Essay On Why Soccer Is Important To Me

Since I can remember I’ve always played soccer. Whether it was kicking the ball inside my house, this didn’t go over well with my mom, or playing on a youth team, club team, or school team. I first started with my dad in our yard, playing keep-away with my sister for hours at a time. When I grew old enough I immediately joined my local club team Wayne Wings. Wayne Wings helped me expand my skill level tremendously as well as build an even stronger bond with my dad as he volunteered to be the coach. I was voted to be the captain and became the top player. After my skills flourished in this lower league I looked to find a higher level and joined an elite club team, Webster Dynamo, that was an age group up from mine. My coach helped me improve my

skills even further and though I didn’t play much because of my age and size, the practice sessions kept my creativity flowing and I never gave up. I then wanted to switch clubs to Empire Rochester since the team was spectacular. Many others had the same idea as me as over 60 kids tried out for this U11 team. At first I was taken aback by the skill and soccer intelligence they possessed and almost gave up early, but I really wanted to be on the team and prove myself. My parents told me to at least finish tryouts and since I was committed I put my full effort in and made the better team out of two. This team was spectacular with some of the best players that Rochester has to offer. We crushed teams both in state and out with some score lines ending up over 20 goals to none. We won all of our out of state tournaments, went undefeated in the Thruway Division 1 League, and qualified for State Cup. State Cup is a tournament held for the top teams in Western New York.

It was a grind to win but we pulled it off and became the #1 team in the state and went on to regionals which included the entire north east. We won our group and then lost to the eventual winners in the semi-finals. This was the defining moment of my soccer career as I could never duplicate that success. The next season I wound up at RFC where I would continue until the end of high school, winning some tournaments and the league but only reaching State Cup Final Four. School soccer also allowed me to grow and learn time management as I had to juggle schoolwork, soccer, tennis, friends, and having enough time to relax. At first I was the modified team captain and led the team in goals and assists. Then I moved onto Junior Varsity where new challenges came about. My first year I played very little because of my size however I continued to work hard and persevere and my playing time grew. The next year I became the main captain of the JV team and again led the team in goals and assists. When I became a Junior I moved up to Varsity and again played very little. I worked hard in practice until my senior year where I gained a starting spot at defense where I had never played before and came only 2

votes shy of being a captain. This position was new to me and I had to adjust. Having never played defense before, and facing Varsity level players, it was difficult at first but after working at it I became a shut-down defender and gained the respect of opposing forwards and coaches. Throughout my soccer career I’ve had to persevere through roadblocks but, it has allowed me to mature and grow both in soccer and in life.