Mrs. St. John
October 2013
“Ditch the Pitch” “You have an obligation to your team,” said my mom, while tears were rushing down my face. It was my first soccer game, ever. I knew I loved playing soccer, but me being me, I was a professional mommas boy and didn’t want to find myself without her for even a moment. So, my mom, with a broken arm and all eventually got me out of the car and onto the pitch. Not only did she get me onto the pitch, but I conditionally told her I wouldn’t play unless she was there with me. Disabled as she was, she managed to hold my hand while we were playing, running up the field and back as I slowly overcame my fear. Once I became comfortable, I eventually let go of my mothers hand and began playing by myself. From this moment on there was no looking back. Throughout my youth as a soccer player, I discovered many things about myself. I realized how competitive natured I was. I would always strive to win and be the best I could be. There were times I’d be watching youtube videos on how to do certain tricks and skills, and I’d find myself crying out of frustration, asking myself, “How do you expect to get anywhere if you can’t do these simple tricks?”. I was so eager, which is good, but I had to learn to be patient and to realize that eventually I will be able to do something that my body was unable to perform at the time. Another characteristic that appeared were my leadership qualities. Soccer, being a team sport, enabled me to create a sense of camaraderie within the collective. As a result of my leadership, I earned myself the captains band and respect because of my ability to make good decisions on and off the field. There was a time during my senior year of High School that my club soccer team introduced me to a feeling I’ve never witnessed before. This feeling was that of augmented camaraderie too the point that I was in a state of euphoria. I had been with this club team for 6 years, and we were in the state national finals. We fought and we fought coming back from being down a goal three times. At the end of this blistering match, there were no regrets, and although we lost, we had also harnessed what seemed to be a sixth sense that only us within the unit could feel. Soccer hasn’t only been a way to express myself, it’s also been a way to release from the outer extremities of this world in order to cope with my dilemmas. Whenever I get stressed in life, I have been consistent with shaping my negative feelings into positive vibes. I’d exchange tears for sweat, and deadweight time with used time. Soccer has been the catalyst for these transformations. When my parents got a divorce, I told myself I would look at the positives, and take control of what I have control of. For me, I was able to control my reactions to things, soccer, and other aspects of life, such as diet, and studies. Whenever I had problems, I’d turn the negative energy into positive energy by driving to the nearest field to vent and feel the rush that soccer gave me, or by going to the gym to further help my pursuit of excellence with soccer. Soccer has been a sanctuary that I can go to and find oneness with myself while overlooking negative dilemmas in my life. As my evolution involving soccer progressed, I went from one level to the next because I put my mind to a goal and accepted no failure. Knowing this, I’ve gone from playing soccer as a youth, on club, in high school, and now at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for one of the best collegiate teams in the nation. I spent so much time emailing college coaches my junior and senior year, that when the Cal Poly SLO coach said, “How would you like to be a Mustang?”, I nearly cried. It may seem like an amazing accomplishment, and it is, but this process is far from over. As long as I stay focused, and restrain from taking for granted, I know I’m capable of