Essay About Playing Soccer

Stepping onto the soccer pitch for the first time, my heart pounded with adrenaline causing my hands to tremble. I looked towards my teammates to find where to stand as the newly memorized rules jumbled around in my head. As the referee blew the starting whistle, I mustered up the confidence and courage from within to play amongst my new found family. I kept my hands close to my sides in a last ditch effort to fight my natural inclination to swing my arms at the ball, like the years of tennis and baseball had taught me. Here I stood, ready to prove the skeptics wrong; a sixteen-year-old could start playing soccer without any prior experience. Those around me with decades of training could not stand up to my grit and determination. As a varsity starter for my school tennis team, I constantly was harassed for participating in a sport many thought to be just a leisurely activity. At the end of my sophomore year my gym teacher informed me of a soccer meeting for new players, this was my chance. I would go out for the team even though I had never seen a soccer match played. …show more content…
As a junior who had played varsity tennis, I was used to hour long practices and two hour matches. The soccer practices were grueling, everyday in the dry heat; we ran miles played games and worked out harder than I had ever done before. After making it through the first month of summer practices, I felt accomplished until my name was not on the last varsity cut list. It was painful, I put blood, sweat, and tears into this sport. By not making the team I grew instead, I understood I would have to put in more work to succeed, more time, more effort, more of