I started playing soccer at age five, at a time when my coach used to repeat the jingle that “if you had fun, you won...and in the end, it’s all about the snacks.” Soccer has since turned into one of the lenses through which I experience the world, quite literally. I’ve taken two, three-week international summer trips with my club team to compete in the massive 1600 team, 80 nation Gothia Cup tournament, in Gothenburg, Sweden. After duking it out on the field with soccer players from all over the world, we’d return to the local schools that served as dormitories to live with these same kids, playing cards and exchanging T-shirts. During my other trips to China, Mexico, Turkey and Greece, pickup soccer was my primary way of interacting with
One incident that happened to me that change how I thought about sports was when I first started playing soccer. It all started when my mom said that I should join a sport to get me more active. It took me awhile to choose soccer at first because there were so many sports to choose from. I told my mom I wanted to play soccer. She signed me up to play for a non competitive league (GYSA) so I can learn the basics of the sport. She also told me to play I would have to maintain good grades. After hearing that i always tried my best in soccer and school.
In 1991 there was so little media interest in the event, almost no one even knew the United States had a team, and even less people knew that the United States won. Eight years later, “tickets sales reached 388,000,” more than triple the amount of sales in the 1995 Women’s World Cup (Longman). FIFA was depending on this World Cup to gain popularity, they needed more interest to spark people to play. If the United States had not won, it was predicted that not many in the suburban would not have much interest in soccer. Millions of young girls across the United States came to this event. After the World Cup it “will celebrate the explosive growth of soccer for women in the United States, where 7.5 million female players are registered, according to a recent survey by the Soccer Industry Council of America, a trade group. In suburbia, where the game flourishes, girls' soccer has become as popular as sport utility vehicles” (Longman). This World Cup team changed the perspective that soccer was only for males. “‘ We're fighting the myths and prejudices that women's soccer felt in the U.S. in the 70's,'' said Andrea Rodebaugh… 'That there are sports for boys and sports for girls and that soccer is not for girls, not feminine’” (Longman). This team changed the lives for many girls. The team gave little girls hope and faith they could make it in soccer. This team made them believe they could follow their passions.
Quickly, soccer came to represent the fundamental tenets of yuppie parenting, the spirit of Sesame Street and Dr. Benjamin Spock. Unlike other sports, it would foster self-esteem, minimize the pain of competition while still teaching life lessons.” A very significant trend has been seen in the United States which is completely opposite that from the rest of the world. While people belonging to the middle and upper class played the game in United States, it is considered to be the game of the working class in other parts of the
According to a community soccer organization in Southern California, “the American Youth Soccer Organization hands out roughly 3,500 awards each season — each player gets one, while around a third get two” (Merryman). This community also spends up to twelve percent of the athletic budget a year on these types of trophies. The way this community values awards to children is not beneficial and does not teach them important life lessons. Giving every child a trophy in a community may cause them to underachieve; on the other hand it can also be a motivator to keep some kids active in sports. In sports as well as life there are winners and losers and children have to start understanding that little by little.
Soccer at Occidental is an intercollegiate NCAA division three sport. During the season, “the boys” practice together, eat together, hang out together, take road trips together, and many live together. As an example of this closeness, during the season I lived with the six other seniors on the soccer team in a small, cramped house. In the off-season, the team is not as tight, but teammates remain friends, hang out, party, and play soccer a couple of times a week. As a lifetime soccer player and fan, as well as a senior on the Occidental team, I can provide a unique insider’s perspective to the world of soccer. This insider’s view into the social lives and interactions of soccer players offers a contrastive view to some of ...
