Due to my advanced skills, was put in the senior soccer team, a feat quite difficult to accomplish for any incoming athlete. That year our school hired a highly experienced coach; he made our school team feel like a real discourse community. Unlike other coaches I’ve had before, his knowledge and wisdom of the game of soccer surpassed that of anyone I’ve met.
From the very first day of try-outs, felt like I was part of a professional soccer team. Running back and forth across the soccer field, my classmates and I were working hard to impress the new coach, as he was just hours away from picking his team players. Little did know I was in for an experience Of a lifetime. Initially, my understanding of soccer was very minimal compared to what the coach, Mad, had to teach us. I saw the game of soccer from a brand new perspective after practicing with him. General terms like “man-to- an” and ‘Wing cross”, both widely known among soccer players, were very new to me.
Coach Mad also had special code words like “the three eagles” that he gave to different plays, that way we could communicate loudly with the other players without the opponents figuring out our strategy. As we met more and more each week, my teammates and began to get used to the new vocabulary and methods of practice, strategies we were not familiar with, which helped our team interact with each other to strengthen our inner spirits. After only a few weeks, most players had gained a large amount Of experience and their soccer skills had drastically improved.
We had all become a discrete soccer team ready to begin the school’s private league. In addition to all the practices we had to attend, remained the fact that we weren’t just athletes, but student athletes, and there were academic requirements we had to meet to remain on the team. Some oftenest requirements included: maintaining a GAP of 3. 0, having all Ass in citizenship, and missing no classes. Most of us had these under control, but with a whole new schedule, which differed greatly from the previous year, having to lance practice and study time became a little challenging.
Days would come around when would stay late afternoons for practice, and I would leave exhausted that when I arrived home all did was wash up and go to bed. It seemed like the perfect end to a tedious, hard-working afternoon until I saw how my grades were starting to suffer from this routine. I would find myself losing interest in lectures and stopped studying for exams, something I knew had to change if wanted to play soccer for the team. Not only did we have academics and a whole new vocabulary added to our to-do” list, but we also had to deal with coach Mad’s temperament.
Rapidly my teammates’ skills kept improving at an unexpected rate, and for some reason always found the coach picking on me. The hardest kick to make in soccer is called a “free kick”, which is shot from outside the penalty box after a player is fouled or injured. The coach would yell at me over and over for executing my free kicks with a poor technique. I felt extremely disappointed in myself; everyone was improving and receiving positive comments on their game except for me. Old try very hard but still couldn’t get the kick down, especially with the coach always yelling at me during practices, so I thought about quitting the team.
But then I began thinking of all the hard work had put into this and decided to stay and practice a little longer each day. Finally, after two months of hard training the soccer season was off to a great start. We showcased our players on the first game, along with a brand new understanding and set of skills, which wowed the crowd. All the support we received then helped the team’s spirit and self-esteem, and for the first time veer, we remained undefeated for the rest of the season.
The National Public and Private School Soccer Team Tournament came sooner than we expected, but we managed to shine through and keep our title as “undefeated”. Our sense of school pride and accomplishment stood higher than ever seeing teachers, fellow students, and even family cheer loudly for Our team. In celebration of our many accomplishments, the coach would take us out to eat and pay for our dinner. He thought it was a good way to thank us for all of our hard work and dedication we put for the entire season to get where we were.
At the end-of-the-year ceremony, my team was honored with medals and trophies for the tournaments we had won as well as individual awards for the players. We were recognized in front of the whole school by our principal for our outstanding achievements that year, which brought great joy and ecstasy to our hearts. Immensely thankful for everything the coach had done for us, the team and I honored coach Aimed with a special award for “Coach of the Year”. Even though it was rough for all of us having to adjust to a new coach and new practice times, I don’t regret a single thing that happened out on the lied.
My team learned not only the true meaning of being part of a soccer team, but we learned things we used in everyday life, like time management, determination, and devotion to something we all loved to do. The coach personally spoke to me and mentioned that he only put me on the spot during practices because he knew had the potential to be so much better, and now understand exactly what he meant. My teammates and I had become a family, although not blood-related, but connected through passion and love for the game of soccer.
