Ever since the first time I stepped on the soccer field at the age of five, I knew this beautiful games hold on me would never diminish. While being able to play for thirteen amazing years was life changing, it also had numerous ups and downs that came into play. All were experiences that transformed my soul to become a resilient and determined woman. As I made my way through my athletic career I realized that I would not be able to play forever, but could not imagine a time in my life where soccer was not a part of it. Consequently, in my sophomore year of high school, I realized I wanted to coach once my career ended. This dream came sooner than expected as during my senior year I suffered a career ending injury.
Fortunately, I was able to
Although this may true for most, women’s soccer is one sport that is closer to the men’s rules as it provides a competitive environment where girls can be physical in their play. The realization came a long time ago that women can be strong, powerful individuals who can handle anything that life can throw at them whether it is on the field or in the workplace. Furthermore, I have found that being a competitive athlete instills the values of hard work, drive, and teamwork through every practice, game, and tournament. All of these traits are critical to becoming a successful professional in today’s world. Moreover, this combination allows women to acquire the tools to climb the ladder to the top of our profession with a resilience that cannot be
Raising three children on her own, fulfillment of her dream came from many sacrifices required to complete her higher education goals early on in life, footsteps I plan to follow myself. A competitive athlete whose running career did not start until her junior year of high school when her school finally allowed the women to have a program. Yet she did not receive any recognition for the success her team experienced in high school for winning regionals during their first year of competition. Upon returning to visit her high school just a few years ago, she found that they had not put a banner up in the gym for her sport. Unlike every other sport that received public recognition for their accomplishments, she was denied this award as it “did not really matter” even after providing proof from a news article she kept. She had seen the intense struggle to fight to get equal women’s sports compared to men’s in her school, and experienced the irritation of the men’s cross country coach seeing her sport as an annoyance as he felt that it was not a sport for women to