Personal Narrative: Why I Love Soccer

Most people in this world find something that they love. Me, I love soccer. I’ve been playing soccer for almost as long as I have been alive. The game fascinated me from an early age, and I began playing as soon as I was old enough. Up until my 10th birthday, I played in easygoing park district leagues and was happy enough with that. However, as my love for the game grew and I developed as a player, my parents saw in me that I had the potential to be better than what rec leagues made me out to be. A few weeks after my birthday, my parents signed me up for tryouts at a local travel soccer team. I arrived, unsure of myself, but happy that I saw a few of my friends, and proceeded to play out of position for the entire tryout. I had grown up as

The turf was still wet from rain and I could tell the day would be humid. I strapped on shin guards, laced up my cleats, and slipped the gloves on. I joined the warm-ups as the clouds started to break and the sun began shining down. The fear I had felt previously was suppressed under feelings of anticipation and excitement. I had prepared for this opportunity for the past five years and by Godly I was going to take it. The coaches called us in and split us up by position. When I first looked at my competition, that stifled fear rose out again in a wave and crashed over me. There were 12 other keepers, and three of them were pretty darn good. Thoughts raced through my head as I tried to concentrate. “There’s too many. I’m not good enough to beat them. I don’t think I can do this!” As we began drills, I was starting to doubt myself again when I remembered that I had felt exactly this way before trying out for my club. While waiting for my turn, I reflected over that moment and felt my confidence come back to me. I hadn’t been cut because I wasn’t good enough, and I hadn’t then been placed above my age as a fluke. I was meant to be in this moment. I was truly good enough, and just had to realize that the fear of failure was only an illusion. I had control over whether I wanted to be afraid or wanted to feel confident, and that there is no such thing as failure if I can say that I gave it my