The First Break

This year Sophia would accept nothing less than making the varsity team. During the off season daily practice became a necessary requirement for Sophia because she knew that making varsity would not be as much of a breeze as making the JV squad. Try outs rolled around every year just as the autumn leaves would begin to litter the high school ground of Chamblee field. Sophia was poised, ready and confident.

This years tryouts went much like they did when she tried out for JV, this made her feel as if she did very well. Not only was the scrimmage again her favorite part, it was also her strongest moment. Afterwards the coaches told her that she excelled. Despite the critical praise heaped on her she was still unable to get a good nights sleep. She was worried that they would overlook her because of her youth and inexperience and she couldn’t help but focus on the fact that there was not one freshman on the varsity squad last year.

She was in for a restless night of wondering.

The next morning Sophia bounded upstairs to the coach’s office to view the lists. On that list were two freshman names: Sophia was one. She took a deep breath and a few tears rolled down her face. She was proud. None of her friends were surprised when Sophia informed them all of her incredible accomplishment, no one knew how big of a deal it was but then again none of her friends played soccer.

Sophia was the only starting freshman at the beginning of the season, specifically preseason. She did exceptionally well and scored several goals in her first few games at the varsity level. But as the season went on her coach formed a new game plan and Sophia wasn’t included. Each second she watched from the bench she became more and more devastated. The season ended and Sophia had a choice to make: Was she going to continue to fight or was it time to give up and follow another endeavor.

Sophia decided to keep fighting.

When the school season ended travel teams began. While in the middle of her travel teams season, Sophia was racing up the sidelines, pumping her little legs when a bigger stronger girl came up from behind her and maliciously fouled causing her to hit the ground hard.

Darkness. Nothing. Sophia was knocked unconscious.

As Sophia began to awaken she opened her eyes to see Anna, her teammate and two coaches from the opposing team yelling at the referee, they were accusing Sophia of faking her fall to the ground. Sophia sat up very slowly and gingerly and immediately began yelling at the coaches to shut up. After answering generic questions about who the president was and what year we were in she answered the question she was waiting for, “does anything hurt?”

Yes. Something hurt a lot.

Sophia quickly realized that she could not raise her arm above her chest. Her mom came over to the bench side of the sidelines and asked her if she needed to go to the hospital, she stubbornly replied no. Sophia sat in agonizing pain for the rest of the game because she refused to leave her team. The opposing players continued to call her a fake but deep down she knew that something was seriously wrong.

She went home and couldn’t even walk up a simple flight of stairs. Her mother came downstairs with a sandwich and said “mothers instinct, we’re going to the ER.” This time Sophia did not object. The ER doctors informed her that she had a broken collarbone and that she would have to miss soccer for the next six weeks.

Sophia began to sob; the rest of her season was over.