Personal Narrative: Soccer Is My Identity

Beep Beep! Beep Beep! The alarm bell goes off. It is 6 am on the 1st of August, 2016. First day of tryouts for my school's soccer team. I am inflated and drowning in nervousness. For the past two years of my high school life, I had missed tryouts, both times not knowing when they took place. Finally, with careful planning, the year I claimed my spot on a soccer team had finally come. Born the son of an ambitious and idealistic soccer coach, it didn't take me a long time to kick a soccer ball. From the age I learned to say "mama" and "baba," I had spent hours playing soccer outside on the streets of East Africa. Soccer became my language; I didn't have to talk to make friends. Just put the ball on the ground, and wonderful things would ensue. The creativity it supplied me, the freedom of expression it allowed me, the simplicity it taught me. Soccer was my relief of struggles hard and easy. It became more than a hobby. It became a characteristic. Often is it dangerous to be smitten to a game, a sport, to this level, but it didn't matter. Soccer also

If I could go back in time I would go back to the day I signed up for school sports and switch the little check in the football box to the soccer box. It was sixth grade year and it was the first year I could play school sports and I was the happiest kid alive. In my head I thought football was going to be super fun but, in reality, I wasn 't very good at it. I stuck with it for a couple years but I just didn 't have the size or strength. Finally, as a freshman I switched over to soccer which is something i 'm extremely glad I did. Soccer is something that I didn 't play much as a kid but, my brother and my sister played so I was always around it. When I switched to soccer I didn’t know it would become as big of a passion of mine as it did. From that point i’ve played all year round from playing indoor

When I first thought about how soccer impacted my life, nothing really came to mind. I was that kid who mostly looked forward to the end of the game snacks and bringing around the goal jar. But when I actually began thinking about more about playing soccer I realized that soccer was the first place where I was fully submerged into something completely new. I learned how to make friends, how be a leader, and how to have good sportsmanship. These are all things that have made me into the person I am today and it all began on the soccer field.

One of the most significant activities in my life would have to be soccer ever since I got a hold of the ball in 10th grade, it sparked my interest and a fire was ignited. It simply stared with a few friends asking me to join them then slowly progressed into everyday after school I would go outside to kick around the ball, I never really knew it was for me until I started getting more into it, soccer became my outlet more like an escape for me, it was somewhere I could go when I needed to be alone just the ball and I. Honestly, I never knew that it would affect me in the way it has, it started out as a just for fun kind of thing, then it escalated into actually playing games, turning more into a passion and I could actually see myself in the

Soccer has pushed me to grow as a person and has helped shape me into who I am today. I have played on numerous club soccer teams throughout central Indiana, and I have also played high school soccer; thus, exposing me to many new players. So, I have had to work with numerous personality types and have learned to communicate appropriately with each one. Bonding with teammates builds trust between one another and helps the team function to its best capabilities. After learning about and befriending teammates, I am able to become a better leader for the team.

I 've played football my whole life. Even after 11 Years of the game it was shocking that I was not good. My whole life I always wanted to be the all star and the player everyone depended on. But, it just wasn 't me. Following my eighth grade year I was detrimmed to put all the years of failure behind me. Freshman year was going to be a new start. That whole summer I went to camps and every clinqne I could. My level of play was progressing and I was feeling more confident going into high school. My freshman year was here and it was time to fight for a starting spot. The good thing about playing sports at a small school is you have a much better chance of playing. After the whole preseason work I earned a varsity spot. All season the work I

Once I was of the appropriate age to start playing, my family had put me in Pop Warner Football and I had instantly fallen in love with the sport. At the time, I had dreamed of becoming an NFL football player. That had all changed, when my brother came home from high school one day with a stick in his and a new sport called lacrosse. He told me it was basically football with a stick. The moment I heard that

If I have to choose a favorite sport it would have to be football. Football is physical hard-hitting contact sport that is full of excitement rooting for my home team the New York Jets. Back in 1997 is where I developed a full interest; watching and playing football at a young age. I have played fullback and linebacker both positions took a lot of hard work, conditioning, and practice to execute my performance on the field.

Jonathan Bunge- Sharing The Passion For Soccer With The Next Generation Soccer is a popular game that millions of people around the globe play. All sections of society play this game and it is one of the cheapest sports in the world. All you need to play soccer is a football but the participants playing this game are able to accomplish amazing feats. Soccer never fails to excite both the players and the spectators watching the game.

Because it makes you believe in yourself, because there are players besides being idols are great people, because the one that plays better does not win, but one that left his heart in the field, because soccer is the only religion that has no atheists, Because if you do not feel the game for soccer you wouldn’t understand it, because knowing that you lost is the first step to a victory, because is a passion that make us happy, because is more than just a game, because no matter the time or the place soccer is played everywhere, because we all dream of making the best move or the best goal in a match, because there is nothing else cuter than winning, because even if we lose we always have a rematch a second chance, because it is the sport in which your friends can become enemies and enemies can become friends, because nothing is said until the end of 90 minutes, because it takes more than talent to succeed, because there are players who leave everything on the field, because it is a passion that lies in our hearts, for such a simple object as the ball can make millions of people happy, for this and more soccer is the most beautiful sport in the

Having only one soccer club in Bend to play competitively on and having a relatively small population put me playing with almost the exact same group of girls in the club as I grew up. This also left me knowing everyone who plays soccer and consequently when I got to high school soccer, I was still with the same girls. We had been playing with each other for 7 plus years and had become an incredibly close unit on and off the field. Some of my closest friends came from playing soccer. Soccer had helped me break out of my shell socially and provided an outlet for stress relief. My life revolved around soccer.

When I was younger, my father gave me a lecture on having a desire. He told me that to be successful, you must have the desire to work for whatever you seek. Now that I am old enough and have been through some trials and tribulations to understand the concept of his philosophy, I believe in having a desire and having the will to work.

Being shoved to the ground and coming up with a mouthful of turf and a bloody nose isn’t the ideal way to spend a friday night, but for me, it's something I put blood, sweat, and tears into. Soccer has been a passion of mine since my father dropped me off at the local YMCA when I was at the tender age of four. Spending all of my free days for thirteen years running after a soccer ball is arguably what made me into the person I am today. Unity, tenacity, passion and pride have all been morals that are valued within the sport and in my own philosophy. I have explored places I’d never give a second thought to because my sport took me there. Friends I had made came from the sport I played. I never ended up asking for friends to come over because to me, practice was hanging out with my friends, doing an activity with a purpose.

The start of my freshman year was a thrilling experience for me. To start out my freshman year I made the schools Varsity soccer team, a huge accomplishment for me. However, I was naïve to the coming situation to myself. I was on the path to continuous harassment from teammates as I was surrounded by seniors. Many of the seniors had egos, full of themselves in every aspect possible. It was a rude awakening to the reality of high school to be apart of this team as a freshman. In retrospect, I believe that my transition into high school would have been smoother if I would’ve asked to be on the Junior varsity. Although this would have hindered my growth as a player, it’s a sacrifice I realize now that would have been worth it.

Although I have never played the game of football, watching it and many other sports, live and on television, is one of