Soccer Is Life

I love playing soccer. Soccer is my life. I have so much fun going to travel tournaments with my team in California, Seattle, and Denver. I am flying to a tournament in Las Vegas for Spring Break and playing in the National Premier League Finals in Indianapolis this summer.
Playing soccer at the competitive level has forced me to learn to manage my time. I was excited to play on the Catlin Gabel team in the Fall, but also playing club soccer for FC Portland Academy was hard. Sometimes, I had a game after-school in Corbett or Vancouver followed by a FC Portland practice in Hillsboro. I would get home at 9 pm and then have to start my homework. I learned to work ahead on the weekends and to try to get big projects done early. I also do a lot of homework in the back seat of the car.

When our Catlin Gabel team made it all the way to the Final Championship, we had to play against our biggest rivals OES and a few of my friends outside of school. I knew it was going to be a tough game. The last time we played them, we lost. We were up 2-0 at the half. Then, with only 10 minutes left in the game, OES scored. They had the momentum now and then the nightmare happened. With one minute remaining in the game, the championship slipped out of our hands as OES scored again! I couldn’t believe it. 

After goal-less overtimes, the game went into penalty kicks. I was so nervous. The championship was on the line. The big crowd was a swirl of color and I kept reminding myself to stay focused. Now it was my turn. I wondered whether anyone would be able to tell that I was shaking. I walked toward the goal and placed the ball on the white dot. I heard the referee’s whistle blow. I knew as soon as I struck the ball that I played it too safe. I watched in horror as the goalie anticipated the arc of the ball and made the save. My heart sank. I felt horrible because I let my team and school down. It was a shot that I should have made. Thankfully, an OES player missed a penalty kick too and we ended up winning the championship! I am now practicing my penalty kicks and next time, I will score!