Personal Narrative: My Failure As A Sports Player

A difficult or challenging situation that I have faced is trying to become a starter on the football team. Every year I start the season as second string, next to sub in. However, I have always worked hard and gave all my effort every day at practice. Many days I have come home so exhausted I have no desire to eat, but if I did not then I also would not grow stronger. Now my senior year all my hard work has payed off as I am a starter on the defense and special teams. I know that just as I did, the underclassmen are struggling with all their might so they can snatch the starting spot from under me. Understanding that I must begin every practice as if my job were on the line I go out onto the field every day with a fiery passion. Although I

One year later, I became a sophomore in high school. When season came around it was the same routine. Summer practices, pre season and tryouts all over again, except something changed, my passion for the sport. The love I had for the sport just was gone, I didn’t go to summer training and I hardly went to pre season, I told my mom I was done. Her being the mother that she is, she practically forced me to play. Once I stepped out on the field I realized how much I would have regretted not being on a team who has so much potential.

Ever since I was a kid I didn’t think that I was good at anything. My pastor said that everyone had a calling, a gift, something that nobody else can do better than that person. It was so hard watching people around me find their gift, like my sister. My little sister is good at about anything art related. She can draw, play the flute, and if she ever did theatre she would probably be good at that too. It was really discouraging watching her find her gifts at age twelve and I was fifteen and wasn’t good at anything. I tried a lot of different classes to see what I was good at. I tried chorus in middle school, theatre, and volleyball. Until I finally found my gift.

Throughout my years of participating in high school basketball, I have overcome many challenges. My freshmen year, basketball started in a way I never expected. Continuing on, I understood the real meaning of hard work, and what it takes. Lessons I learned in basketball will carry on throughout my life, helping me to become a successful adult.

I was a freshmen now. A ref once said “We play big boy football around here.”

It was the middle of January, dead of winter of my eighth grade year. Coach Brooklyn Howell, the Lady Cougars basketball coach came up to me and said “come tonight, 5:30 at Byrnes Freshman Academy to try out and see if you like lacrosse.” I did not really know if I wanted to play in the cold, because I was so used to playing in a warm gym during the cold winter months. Lacrosse really did not seem like a sport that I wanted to play. But I tried it out anyway.

“Matt,y you will be starting forward now,” Mr. K. said right before I nervously stepped onto the field, sweating like a man in a sauna. The whole summer I practiced soccer with my dad for two hours a day to make the team my sixth grade year. I wasn’t looking to start, I was just looking to make the team. While my friends were at the beach or at friend’s house, I would be playing soccer.

My summer went as planned. Working very hard to achieve my goal of making the best team I could. Being smaller than everyone else, I knew I had to set my standards higher and work harder than everyone else to keep up. I became obsessed. There was always something about that crunch on the ice when I took that step into my cross-over, the speed of the game, the intensity, and the gift of being able to play alongside 20 of my brothers to achieve the common goal of doing something bigger than all of us. I opened that heavy entrance door for the ice rink and immediately felt that rush of eagerness to lace up the skates. With this in mind, I took a step onto that ice and my tryout debut was incredible. I was ecstatic feeling that all my hard work was starting

It's the first day of two-a-days, and I was put on the varsity team for middle linebacker. I was not supposed to be on varsity, but since I was at every summer workout and studied the sport for the upcoming season I earned a spot. When we went to start practice I was starting on both defense and offense and I felt unstoppable.Two weeks went by and we had our first scrimmage against the hale center. I

Senior year of high school I went from league champions to below .500 records. Lake Winaukee was where the team would prep and practice for the upcoming season. As a senior, I felt I was obliged to help my team win football games and the place we could create chemistry was Lake Winaukee. The second I was on the field I knew my team had the game won. All I could see around me was a group of men ready for war. I couldn’t be more ready for my last home opener so after I did what I do when the unexplainable happens, accept it. I ran to the 45 to the 35 to the 20, hoping to find the kick returner. 8 months waiting for this moment all the sweat, pain, 100 degree sun beaming UV rays to my face. I kept going for the guy next to me performing to the best to his ability. Success was the result of all the hard relentless work done throughout June into August. I acknowledged that my team had a good group of seniors who were high character student-athletes I spent most of childhood with.Ultimately finishing with a record of 3 wins and 7 loses taught me many lessons on becoming a better person and

“Do your job.” A simple quote by Bill Belichick (New England Patriots Head Football Coach) but this quote means a lot about my character. The reason it means a lot to me is because if you work tremendously hard and do your job your team will be successful. My head football coach, Mike Rowe uses this quote as well and adds “If everybody does your job you will be successful. Trust your teammates since they will fight for you and the rest of the team.” I am tying this quote to football but it can be used in any team sport you are involved in. Football teaches character and that’s why I love it so much. I’ve learned so much about myself and how I want to live my life just from being in football.

On a cold, frosty, snow cover night in November at Welcome Home Stadium, was when my life changed. That night, two teams played for the chance to call themselves champions of 6th-grade football. All game, my team and I battled against the mighty Wilmington Hurricanes. We fought all game to win and finally we got the ball back with less than under a minute left and down by 4 points. The crowd was quieter than a church mouse as my coaches huddled us up during a timeout, and in that timeout, my coaches looked to me for answers. Coach Harold said to me, and the team “,Pratt” this last minute was left for you to get us this win and a championship!

When I partially tore my ACL I had to show grit not to give up playing football. It was during warmups for a football game in 7th grade. The offense was all lined up with me as an outside receivor with Derrick on the inside. When Nick hiked the ball I raced to the cornerback ,who happened to be Ethan Goodwin, and started blocking him. Then the whistle blew so I looked over at Nick to see what happened and realized that that he had just thrown the ball. It was a bullet for Derrick who was sprinting directly at me. The ball was just a little too far so Derrick jumped. Right at me! I didn’t move so he slammed into my knee and that was the end of my 7th grade career. Looking back I realize that it took a lot of grit not to just give up playing

Being a captain in soccer whether it's professional soccer or high school soccer is an honor to be. Professional players such as Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Sergio Ramos, and the player that inspired me to play soccer Paolo Maldini have all shown why being a captain is such an honor to be. Now I have been given the honor to be varsity captain for My high school soccer team but I wasn't just given to me because I was a senior no, it was given to me because of my hard work and dedication to become a better soccer player and to become a leader.

Do you ever have that moment in your life where you put everything aside a focus on one thing? The date was September 14th, the golf tournament at Yorktown Golf Course. I had been waiting for this tournament all year. This was my chance to put all that I have worked on for weeks into full effect. All I could think about was a medal and how much I really wanted it. This was my chance to have something that would really raise my confidence.