The Ball at my Feet
“I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.” These are the words of Ronaldinho, Brazilian soccer player, infamous for his technical ability and footwork on the field. I particularly identify with Ronaldinho’s words because I have learned many valuable lessons from soccer, which I still carry with me to this day. My experiences with soccer have made me into an excellent candidate for the Terry Fox scholarship award; as they shaped me into a person who is resilient, a team player, and a person who can improve after failing.
Throughout my soccer career I have been taught how to be resilient in several ways. The most prominent example of this is the amount of injuries I have had to overcome to play soccer. In the past five years I have …show more content…
Each injury had longer lasting effects than the last, but I persisted to make successful comebacks after each one. The most recent and devastating injury I have had is the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee. This injury occurred in the spring of 2015. Though it has been tedious, painful and frustrating to reach top physical form, the hours of physiotherapy will have payed off when I return to play once again this spring. I am thankful for this injury and all those prior to it because each of them taught me to persevere through times of adversity. A second example of where I showed resilience is seen through my pursuance of elite and collegiate soccer. I come from a small town where women’s soccer is almost always solely recreational. Very few female players from my hometown have gone on to pursue high levels of soccer. When I decided to move through higher competition levels of sport in the summer of 2013, there was no clear direction, mentorship or instruction for how I should accomplish this task. I struggled to find teams with the same goals as mine, and schools whose team played
“I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.” These are the words of Ronaldinho, Brazilian soccer player, infamous for his technical ability and footwork on the field. I particularly identify with Ronaldinho’s words because I have learned many valuable lessons from soccer, which I still carry with me to this day. My experiences with soccer have made me into an excellent candidate for the Terry Fox scholarship award; as they shaped me into a person who is resilient, a team player, and a person who can improve after failing.
Throughout my soccer career I have been taught how to be resilient in several ways. The most prominent example of this is the amount of injuries I have had to overcome to play soccer. In the past five years I have …show more content…
Each injury had longer lasting effects than the last, but I persisted to make successful comebacks after each one. The most recent and devastating injury I have had is the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee. This injury occurred in the spring of 2015. Though it has been tedious, painful and frustrating to reach top physical form, the hours of physiotherapy will have payed off when I return to play once again this spring. I am thankful for this injury and all those prior to it because each of them taught me to persevere through times of adversity. A second example of where I showed resilience is seen through my pursuance of elite and collegiate soccer. I come from a small town where women’s soccer is almost always solely recreational. Very few female players from my hometown have gone on to pursue high levels of soccer. When I decided to move through higher competition levels of sport in the summer of 2013, there was no clear direction, mentorship or instruction for how I should accomplish this task. I struggled to find teams with the same goals as mine, and schools whose team played