Growing up in El Salvador, soccer was a sport that significantly impacted my childhood. My cousins and uncles taught me how to play soccer, as well as various techniques that would later benefit me on the soccer field. At the age of seven I started to play for one of most well-known soccer clubs in El Salvador. Practicing twenty three hours a week was really paying off, as I could see in my medal and trophy gain. Not only did they represent my accomplishments, but they also gave joy to my teammates, community, and family because they were the people who encouraged me to give my best. Playing soccer was also a way to release stress because when my family was going through hardships, it was easier for me to let all of my negative energy on the
With youth soccer as a raging phenomenon and the steady increase of success in the men’s, and women’s national teams, soccer in the United States is steadily growing. The American people are aching for a higher standing in the soccer world and Major League Soccer is planning on providing by increasing the amount of clubs and providing a more socially dominating presence for the game in the American society. The sport is undoubtedly the most powerful social gathering point modern society has to offer, and with it’s soon to be strong American presence, it will strengthen foreign affairs and create a unifying hobby throughout the American people. Not only will the expansion and popularity gather all society to one global love of the game, but it will help to unify some of the broken pieces of modern society.
I've recently came to the realization that plying full time soccer from when I was 5 years old to now has put a toll on my body.
I played a lot of sports growing up, but my main focus was soccer. My mother had put me in soccer when I was around three because I had too much energy, and I don't think she thought soccer was going to be such a big part of my life. I was never really a shy person growing up and I think soccer was a big part of that because I was always around a lot of other people. Also through soccer I had also learned what it meant to be a part of a team and learned how to communicate and work with others. I played soccer in a club league and I also played in middle school and high school. During my club season I had met a lot of girls who were worried about college recruitment. I had never really thought about playing college soccer before until this point.
Every day I would come home from a grueling soccer practice and notice the searing pain creeping up the side of my leg. It was only turf burn, but bad enough that every time I would go back out onto the pitch I would reopen my cut, peeling the skin back to the flesh with every tackle I made. Today, the scars on my knees are not only a constant reminder of the battles the game of soccer present, but of the twelve long years of hard work, dedication and most importantly amusement.
The amazing game of soccer is played on every continent, and is the world’s most popular sport. It is proven to be one of the number one sports to be played and watched. Because its fans and players are so dedicated, the sport continues to grow. Requiring only a ball and open space, the activity is available to anyone, whether rich or poor, male or female, athletic or not. Over the years, soccer has won the hearts of many because of its unique history, many benefits, and notable achievements.
The definition of soccer: “A game played by two teams of eleven players with a round ball that may not be touched with the hands or arms during play except by the goalkeepers. The object of the game is to score goals by kicking or heading the ball into the opponent 's ' goal.” When I think about the thing I’m most passionate about, soccer pops into my head right away. Soccer represents more than just a game to me. The sport gives me an outlet distract me from the real world, it taught me to overcome a battle that shaped my character, and my teammates bring out the best in me.
The sport has been used to unite and provide hope for people, and has also helped take players from waste grounds into clubs, which has a considerable impact on those involved. Certain charities utilize soccer in order to promote more positive attitudes and behavioral patterns in troubled areas, notably among young people affected by warfare and terrorism. In some areas of the Middle East, soccer has proven to be an integrative commune, particularly in nations that have experienced East considerable social disharmony. One refugee camp provided teen boys in a literacy camp a means to play organized soccer to use the participation in the sport as a “springboard to advance the boys’ academic growth and potential”
Futbol or Football Games and sports are found in early human history and appear to be culturally universal. Moreover, sports are and have been a critical part of the culture around the world. Sports bring communities together; anyone who has participated in sports as an athlete or as a spectator has experienced emotional highs and lows depending on what is going on in the game, and each person feels a connection to the team. In addition, both athletes and spectators become passionate about the sport they love. They will rearrange their schedule to not miss a game.
Finally, we have reached the age to play sports, but what sport would be the best? Many kids turn to baseball and football because these are America’s past time sport, but there is always a select few that choose soccer. Why, because their parents force them to play. Soccer, in a parents point of view, is seen as a safe exercise sport, you can make friends and most important, get outside. At such a young age, kids have never been the best at following directions, which leads to chaos on the field. Kids swarm around the ball wishing for the chance to kick the ball a couple of times. In all truth, “Kids don't grow up wanting to watch tag on TV, or be a professional tag player, and that's really how most kids who play it view soccer. It's fun, its outdoors and it involves running around, but that's about it” (Emen). Besides the fact of parents forcing soccer down the kids throat, they get the image that soccer will forever be a disorganized sport, which in all truth can be at some points. The main reason for this is because in America, we were never taught how to play s...