How-To Soccer?

    This is a tough question for me to answer as I am not very talented. Even if there is something that other people say I am talented at I just don’t believe in myself enough to say that I have enough talent to write a how-to guide for others to learn from. Saying this, I think even people who write how-to guides are obviously not going to know everything, because they are only human. So maybe I could write a how-to guide. Would it be a very good one? Who knows? Would it be a useful one? Maybe, maybe not. However, if I had to pick a topic to write a how-to on it would have to be soccer.
    
    I have played soccer for over 11 years now and that is just organized soccer. I started playing when I was 5 but before that I would always have a ball at my foot even though I probably didn’t understand the concept of soccer. I could talk about how it is thanks to my parents and my grandparents and my culture but I have already written a personal essay about that so I don’t want to be repetitive. You most likely have not read that personal essay but I just don’t want to go over it all again because I would rather talk about the how-to guide.

    Moving on, I would probably teach how to pass the ball or how to control the ball or how to shoot or a combination. I wouldn’t teach how to defend because I always play an attacking position and I do not know how to defend. I understand the concepts of things like covering when your teammate applies pressure but for certain defensive things I just don’t know how to put them into practice.

    What I do know how to do is shoot. At least most of the time. Yesterday I had tryouts with my club team and there were some shots I should have definitely scored but I only ended up scoring 1 goal in the game. This is an example of when I don’t play well. Playing well can be different for everyone. In my case by played well I mean played well overall and scored goals. When I do play well, like I did in the regional final, in those moments I feel as though I could write a how-to. (That’s not what I was thinking about because we had just won regionals and we hadn’t received this prompt yet, but I wasn’t being literal.) Maybe when I’m on form. For me all it takes is one bad game, even one missed shot, and it replays over and over and over again. I get so discouraged when I miss any chance that I think I should have scored. Maybe it’s a bad thing because it means I get more upset with myself than everyone else. But maybe it’s a good thing because even when I’m doing well and scoring goals I still strive to do better everytime I play, everytime I strike the ball, improvement is always possible.

    I should probably wrap this essay up and bring together the main point of the essay but to be honest I don’t know if there is a main point. The question was what would you write a how-to on and I went on a whole other tangent about confidence and stuff like that. I guess you could take away that you should always seek to improve, and (I know this is going to sound so hypocritical) always believe in yourself because, trust me, I know what it feels like to not believe in yourself, and so do many others, but if nobody else believes in you, you must believe in yourself. Again, I don’t know how we got here from “what would you write a how-to on?” but we did so deal with it.

Comments

  1. Navid TajkhorshidNovember 30, 2021 at 1:13 PM

    I really like how you used the how-to prompt to explore your insecurities and self-doubts, and put them on display. It made the essay much more compelling. I also like your consistent use of second person - it made me feel like you were talking directly to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DinaDecember 1, 2021 at 8:02 PM

    I feel like I get very close to you through this essay, mostly because of the vulnerability and openness in your writing. I think you hit on the self-doubt a lot of athletes have, and it's nice to hear you be encouraging and inspiring to those who might be going through similar struggles. Nice essay!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Discussion About Comfort Zones

     When asked the question “how often do you leave your comfort zone” I would say too often. I love my comfort zone. It’s called a comfort zone for a reason. I feel relaxed and comforted in my comfort zone. But stepping outside of that zone causes cortisol to start running through my body, increasing my beats per minute, and making me feel nauseous. I will give you a few examples.      When I need to present an essay, a powerpoint, whatever it may be. I have stage fright, so whenever I stand in front of people, even if it is in Japanese class in front of 6 other people who are all my friends and have taken Japanese with me for 4 years, I still feel nauseous with nervousness and my hands shake and my voice trembles.      Another example is when I am high up. I am also afraid of heights. Yes I know I am clearly fearless. Because of my fear of heights, even when I know I am completely safe, I panic. Through the years I have learned to control ...
Read more

The Blabbermouth

         I was a loud kid in elementary school. Teachers always had to silence me or put me in the corner to do homework so I would not distract others. I don’t think I was a stupid kid. I think that the work was sometimes too easy for me so I was able to talk while doing it. I’m not justifying my misbehavior, I’m just giving a reason for why I was doing it. It does sometimes seem almost like a prison though, elementary school. Very strict on such little kids. But I digress, back to the story.          We had just gone on a field trip with the entire class. We were returning in these medium sized, magic school bus look-alike, white school buses. We had “gossiped” the whole time on the bus about my best friend. I do not remember who I conversed with or really anything that happened on the bus. I can only assume what happened because once we got off the bus I did something I never should have done. No it is not anything terrible or life ch...
Read more

Was my hobby passed down to me?

     In a way my love for soccer was passed on to me. Obviously, my parents didn’t force me to play soccer, or as I was brought up to call it, calcio. In terms of sports my grandfather on my dad’s side was into boxing, my grandmother did yoga, and my father played American Football. However, because my dad lived in Rome the main sport is real football and so he would play pick up games. My mom, on the other hand, played volleyball in college. But having a sport passed down to you is not only a matter of the people in your life playing or having played the sport, it’s also a matter of culture. Because my dad is Italian, ever since I was little I would watch soccer games and kick balls around. I played a bit in New York, though I do not remember much, but I have heard stories that my parents would come to pick me up and find me in the corner because the other kids would “steal the ball and not give it back.”      The first I remember is playing for the 5 year...
Read more