Finding her Love

Her teammates, coaches, family and friends knew the telltale sign was when her tiny, delicate hands reached for the red bandana. This, they had all come to know, was the most important part of her game day ritual. Then she would meticulously slip her shin guards into her socks while trying to contain a healthy dose of game day anxiety and excitement.

Her name was Sophia. She was six.

One can imagine the foreign feeling of having a ball at your feet when you were used to holding a bat in your hands and swinging at a ball. Having to switch from T-ball to soccer because of an older sibling was, at first, infuriating. Until, that was, the first time she stepped out on a soccer field. The smell of fresh cut grass, the expansive green lined fields, the constant movement and the challenge of using your legs and feet to control a round object was the immediate draw.

At her very first practice she was not only nervous about playing a new sport for the first time but also nervous about weather the other girls would be nice to her. As soon as the coach was done talking to the team, Sophia made a fast friend in Liz, the only other girl who was wearing a bandana. Hers was green.

Liz was not the only friend Sophia made. She found that all of the girls were relatable. They were all very nice and welcoming. She was surprised that all of the other girls were as nervous as her. Some were scared of the ball while others were scared of meeting new people.

She wasn’t alone.

Once we started playing games and learning the ropes, all of the nerves faded away and a new perspective was embodied by most of the girls. Oblivious to their parents standing on the sidelines they were running and screaming like they were at Disney World with no lines. At the end of practice she didn’t want to leave and wanted to take all of her new friends home with her.

Sophia got in her fathers car after practice and was beaming ear to ear. Her father asked her if she wanted to go back to playing T-ball and she quickly and passionately said NO! At the end of that season she realized that she would play the game of soccer until someone forced her off the field. She played almost every day for the rest of her childhood.

She joined a new league that was more competitive and quickly got very good at her new sport. After a few seasons she decided she was ready to try out for a travel team that was able to compete in tournaments, more importantly the state tournament.

She tried out and made it.