Final Drill Narrative

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Pages: 3

It turns out that when your finger is buzzing and you can’t move it, it’s probably broken. It was the end of September at a soccer practice; it was our final drill of the day. I played soccer as a kid but quit middle school before starting again in sophomore year. I didn’t realize this final drill would change the rest of my soccer career entirely. “Ryker, Murphy Gloves!” Was a familiar phrase I heard repeated all season. This command came from Coach Daley and for us goalies, it meant we were about to get sore, beat up, and bruised. This was nothing out of the ordinary for us, a simple pass-and-shoot drill from outside the box. If done correctly, the attacker should have a shot from about 20 yards away. No defense, no special instructions, it was something we’ve done hundreds of times. …show more content…
As I got down to my last couple of reps for my turn in the rotation, I saw Aidan Esperance receive the ball at the top of the box and drive towards me. I was caught off guard by his immediate attack, as this was the exact opposite of what we were instructed to do. Since I was still recovering from the last rep, I favored my near-side goal post, leaving the majority of the goal open to let Aiden finish his puzzling rep. He struck the ball, leaving little regard for placement and focusing almost exclusively on power. Aidan was 10 yards away when he shot, leaving me insufficient time to react. I put my hands up to block the flying ball, but it was too little too late. By the time I got my hands up, the ball was bending my middle and ringing fingers on my left hand backward, stretching my tendons like rubber bands. What I didn’t find out until several practices and even a few games later is that that tendon stretched so far that it snapped off carrying a chunk of the bone it was attached