights watching the current players contest with other schools for the title of WPIAL Champions. Being a young club soccer player, this was my ultimate goal. Now even though I had a strong passion for the game, my many years of club soccer were not easy. I was not a sub-par player, but I was also not the prodigy that some of my teammates were. I had to work much harder than most players to secure my starting spot on my team, but my efforts definitely payed off. For the first five or six years of club soccer, I held a spot as one of my team’s two starting center defenders. All of a sudden, while at a rainy tournament game in West Virginia, I went into a tackle wrong and injured my back. My entire soccer career went downhill from…
Junior year was here and I hadn’t played in a single game. While at soccer practice, yes I still attended even though I was on crutches and couldn’t play, my mom called me to tell me the results of it my injury. No one had thought it was my Anterior Cruciate Ligament, but it was. It had been completely torn in half and I needed surgery for it to be repaired. He had already put in my name and date for the surgery and everything. I felt like I was paralyzed from the head down. I couldn’t help but feel so torn up about not being able to play the whole season. I decided after the surgery I would try my hardest to recover and build my self better than what I was. I went to physical therapy every day I needed to and finished…
It was my freshman year in high school, and I was extremely excited to start a new chapter in my life. Throughout middle school I was always playing sports, wether it was basketball, wrestling, or football I was playing it. A few of my friends and I decided to try out for the football team. There was four of my friends that wanted to join the team their names are Kyle, Andres, Alex, and Erik. When we got to the tryouts it was a huge difference from middle school football. There was close to 40 students trying out for this team, and three coaches whose names are Coach Cortez, Hill, and Bellecomo. My friends and I were amazed with all the bright new equipment, and the turf grass field that was in the middle of our own football stadium.…
I began playing lacrosse in middle school. Since I was new to the sport I was determined to become a better athlete for the upcoming high school season. Spring season of ninth grade, I made junior variety lacrosse. We had an amazing season and made memories that will last forever. Unfortunately, during the season, I injured my ankle and was out for most of the season. Even though I was injured, I was still a team player and always supported my team in every way possible. When my injury healed, junior varsity's season was over, but varsity had made the play-offs. I was one of several girls who was pulled up for the play-offs that season. Every girl knew what to expect. We knew our place and were excited and proud of the older girls for doing so well. This opportunity for all the younger girls improved our skills tremendously and we got a feel for how a varsity game is played.…
My head was pounding from smacking it on the bottom of the top bunk bed. I overestimated how much time I would have to sleep. However, now that I was wide awake, I was too excited, and there was no way I would be able to go to sleep again. Today marks my first soccer game of my first season! Therefore, last night, I had laid out everything I would need for the next day, but I had stayed up too late doing it. The first thing I needed to do was drink coffee, which helps me wake up.…
The whole way there I kept hoping that miraculously the game would be canceled. From the corner of my eye I saw the field lights emerging from behind the trees come into my view. Finally we parked and I got out of the car a knot resting in the pit of my stomach. With about 10 minutes until the game, I took my time walking over to the soccer field. As soon as my coach came into sight, he looked right at me. Before he even had the chance to blow his whistle and sarcastically tell me to “take my sweet time,” I hustled over. I plopped onto the bench next to my other teammates as they prepared themselves strapping on their shin guards and loaded up on water. I tied up my soccer cleats extra tight and tugged on my high blue socks, ready to get this game over with. Most of my other teammates got up and took a few last practice shots into the goal, which they never failed to score. Seeing them score with such ease, their eyes lighting up with confidence provoked the ambition and drive deep inside…