Personal Narrative: My Four Year Of College Football

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.

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.

Have you ever grown to dislike something that you once loved? And I don’t mean something you liked that one day you just got bored of. I mean you loved this it was you whole life, then over time you just built up a hatred for this once great thing. For me this would be football. I still love to watch and talk about football, but I could never play the sport again. Keep in mind I finished out high school football, but I stopped liking it years ago. I think that is because during football I have built friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.

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. My eighth-grade year, I tried out for the school’s co-ed soccer team and was confident that I would make the team. During the three hard days of try-outs, I pushed myself to improve each day and received several compliments from the coaches. On the last day, the head coach pulled me aside to tell me

Ever since I arrived at the high school, there has been one man that was my teacher, coach and friend when I needed one. This is coming from a person you really wouldn’t expect to be be this person in your life. Coach Minnich, Mr. Minnich, Ryan Minnich, (only off school grounds). The high school life has been a struggle, but he has made it a little easier.

Adrenaline pulsing through my body and anxiety filling up in my stomach, I quickly throw on my football gear and head out to the practice field. It’s a nice hot day in Ocala, Florida, with the sun beating down on our necks, we stand side by side in line waiting to be picked to play second, third, or fourth string in a play. Waiting in anticipation, each of us grinding our teeth, watching first string pure athletes colliding against each other like gladiators to have possession of a ball made at one-time of “pig’s skin”. To some people, the game of American football makes no sense, whether it’s the idea of trying to protect a ball or running and passing it to make a goal for your team. People like this, see the concept of football and understand why millions of people love it; but to them the sport is pointless and causes way too many casualties. Coming from the most us who love the sport, it’s not the worry of getting hurt that you mainly

Fast forward to the Fall of 2014, and I am in my 3rd yr in football, and I was killing it. I was starting cornerback, andwe won a championship. And I just went to Tennessee for a football tournament with kids that were a grade above me. Everything was going so well for me, but the one thing I was missing was a touchdown. That was the one thing I needed in order for me to say to my 10 year old weird self “I am one of the greatest football players at my age.” Now at that time I was starting cornerback on defense, but on

I was in my Junior season for football, and it was looking to be a good one. We started off doing well, but we struggled at time, though we bent but didn’t break. We kept at perfect record of 5-0 heading into our homecoming game, and we had just came off a huge last second victory over a top-rated team in the state. I was injured during that game but failed to tell anyone, failure number one. I told myself that I was going to play the homecoming game because we were playing the worst team in the state and figured I couldn’t hurt myself any worse, failure number two. That game I ended up tearing my ACL on the 8th play of the game, and just like Tony Gwynn’s world, three strikes you’re out. Indeed I was, I was out for six months with five months of therapy. I was in a failure hole, and was looking to stay in that hole, but I soon realized that I can either sit and pout or come back better than I was the first time. My decision was to come back better, that was one step forward. For five months I went through the most grueling therapy I could imagine, but I never game up and I stuck to the plan that my therapist gave me, step two forward. I recovered so fast that I made it in time to play baseball in the summer, and later went on to be named All-Area team and All-district, step three forward. Finally, the time had arrived for me to play football again and prove to myself and others that I was better than before. We had another great season and won our first playoff game since 2005. I did so well that I earned first team All-District and third team All-State honors. I was one of the five from my team that made that list, that was step four forward, and just like Gwynn I took four steps and I was standing back on home plate, for I had hit a metaphorical home

It was six o 'clock at the Friendswood junior high mustang field I was playing strong safety and I had to cover the extra receiver they brought out by the snap I was already beating my man and the next thing I know the ball was sailing my way straight to me. I am 13 years old and I am on the Friendswood junior high C-football team I am a second string slot receiver and starting strong safety and I 'm also a second string strong side linebacker it was our last game of the season,so we really wanted to go out on the win or a record for the season was one way in five losses and one tie,we hadn 't had a great season so we especially wanted to go out on a win. We got the ball first on kick off and we made a touchdown on the first few drives.On

When I was moved down I hated the sport of football and I could not quit because I wouldn't be allowed to play the next season. I went to practice and watched all my friends play on the varsity with envy. I was anti-social on the field and made the other Junior Varsity players fear me when it was time to start practicing. The varsity had won one district game and the last game determined playoffs.They lost and it ended my hope of being on the varsity team my junior

I can not remember a year where I was as excited for the Vikings season and then this goes and happens. Twenty minutes into practice on Tuesday Teddy Bridgewater took a snap from under center and as he was dropping back to pass he screamed in agony and went down. He suffered some sort of non contact knee injury. Everybody in the building could tell how serious the injury was by the reaction of the players, some cursed, some threw helmets, and some even prayed.

When I played for the Upper Marlboro Mustangs I started off playing 85AAA, my coach’s name was Coach Chris. My first position I ever started off playing in Pop Warner football was offensive line I don’t know why he started me there but I dreaded playing on the line it was not my position at all. Every day at practice we had to run 1500 yards, every single time we lined up I would always finish before everybody else which made me stand out from the rest of all the other players. One practice coach Chris put me and the running back position, the first play I ever ran at running back was a 28 toss which basically means toss to the right. I will never forget that moment, when I caught the ball I took off, I juked to the left causing my other teammate to fall then I hit a spin move and cause another teammate to miss, I then ran for the touchdown. Ever since that moment the coach started me at running back every single practice and game. For it to be my first year playing contact football I excelled tremendously in our league gaining recognition from coaches that taught higher weight classes and also coaches from different

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

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 was younger I was a great football player. Everyone knew who I was because I was so fast and quick. It was like I was a god how everyone was calling my name as soon as I got in the gate. I was so good that even the other teams knew who I was not saying they liked me but they know what I’m made of. The bad thing is, is that I was bad at doing my work in school but the team needed me so bad the couches would sit me out for a quarter and then put me in for the whole game. The sad thing is was I was cool with that so I wasn’t doing my work in school but everyone was still treating me like a star.so when I got to high school I was ready to play football and all I was thinking about was football. So I wasn’t doing no work wasn’t even listening to teachers I was just doing me getting at girls and just being the class clown then I found out I couldn’t play football no more in my 10th grade because my GPA was so bad and my grades was so bad then I tried to get for real tried to do my work tried to start listening but I just didn’t learn nothing because all I knew how to do was play football.so in my head I messed up my whole life because I put sports before education .