Have you ever played a sport for most of your life? I have been playing football for going on 10 years. The experiences and lessons that the game of football has taught me are truly amazing. All through me being a human with emotions, sometimes football can be rough. This game has put me through many extremely difficult times and some unimaginable times. With that being said let's dive into some of those experiences.

As a kid, I can recall a few moments from my youth football days. Growing up I've always been the smaller kid in height and weight. For my first few years, this weighed me down like a ten-thousand-pound vest. Every second I played the game I was reminded of how I was physically less gifted than others. This was very rough on me, causing me to be as gloomy as a rainy day every time I played football. However, after my first two years, I decided I was done feeling sorry for myself, and decided to do everything I could with what I had. I used my small body to weave around people as if I were a person in a police chase. I would soon become one of the best linebackers even with my undersized nature. These few years and moments still affect me to this day. I’m still very undersized but continue to work and perform with what I have.  The life lesson of never giving up on yourself was taught to me at a very young age through this lovely game of football.

Football is usually very fun and loving but it can cause you lots of pain and hardships mentally and physically. I have encountered these emotions and situations so many times it's kind of crazy. The earliest I remember encountering hardship was in middle school football. I had broken my foot and was due to miss a whole season. My mental health took a huge hit like being punched in the face. Every single time the team lost I blamed myself. I can recall countless nights crying, just wondering why this had to happen to me of all people. There would be people making fun of me countless times, but they had no clue the effect it had on me even if it was just simply an injury. I had another injury this year that set me out for potentially 6-8 weeks. I did all my recovery and made sure that I would never experience that feeling again.

Football is such a lovely game that very few can be truly great at. I had the dream of going to play football at the collegiate level when I was older. I took my years of football lightly, telling myself “ It’s okay I have this many years left”. The way I took things on has stunted that dream and forced me to find a plan B. Football alone showed me that we don’t always get what we want, and we need to have a second plan in life. I'm still chasing that dream with my last year of football coming up. However, my mind has been opened to what I can do outside of football and that my life is more than just a sport. It took me a while to accept the reality but ever since I have my life has been better. 

My life from age seven to now almost 17 has been a wonderful experience full of ups and downs. The impact football has had on me is truly something no one can understand unless they’ve been through it. I’ve been shaped as a person and taught so many life lessons along the way. These lessons sucked at the time but now that I'm older I'm so thankful. Never giving up on yourself, taking hardships head on, and always having a backup plan for anything will always hold value in my life. So with all this being said thank you football for all you’ve done and continue to do for me.

Work Cited

“Memoirs.” The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings, edited by Deborah Bertsch, et al., 6 ed., W. W. Norton, Incorporated, 2022, p. 236.