Personal Narrative: My Life As A Volleyball Team

Thump! Thump! Thump! My heart was a drum, I was so excited but nervous at the same time while I was jogging out on the field. We were playing against the SaberCats, and it looked like it was going to be tough competition.

It was an early Saturday morning in October, when the Panther girls softball team were playing for a third straight win. The two games before that flew by easily, we won both and were playing to be seeded first in the tournaments the next day. The crowd was full of excitement, parents yelling, and the coach yelling at the umpires, because of bad calls. We were nervous because it was a really good team that had 3 of the best players in the state. We had played them in two previous tournaments, and lost on the second day, so this time we were determined to beat them.

And of course there is that one jokester in the team that makes everyone laugh which made our team better and more special and unusual. But, before the game starts, one of our players couldn't play ,and had to watch the game on stands because he was younger than most of us and can go to tournament next year too. He was half-crying and if I was him, I would probably cry too. So, my teammates and coaches made him feel better. After watching a video to get ourselves ready for the game, we headed down the hall to the arena, to play the first very important game.

Failure for Moorestown girls lacrosse is not an option. This powerhouse lacrosse program had a winning streak of eighty-eight consecutive games. My sophomore year the program experienced their first loss in what seemed like forever. Continuously, the timer on the scoreboard got closer to triple zeros, everyone’s hearts went into their throats anticipating the end. The opposing team was up by one and were stalling the ball.

We sacrificed our time and efforts to push our teammates and serve our community. After three coaches quitting on the team, Elizabeth and I were left with broken hearts. Our unity as sisters and leaders sparked a flame to push

The buzzer going off, the crowd cheering, for the first time in school history, Trinty Clinton Township are state chapions. That team made history, acheiving far more than what any spartan was thought possible, but this team accomplished far more than a state championship. There has been Trinity greats that have made a mark in the Trinity basketball program history. I knew, this being my last year at trinity, that I had had mighty big shoes to fill if I also wanted to make a perminet mark at trinity. "The differance between successful people and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will"- Vince Lambardi.

I found many things that I could have done better during the meet and my season that would have ended with us coming out as state champions. As I considered things that went wrong and led to our failure, I noticed that during the year I mainly focused on myself and didn’t think about how my teammates were doing during their season. “There is no I in Team”, as the

My teammates tackled me celebrating, leaving the ball in the back of the net and the goalie with her head between her hands. The scoreboard ticked the last few seconds away before letting out a sound of excitement that was prior a sound of disappointment. Losing in the sectional finals was devastating, but it motivated me in the off season. Coaches always say “we can learn from this loss” and I never took it seriously. Our failure set us up for more success than imagined.

The softball team has gave me unforgettable friendships, the ability to play with such inspiring athletes, and has given me skills that I can carry on due to coach Sal. The first year I had started on West High’s softball team was sophomore year. I remember going to the try outs, feeling awkward, due to me not being close to any of the girls since we were twelve and eleven. All the girls that were my age, the ones I was friends with when I was younger, were all on varsity. Since it was my first year back as a Falcon, Sal placed me on JV.

However, I began to see the game as more than just a win or a loss. Losing gave the team the opportunity to closely look at what we did well, and what we needed to improve on. We were then able to focus more precisely on what we needed to do in order to succeed. I was able to learn that being successful and winning were not necessarily the same thing. We had success in a smaller sense; we worked as a team, played clean games and were noted for our sportsmanship.

Summer was at full blast, Sunday league was starting and I was playing soccer every single day. I was ready for the next season of high school soccer to come and I was training myself to the limit because I wanted to be one of the best players on the field and to possibly be captain for varsity this year. This year was also the year our new coach, coach Jay was in charge of us because Olivier had left last year to to go to Michigan with his wife. Jay had already seen how well of a player I was because I played in his soccer club and immediately placed me in the varsity roster but as a defender and not a striker. The transition was difficult but I learned fast.

The summer before my junior year, my team and I received news that we were going to be aligned into a tougher district. This meant our opponents were now going to be stronger, faster, taller, more skillful, and much more experienced. These large schools that we were now aligned to play against have had strong athletic programs that were established years ago. Memorial High School (my school) on the other hand, has yet to establish an athletics program, which meant each of us were behind experience wise. When we were given the news, I could tell by looking at everyone’s faces that no one wanted to continue playing; they all just wanted to give up.

Then we just scored and scored so at the end of the game it was 54-12 they never scored again we shook hands, and all i could hear was the crowd cheering for us. After that we got on the bus to head to chandler to get out things and head home. It was a short and loud bus drive to chandler. It was a happy day we all went home with smiles on our faces and we beat west everyone was happy I went home ate took a shower and went to

I was about to sob my heart out. But with some strange turn of events, the coaches said it wasn’t over. Now, what I am about to speak about is absolutely crazy and unfair in my mind as I reminisce about the event today. So basically, in this little league, if you went undefeated on the season and you lost in the championship game, you got to play again. We played again; this time much harder, for we underestimated the other team’s abilities to play baseball the first time.

When they dismissed the freshmen and sophomores who didn’t make it, he, who wasn’t among us, made eye contact. I had never before seen so much pity directed at me and it frustrated me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to let it go or find another sport. I pledged that I would get in around the house snacking and playing video games, but that would only worsen my state. shape, sharpen my skills and make the team next year.