Personal Narrative: My First Grid Kid Football

Ever since I was a toddler, I loved sports. Baseball, basketball, it did not matter; I just liked to run. When I was around 4 or 5, I was in the living room watching the Steelers play the Cardinals and saw Santonio Holmes grab a game winning touchdown to win the Superbowl. I was so excited that I jumped up in the air and I told my dad, “Daddy when I grow up I want to play football and I want to score a lot of touchdowns just like 10 does.”

It was a cold brittle day on January 10,2014 at 2:00 p.m in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. My teammates and I and I were warming up for our soccer game. Our team name was called“Rapids and we have three wins, one tie, and four losses. All of a sudden, the referees called us to the sideline to check on our equipment.

I have been playing soccer since before I could even walk. In fact, I joined my first soccer team at the age of five. Soccer is something I have always loved and been passionate about. When I was on the co-ed recreation league teams I was one of the only girls on my team, so I had to compete with boys who doubted me and thought I was weak. I worked hard during practice and out of practice to become better and, eventually, I became more aggressive than them.

Almost Making It Happen I expected to get a few bruises, but not a getting a concussion. Before the soccer game, my idea of a concussion was getting bumped in the head, receive headaches, and it would heal up in a week and then you would go back to the way you were. I was wrong. At times, concussions can be deadly, and if you have them more than once, it will decrease your chance of keeping your brain healthy and surviving. Concussions can also give you migraines and make you dizzy.

Texas is known for its agricultural landscape but most of all by Friday night Football. In small town communities like Dimmitt being on the varsity team is a big deal. Being moved to Junior Varsity football after making the varsity team, put me in a position to contemplate my loyalty to the sport and to the coaches I felt betrayed me. It's the first day of two-a-days, and I was put on the varsity team for middle linebacker.

“It was a quiet day at the park,” David tells his grandchildren. “I was moping around and thinking about how I once again didn’t get the part I wanted on my 6 grade football team.” “Grandpa, get to the point,” his grandson Tom says. “I was the running back and one of the best our team has ever seen. Nobody was even thinking about changing it…” his voice drifted off as he leaned back in the rocking chair and gazed at the roof of his log cabin.

I'm in the car driving toward the high school thinking about nothing except what I'm expected to do today in my game. I have my headphones on and nothing else is phasing me. People could be yelling in my ear and I wouldn't hear them. I'm only focusing on one thing. We all sit outside our locker room with our headphones on waiting for coach to come and unlock the door.

I remember when I dislocated my finger in football. I was 12 years old and it was the beginning of practice. I remember that I was wearing my football gear. It was also sunny and hot. Before I dislocated my finger, I was running football plays.

Introduction It was the beginning of my 5th grade school year, and I decided that I wanted to begin a new sport. On the first day of practice, having never played the sport, our coach lined us all up on the field. Our team had a quarterback from the previous year that was returning, but he had no one to back him up this season. As coach Link stood back to examine his future team, unexpectedly, he pointed at me and said, “you are going to play quarterback”. Excited, reflecting back, it was one of the best moments of my life.

The biggest challenge that I have faced so far happened in 2016. I just joined Francis Parker and I got an academic scholarship. I was just crazy enough to join the football team. I later realized since there was no freshman football team that I was playing on varsity. I was 89 pounds and just above 5 foot.

One sunny afternoon on June 6, 2012 we gathered at the neighborhood baseball field in Wizzy, TX. The neighborhood kids came and family members it was quite a lot of kids that gathered to play today. We started off picking leaders and teams dividing us up in even amounts and flipping a coin to see who hits first. We started the ball game and both teams were doing amazing with fielding and hitting. Then boom the drama started and nobody had a clue why Enrique and Birdie were fighting.

“LET'S GO!” Screams a player on my team who has clearly been at the field for a while, waiting anxiously for the first box lacrosse game of the season. This is my first season playing lacrosse; a sport that I've always wanted to play but never had the courage to try, until now. I arrive at the field, my heavy bag has started to cramp my hand before the game has even begun. Most of our team is there and is already padded up and waiting for the game to begin.