Life lessons on and off the field

Life lessons on and off the field

There are not a lot of things that compare to the thrill of winning a game
of soccer. The rush of adrenaline, the cheering from fans and
teammates, it is one of the best feelings in the world. However,
there is so much more to soccer than just winning a game or scoring a
goal. Soccer, like all sports, help to teach players how to work
hard, work together as a team, and how to have good sportsmanship, no
matter what the score is. I played soccer for all my life until my
Sophomore year of high school. While I had decided to stop playing
the sport, I was still in love with the game and I wanted to teach
others the values that soccer taught me. So that fall I began to
serve as an Assistant Soccer coach for a U12 team for three seasons
for the Saint Cloud Soccer Club, the local recreational league. I
served from fall of 2015 to fall of 2016. We would have practice two
times a week for an hour and have games every Saturday. My job was to
help train the players to improve their skill, become a unit, teach
them the values of sportsmanship, and to make sure they had fun
always. At the beginning of the year, we did not know how well our
team would do since most of our players never played before. Although
the team was a little shaky at first, our primary focus was on
helping to teach the players lessons about the game and about life,
not our record. During practice, we ran drills that would help our
players to unite as a team and to help them improve their shooting,
passing, dribbling, and making runs towards the goal. However, that
year was not all fun and games. There were times where players would
argue or goof off or complain the whole time. It took a lot to rein
the focus of our players in at times, but I knew that would be the
case occasionally. As the year went on, we saw our team grow together
and play as a team. We also noticed that when our team grew and
played together as a team, we did better during our games. We told
them that working together in soccer is just like working together in
life. In a career or relationship, you must learn to cooperate with
everyone, even people you may not agree with. When you get together
with a group of people and work together as one, you can move
mountains. While I was there to give during those three seasons, I
also received as well. The players gave me laughter, joy, and a
desire to continue to serve youth in the future. The best thing about
coaching those seasons was the opportunity to help equip the next
generation with the tool to make a better world, through cooperation
and hard work.