The Path through Adversity
Adversity is when circumstances seem against you or a stroke of bad luck. Adversity can be overcome through a role model or through a person that you are close with. My experience with adversity came when I first played football for my junior high. A big part of helping me overcome the obstacle of football was my junior high coach. He taught me to never give up no matter how easy it may seem to and he also taught me the importance of coming together as a team to win.
It was the first week of school for the year, and it was also the first day of full pads for the football team. I had never played football before; my mother didnt allow me to participate in "that dangerous, uncontrolled" Pop Warner league. Things started badly because I was late for practice, and I didn't know which pad went where. I finally arrived as the team began stretching. The coach then informed us that we would begin hitting drills. Oh, no! I thought as I strapped my chin strap to my helmet. This is it, either I just go for it and make the team or I get scared, get hurt and go home. Then I thought that I've wanted this for a long time, why not just prove it to myself and my teammates? The hitting began, and as coach spotted those who could hit well and hard, he sent them off to one side. It made me very nervous that my teammates, the tough football players, would watch me the very first time as I tried to tackle my opponent. This also made me want to be in that group more than anything. Those were the players, the athletes, the guys who made the team. I wanted to impress the coaches and my teammates more than anything at that moment. I was next in line to hit and the coach yelled, "Hut." I sprinted toward my opponent and, Crack, our helmets collided! The coach noticed my tackling form and told me to not hit with my head down and to push forward through the tackle with my legs. He also said to not give up on a tackle no matter what happens. The coach then sent me back in line, but this didn't mean I had failed, only that I had another chance to prove myself. After thinking about what I could have done wrong, I found myself at the front of the line again. I was confident that I had learned from watching the other players tackle and from my first experience of trying to tackle. The coach yelled, "Hut," and I sprinted forward. My opponent and I collided with a loud Crack. I connected with my shoulder pad instead of my head and this hit didn't feel as though I had broken my neck. Again it was my turn, "Hut," and our helmets crashed together with a loud, Crack. This time around, I felt confident that I had proven my tackling ability and that I had listened to what the coach said. The coach also noticed my improvement and he sent me to the line where the promising tacklers were. As I watched the other guys tackle and do the different drills, I felt I had made the team, yet I still had strong doubts considering that I was a bit smaller than the rest of the players.
The next day the coach posted the eighth grade team. I eagerly looked down the list and, surprisingly I found that my name was there. As the season went on I improved my tackling and my form, but I was too small and inexperienced to be recognized as an important player. I felt like the coaches never gave me a chance because football coaches find their starters and then they stick with them for the entire year. So, I went from position to position trying to find a spot of my own. Once in a while I would get in a game when we were winning by a large margin, but that was only for a few minutes. As the second half of the year approached, I emerged as the starting cornerback. I held this position the rest of the year; finally I was establishing myself as a football player. My eighth grade year ended and I figured I would try to make the freshman football team for the high school.
After the first week of practice and after going through all of the different tackling drills, the freshman head coach spoke to me. He said they didn't have many skilled freshman linebackers and he saw my tackling form and was impressed at how smooth and powerful it was. I thought to myself, You should have seen my eighth grade year, you would have thought differently. I then remembered that day at practice and how the advice of my football coach helped me improve my tackling. I also remembered how much I had gone through to hear a coach says those words to me. I also remembered that I never thought I would be a starting linebacker for the freshman team. That whole year, I was a starting linebacker on the strong side for the defense. I had secured a spot on the freshman starting defense at the, Sam linebacker.
My football experience has taught me that hard work, discipline and perseverance pay off. I watched my teammates quit or complain because they do not play enough, but I've learned just to keep giving it my best which is a valuable lesson in life. These same teammates who quit because things weren't going well will probably quit in life also. I have learned to fight through adversity, which will serve me well in the future.