Soccer has been a part of my life from when I was born. It was constantly around me and in my environment. My dad played it his entire life and had great passion for it. Like that old expression " Like father like son" I am like my father. I love soccer, and always have since I first started playing. Soccer was a process for me to become what I think is good. I really pushed myself for my passion and worked on what I was lacking to make me great. My life like soccer,is a process and has had it's ups and downs.
As a child my dad taught me to love soccer. I would always go and and watch him play, and everyday he would kick the ball with me. We would play and he would always be making me look bad and winning by dozens of goals until the very last moment, and he would let me win. This happened every time we played. I always hated losing to him so naturally it made me more competitive. I understood that and continued to try and get better at soccer.
I started playing on an organized team coached by my dad, and I absolutely loved it. No one wanted to play defense when we were kids because it wasn't "fun" so I was the kid that gave in and said I would do it. It was great though, we were undefeated and we won every game with ease. I got really passionate for soccer after those two seasons and later went on to play on many other teams.Each one got me worse sometimes better, but I did learn a new skill or had a better understanding of the game after each season. I didn't start playing real competitive soccer until high school, and did not get better until I was really pushed over my limits.
I would say my level of soccer has became a developed skill not a talent. It was all hard work, and dedication to my passion and love for the sport. It is more of me maturing in life, which has completely correlated to how I have grown as a soccer player. Because in all honesty it has a lot to do with who I am. Being that kid who just chose to be defense, I grew up being patient and making something out of things I had or i was left with. Even letting other people voice their thoughts before myself. Psychologically I was much more defensive or sensitive as a kid because of being a defender I think. Because of this and confronting it understanding that you have to be offensive to be defensive, i grew as a soccer player and a person.
I learned to be patient from being a defender in others.I learned not to approach people but hold them up and analyze what they were doing to know what they would do next. In that I believe that I used that thinking towards life and became very observant having to be aware of all of my surroundings all the time. In the aspect of a person I always listen to people closely whenever I talk to someone and always try to find something good I can see in them. Sometimes people don't show it and you have to be patient. I also can learn from life how to be patient in soccer and not let people get in your head in a game or in life. It distracts you from yourself and what you are trying to get done.
There were always frustrations in trying to get better or not having a good day. I learned from these experiences the most, and always tried to progress and develop a different skill or muscle to help improve my soccer. I worked my young body to the max of its capacity at a young age of 15 and took my skill to the next level. I was never good at soccer, I really just gave 100% and put it before everything. From this my life also improved because as I got older I figured out how to improve my skills and put my understanding to use. This inspired me to improve myself in aspects I was lacking in real life.Skills like defending myself and not trying to please others, but try to please myself and live to my standards. This I came to realize and it changed who I was as a soccer play and a person. I am grateful for realizing what
Finding a balance was the key to my door. I found a balance to things I was never good at or never tried to be good at. I worked at a lot of different things when I had the time, and put in a little more effort with those things, which was the difference. Overtime I saw that difference in my life and saw how happy and successful I could be. I was very surprised when I first realized this and used this realization in life and towards soccer. I improved on everything I was never able to do in soccer like juggle or control the ball, I worked at slowly and subtly, and made me a great player. How I have moved towards balancing my life, I have moved positions in soccer, to now play midfield as well as defense. I know it's because I have taken a new step in my life, and have created this new balance, that for me, is working.
No comments:
Post a Comment