This I Believe
by Bridget St I believe that success only comes when you learn from your failures, especially in sports. I grew up around soccer, my sister started playing when I was 4. I went to all of her soccer games and knew that I wanted to play as soon as possible. I was never very athletic and had always been the least coordinated, but I knew that would never stop me. I wanted to be the best and I knew that it would not be an easy road. Watching soccer games at a young age made me think about the future and how I was dying to start playing as soon as possible. I would practice at my sister’s games with all the younger siblings of other players. My first real experience playing was at Saturday Morning Soccer. My dad was my coach and I learned a lot about soccer while I was also having fun. This was the little kid league, and I was not bad compared to the kids I was playing against.I never had any trouble against them. I would talk about soccer in school all the time. I soon found out there was a more competitive league called Berkshire Hills Soccer and immediately asked my parents to sign me up. I assumed my friends were as good as me. I assumed wrong. All of them had been playing a year longer than I had and I never knew that would set me so far behind. I was put on defense my first year and never even made it close to scoring. I thought I would never catch up to the other girls. I had to work extra hard, but seeing how good all my friends were made me upset. I just wanted it to come naturally to me just like the other girls. After three years I had still not scored my first goal. At my last U10 soccer tournament I stepped onto the field as a forward. There was not a lot of time left in the game and I did not believe that I would be able to score. The ball I was in front of me and I made my way towards the goal through two girls. I shot the ball into the goal. I had scored my first goal. The summer before 5th grade all of my friends were trying out for GPS Stateline. A soccer league that was for the more advanced players. It was made up of “the best” players in Berkshire County. I tried out not expecting much. I was going to have to try out for the 2005 year team, with players a year ahead of me in school, while every single one of my friends were trying out for the 2006 year team. I was not going to have any of my friends at the tryout. I later found out that I made the team under the condition that I would be okay with not playing as much as the other girls. On average during a GPS game I played 10 minutes out of the whole match. Obviously I was not thrilled with this, but I could see myself getting better and growing stronger. At my Berkshire Hills practices I noticed that I was catching up to the other girls. I was glad I had never given up when I really wanted to. I was so proud of myself. I wanted to continue getting better. I worked extra hard at all of my practices and I was not afraid to make mistakes. I continued playing soccer with GPS into 6th grade when the league merged with another and became Blackrock FC. I had been practicing all summer and I knew I had improved and all of my coaches noticed immediately. I was soon playing at least half of each game and I was so happy. I knew this meant I needed to work harder to get more playing time. At the Memorial Day Tournament I had started my first game. I wanted more out of the sport so I kept working hard. The summer before 7th grade I tried out for Blackrock again. I was cocky; I had been playing for my coaches for three years now and I didn’t believe I had to try as hard because I was a returning player. But Blackrock was changing and the team I was trying out for included sophomores, and I was not ready for that. I did not make the team that year. I was the only girl who did not make it and was so disappointed. I needed to prove to the coaches that I should not have been cut. In 7th grade it was the first year in three years that I would not be playing with multiple teams. I had to learn how to take my focus from two teams and focus everything on Berkshire Hills. I played in the tournament that kicked off the season and scored two goals. We didn’t do as well as planned but the tournament was fun anyway. The Friday after the tournament I broke my collarbone. I was so sad that I would not be able to continue the season. I went to games to support my friends, but when I got home I would always cry because I wanted to be playing. I thought the only way to occupy my time was to focus on ways I could get better at soccer while I was on bedrest and could not participate in physical activity. I watched so many games. Found ways to take plays from professional games and simplify them into something I could use in my games. After eight weeks I was allowed to play again. I was not the same I was before. I had lost a whole season and it showed. I scored that game, but it did not stop me from working hard to get back to the place I was before I broke my collarbone. In 8th grade I was getting ready to start the spring season. I was going to be playing on the boys Berkshire Hills team and was going to be playing with Blackrock FC on their 2004 team. I was excited to start the season, but then quarantine started and I was stuck at home with no team to play for. I was so dissapointed. This was my season before high school soccer that I could work on improving as much I could before high school. I did not know where to start. I had to learn to work hard at my house. I now had to kickstart my training for high school tryouts. Growing up playing sports has forced me to go out of my comfort zone. I was forced to make new friends when I was the new player on the team. Learning how to connect with others in a team setting has helped me connect with others in a school setting. Sports have also taught me how to be more motivated. In sports there are always setbacks, and the skills I have acquired to overcome those setbacks have transferred into my everyday life. I believe that learning from my successes and failures have made me the player I am today. This I believe.
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