Images were racing wild through my mind as I thought about my teammates going to battle without me. I had played with some of these guys since we were in eighth grade, and when they needed me the most, all I could do is sit and cheer. I hated the feeling of helplessness, but at the same time I knew I had to do what little I could do, well. It was two days until the first game of my junior year in high school football season. My team and I were going to play St. Rita, a battle we had persistently prepared for since the last game of our sophmore year.
I remember the first quarter so well. I played horrible that quarter which I couldn’t understand coming off an outstanding performance from the season opener where I recorded a school record for the amount of tackles by a single player in one game. I couldn’t understand why I was having such a bad first quarter. Was it because of the mixed emotions and excitement for this big game? Was it because I was thinking too much because it was on live TV?
They did not have too many players, but at the time Doug looked like he was seven feet tall. When we finally played them we were pretty worried because Drew was our biggest player and was short compared to Doug. We started off the game pretty solid and scored the first couple points, but by halftime we were down at least 30 points. People in the stands were not into the game at all and kids who were waiting for the next game left the gym. Mr. Johnson took Doug out for the third quarter, and by some stroke of luck everyone on our team caught fire.
The Netherlands has made a late comeback and tied up the game with two minutes left in regular time. Then, Arjen Robben, a winger for the Dutch side had seemingly flopped to the ground in the penalty box after having little contact from a Mexican defender. This led to the referee calling a penalty kick, which the Dutch then scored to win them the game and put them through to the quarterfinals. There is still controversy on whether or not it was a dive. However, this is an example of how diving can give players an advantage and changed the outcome of the game.
I had assumed that most kids would be like me, first-time tennis players. However, I was quickly proven wrong as the top varsity player hit speeding balls that flew by me. After the end of that practice I felt horrible as I realized that I was probably the worst player on the team. Heading inside to return to the locker room, Coach Smith gave us his annual "first day of practice" speech. He told us that he was not going to make any cuts.
Knowing this the other team used this to attack him. Needless to say with about two minutes to go they manage to foul him out and score. During the last couple of possessions they manage to cut it to one. As the clock whines down they get a steal and we’re forced to foul. The tension before this was something you wanted to feel.
They find themselves walking off the ground alone into a small change room, get changed and head home. No one goes to the game to see them perform, but without an umpire the sport wouldn’t take place. Umpires are making mistakes all round the world and teams seem to be prepared for these mistakes. Human eyes do make mistakes and you have to accept it as long as it is not intentional, and i don’t think any umpire is making intentional mistakes around the world. The players just have to forget about the decision and move on with the game.
With in a few more minutes Catholic Central made it 5-4 and we were now losing. With 2 minutes left in the game I was thinking we need a miracle to score again. Moments later the referee called a tripping penalty on Catholic Central and we went on the power play. With a five to four man advantage with less than two minutes left we worked the puck around in their zone passing back and forth until we had a clear shot. Then bam a one timer from the high slot and we tied the game with 30 seconds left 5-5 we were heading into
We open up for Old Say brook high school the score was 45-0 and yes we were the winners. The whole season was just about that; Hyde the winners and the opponents the losers. We made it all the way to be the number one seed in the class s state playoffs. We went through the whole regular season undefeated, but that last game which was the first playoff game we lost not because they were better but because we were not focused on the task at hand. To be honest I do not take losing easy but when it was all over I have to say this was a character builder it tells me to stay focused and when on a team I need to pull my teammates a long with
I started to cry from the pain, and blacked out. Breaking my neck definitely changed my perception of life. We were already losing, and I was close to dehydration myself. My coaches, Kerri and Jerry, were yelling at my defenders to pick it up. I repeated it at the top of my lungs when I had to make sprawling save for the upper corner of the goal.