This story begins when I was around 16 years old. I just got my first paycheck of the fall soccer season by working as a soccer referee. I opened that white envelope and ripped it into millions of little pieces trying to reach the prize inside of that envelope. Once I reached my prize of my first paycheck which was $320 for a three month period pay; I was jumping up and down with joy and saying to myself “oh how good it is to be rich.” Then, indoor soccer was just around the corner and was calling my name. I live in Elgin and I was getting job offers to go ref at St. Charles, Schaumburg, Elgin, Hoffman Estates, Crystal Lake, and in Geneva. I was overwhelmed by the number of phones that people were asking me to go ref in their facilities, and …show more content…
On Fridays I would do around five games every Friday during the winter; on Saturday I would do an average of 12 games and on Sunday I would do an average of 12 games. So for me at the age of 16 and doing that many games I was hitting the jackpot every weekend averaging around $580. My parents would tell me to slow down and take at least an hour to rest my body, but at the time everything they told me went inside one ear and out through the other one. As the years went by and as the soccer seasons went from reffing outside to reffing indoor I was still pushing myself to get more money. My mind set was just money and how to make more money, and at the time I was thinking to myself my body is holding to my mindset so I kept just pushing …show more content…
I was just turned my head to look to the ceiling but my eyes were still closed and in my mind I have gotten up put on my socks on, but then I felt a sharp pain in my left harm that woke me up from my mindset of me being already up. As I kept feeling this sharp pain in my left arm I notice I could not feel my fingers at all and I was just waking up at the time with dried up saliva running from my mouth to my ear. Then I notice it has fallen asleep and just gave it a few minutes for the blood to start flowing around my arm and then start to feel it again. So as I stepped out of bed I fell completely face first into the floor and I could feel my whole body being so sore. As I was trying to get up I started to put myself in push up position to lift myself off the ground. But I just didn’t have the strength to do it and at that moment I knew something was wrong with my back because I felt my arms and my legs, but could not feel my neck nor my back. Luckily my phone was my alarm clock so I quickly graved my phone while still on the floor to call my parents which were sleeping in the main floor. It took three calls in order for them to pick up and once my dad picked up all mad in his deep morning voice “what do you want? Its 6 in the morning.” I was scared to respond because I felt like I just woke up sleepy
From an early age I always knew I would be playing soccer my whole life. My dad showed me the ropes of how to play and got me interested right away. By the age of three I had started playing, and to this day I have not stopped. Soccer has been a huge part of my life and I don’t know where I would be today if I never played. I met some amazing people playing soccer including my coaches who encouraged me and told me never to give up as well as my teammates who became my friends and were always there for me.
“If at first you don’t succeed try , try again.” At the age of six I was starting to play football. The game was a hard hitting running and commitment. I was six years old at the time now I’m fourteen a freshman in high school a lot has changed.
One interest that is highly meaningful to me is working as a soccer referee. My story as a soccer official starts five years ago at the age of twelve years old. I first begin officiating primarily as a means to earn a little money to buy video games. Initially, I start as a Recreational Youth Referee officiating the youngest age group at the local soccer park. As I progress to Competitive Youth Referee, my career begins to take root, and I receive invitations to officiate tournaments throughout Georgia. Fast forward to today and my career is in full bloom. As an Amateur Youth Referee, I regularly travel to high-level tournaments in Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Moreover, over the next six months, I will complete the certification for State Referee. I know my story is not complete yet and I remain hopeful to one day achieve my goal of FIFA Referee (Federation Internationale de Football Association).
I played soccer since I was seven, as of the last few years I played at a very high level. I have represented Ohio South two times at a regional showcase, I have been invited to participate in a camp in Manchester, England and attended the camp twice. Also last Season for the Newark High School soccer team I was named first team all league and third team all central district. Soccer was the first sport I truly loved to do, I wanted to be the best. I work hours upon hours to master whatever part of the game I wanted to improve on. Soccer has taught me to have a great work ethic, and that mentality came when I was cut from the state team the first time I tried out. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me, I was destroyed, and I thought I was not good but I knew I could do better. The next year I worked, I got bigger, stronger, faster, my soccer I.Q. was higher;therefore, overall I was a much better player. The result of that work, was that I made the team, but not only, I made the starting line up. After that I knew I could accomplish anything I put my mind to.
I have played soccer my entire life. At twelve years old, I completed a Bryst soccer camp after which I decided that I wanted to play at a higher level than house league. My goal was to make a Bryst Academy team.
