Senior Reflections on my Final Soccer Season
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my final soccer season. What it will feel like to lace up my cleats for the last time (don’t even ask me how I felt about buying my last pair of cleats…). What it will feel like to run out onto the field with the warm up CD blasting and the crowd cheering for my team for the last time. What it will feel like to hear the final whistle blow and walk off the field for the last time. After playing competitive soccer for the past 18 years, it’s really hard to imagine what my life will be like without this game. While I have seen many people take playing this game for granted, I truly have appreciated every moment I have had on the field. Maybe that’s partly because of all of my injuries, but I really think it’s just because I absolutely love playing this game. To be honest, there is no place I would rather be than on a soccer field with a ball at my feet.
And with less than 25 games left to play, I want to make my last season my best season ever. And by “best season ever,” I don’t just mean my best season on the soccer field. Sure, I want to score more goals this season, win more games, make program history (again) at NCAAs, etc., but I want a lot more out of this season than that. See, looking back, I realize that I love this game so much because it has truly molded me into the person I am today. It’s prepared me for the rest of my life. And I want to pass that along to the next generation of soccer players.
As one of nine seniors on the team, there are a lot of high “expectations” for this final season. Earlier today, the upperclassmen were talking about these expectations and the positive and negative effect expectations can have on a team. After listening to what everyone had to say, I agree that it’s so important not to focus on what will happen at the end of the season, but to take every day, every practice, every drill seriously and to appreciate the time we all have together and the time we have left to play. If we accomplish small goals, one step at a time, the rest will fall into place. So, on the field, that’s my goal this season: to take nothing for granted and to appreciate every second I have left to play.
Off the field, my goal is to invest as much time into the underclassmen as possible. As a senior looking back, it has been absolutely amazing to see this program grow into what it is today. Not only are we a really talented group of soccer players, but we are a committed group of Christian athletes who have made it our goal to share the love of Jesus Christ on and off the field. I have been so blessed by this team mission. From my mission trips to Honduras and South Africa with teammates, to praying with the teams we play against after all of our games, to seeing what it truly means to be a servant leader through the example of teammates and coaches – it has truly been an honor to be a part of this program. My only prayer is that this program will continue to grow and to impact the student-athletes who step onto our field in the future. With that in mind, my prayer is that I am able to invest in the underclassmen like the classes above me did for me. And to those people: thank you for your time, commitment, prayers, and faith. Please know that your legacy continues to live on and that I will do my best to keep it going.
Finally, just a couple of thoughts on my overall soccer career. Looking back, it’s crazy to think this journey is coming to an end. I can vividly remember signing up for my first soccer team when I was three and a half years old. I can remember being so nervous when I got my first soccer picture taken in my little green Freeport uniform at four years old. I can remember going to the MLS soccer camp every summer where I was coached by a group of British players. I can remember playing travel soccer with all of the Harmer girls and getting to go to the National 3v3 tournament at the Disney Sports Complex. I can remember watching the 99′ World Cup and dreaming about playing on the National Team one day. I can remember trying out for my first club soccer team and traveling all over the country for tournaments. I can remember winning state cup every year. I can remember trying out for the Regional ODP (olympic development team) every summer and finally making it when I was 14 years old. I can remember playing my first year of high school soccer and being section champs for the first time in school history. And of course, I have so many incredible memories at Grove City, especially getting the 200th win in program history (2011) and scoring the winning goal in OT to make program history at NCAAs in 2012.
And while there were plenty of disappointments, injuries, tears, bad coaches, and even worse teammates, I wouldn’t change a thing because all of these moments have shaped me into who I am today, and I could not be more thankful. And speaking of thanks, I just want to say thank you to my parents for supporting me and encouraging me to chase my dreams. I am forever grateful.
Here’s to the best season ever.
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