Competition: A Driving Force for Excellence

I looked up and it was then that I realized there was a 6'2" defender charging straight at me. I heard my teammate yell “Man on you!”, and not even aware of what I was doing, I quickly cut and dodged the defender for open space. I had my shot, so I took it. It was my first goal of the season! I loved the rush of scoring and wanted to do it more and more. All my teammates congratulating me on my goal made it even more satisfying. I went on in that tournament to score six goals and eight assists in the four games. That tournament was in Albany and a number of college scouts were at the games looking for recruits. I knew at that moment that the competition I was playing with, was enabling me to do something greater than I had ever imagined. At the start of fourth grade, when I first started playing lacrosse, I never thought that I might have the chance to play at the collegiate level. Knowing that there were a hundred other kids in that tournament that could grab the spotlight, I knew I had to step it up and I did. This was the tournament that resulted in letters from three colleges asking that I consider them and their lacrosse program. The last game of the day at this tournament was a great example of how competition changed me.

Our team was down 7-6 after the first three quarters of the championship game. There were only five minutes left on the clock and our team knew that we had to do something different to win. Knowing this put a lot of pressure on me and I was starting to feel it. My heart sped up, and I was sweating more than ever. I got the ball at half field and ran it up to 20 yards out. Nobody was sliding over to cover me, so I shot the ball as hard as I could. I saw the ball heading for the top corner and then the cr...

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...ls or dreams that they may never have been able to reach on their own. Whether it be sports, a job, or academics, competition can motivate people to do better and give them a better chance to achieve and even raise their goals. When someone is applying for a job, there may be hundreds of other people who want that same job. Just knowing that there are a hundred people that could separate you from earning a better salary can be a great motivator. I believe one of the best motivators in a persons life are their parents and competition. Your parents motivate you to do everything better and to try to continue to improve, but will pick you up if you fall along the way and let you know that yu can not succed without experiencing failure. Competition however can bring that motivation up a notch and cause you to do something you would not do with just your parents motivation.