I’ve played football for nine years now, and participated in over 85 games. I’ll openly admit that practices got to be the most dreaded part of my day by the time my senior year rolled around, nonetheless gameday’s never became wearisome. The miserable as well as submissive game day nerves can keep you from eating, thinking straight, and also make relaxing an unattainable task. Yet, as I sit here pondering back on football season, I’d treasure the displeasure of those nerves just one final time.
Malcolm X once said, “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat; every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” I stared closely at the scoreboard, watching the seconds count down. I grasped that I would not be playing in this game or the next, or the one following that. This season would be a learning experience, an experience that would strengthen my mind and spirit. My first year on varsity soccer was truly a challenge. I struggled for the first time in my soccer career and faced many difficult obstacles, along the way. The season began, and I was immediately labeled as a “reserve” player. I was a bench warmer and a useless substitute, who had minimal playing time.
I started playing soccer at the age of four years old. Throughout my life, I graduate from recreational soccer to playing travel soccer in fifth grade. From fifth grade to eleventh grade, I spent four or five days a week throughout the year playing and practicing soccer. I would endure two hour practices multiple times a week. I would suffer through hours of traveling for games and tournaments on the weekends.
Stepping onto the sun-kissed soccer field, I felt a surge of adrenaline course through my veins. It was a hot summer day, and the anticipation of the upcoming match against our arch-rivals had me on edge. Little did I know, this game would be more than just a battle for victory—it would become a test of resilience and determination. Growing up, soccer was my passion. From the moment I could walk, I had a ball at my feet, dreaming of one day playing professionally.
BAM, I’m on the ground crying, saying” my arm hurts.” Before the teacher came over I was trying to pull my arm trying to put the bone 2 bones that I broke in the same arm. My arm was looking like an S. When I fell I was in shock, I thought i was going to die because I didn’t know what was going on in my mind and out of my mind. The teacher came over and of course it was a sub who was helping me out because my teacher was not there. The office came outside, my siblings came out and sat next to me.
All eyes are on you. About 1 billion pairs, if you’re one for numbers. It is the World Cup Final, the biggest game in professional football, and the most watched event on the earth. You and ten other men step onto a green field, with two goal posts on each side.Your home, your job, your life. The game finishes extra time 1-1. The score is 4-3 on penalties, with your team winning. You step up to take it. The crowd goes silent, with your country’s hope resting on your shoulders. You run up to the ball and place it into the corner of the goal, sending the goalie the other way. GOAL!!! Your home, your job, your life. To become a professional soccer player takes very much dedication, sacrifice, and determination, but the rewards are well worth it. There a different parts of the career, like what you are responsible for, what training you need, and your personal traits you need to succeed. When I grow up, the job I would like to have is that of a professional soccer player.
Since 2006, football has been my passion. I first played football at school during the breaks. At the beginning, I considered it as a sport where you just had to kick a ball with your feet. But by watching the 2006 world cup, football began to interest me. I watched football regularly and I enjoyed practicing it with my peers. Step by step, football took an important place in my life ...
I woke up in the back of an ambulance with all of my clothing shredded by the paramedics scissors. They didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t know what was happening, and I ended up at the hospital. They ran all sorts of tests. My parents told me that while I was unconscious, I had fallen out of my chair and began convulsing. They were very concerned and thought maybe this was a fluke that would just blow over, and it wouldn’t happen again.
I began to make my long endeavour towards actually trying to sit up and getting out of the bed to see where I was and how I’d gotten there. My supposedly broken ribs and bruised bones didn’t make getting up any easier. I felt like I’d just woken up from (ii) a medically induced coma (which happened to me once because I’m clumsy).I sighed and began to stand up, but immediately jumped right back up, due to me almost stepping on a cat. I rubbed my eyes and opened them as wide as I could and as the room INFESTED with
I wake up in this room. My mother is to my left crying with her face in the palms of her hands. My dad, he paces the floor with his hands in his pockets. I am scared I can barely remember what has transpired. As my mother stands and looks at me square in the eyes, the nurse comes and says with a grin on her radiant face “Hello, Mr. Howard. How are you feeling?” I attempt to sit up, but my body is aching. My dad hurries over to help, but it was no use the pain was overbearing. I began to weep and apologize. My dad with a stern look on his face says, “Andra, you are fine now just relax”. How could I relax? I am stuck in this room with no memory of what happened.