I never thought that playing soccer would teach me things about life that would help me in my future. I joined soccer because I grew up seeing my father play and hey, what little kid wouldn't want to be as great as their parents? I thought soccer would only teach me foot skills, passing techniques, celebration tactics after you score a goal, and how to make your parents proud. Sure, it taught me all of those things and I will always remember them. After all those hours of practice and drills, how can you not? I have stopped playing soccer, but I will never forget all the great memories and lessons that it brought to my life.

1. Teammates? More like family.

Like many people say, “ teamwork makes the dream work!” That's a saying that I totally agree with. Once you step on the field, not only you are thinking about yourself, but about the other ten people that will help get to the goal. In a team, you will find friendship, but also a family that will help you through happy or hard times in life. Soccer taught me that being part of a team can lead to greatness, and that when I fall someone will help me up. As I get older and I join different teams, I will always remember my soccer teams. They taught me what true teamwork is all about.

2. Practice makes you better, not perfect.

Let’s be honest, no one is perfect at anything. It’s not about being perfect, it's about getting better and improving at it. It took me a couple of months, maybe years to figure out that even Messi, the best player in the world, is not perfect. To get the title of the best soccer player in the world he had to practice a lot. Just like everyone else, Messi will never be perfect, because there’s not such a thing as perfection. Soccer taught me that I will find something I really love, practice it a lot, and I will get better at it. However, I will never be perfect at it. Sometimes I'll make a goal but other times I'll miss and be okay with it. I have to keep practicing every day to make my life better, not perfect.

3. Be positive and never give up.

We could be losing 5-0 during halftime, but our coach would always say something positive that made us feel a little bit better and motivated us to not give up, "Play the game like it's 0-0," he would say. When you are in a sport you have to have a positive mindset, not only because you are giving up on yourself, but also everyone around you. Soccer taught me that I have to wake up every morning with a positive attitude and when life gets hard, to not give up and just keep on trying because one day I could score a winning goal.

4. You win some, you lose some.

In soccer, you win some and lose some, that's part of the game. Losing really sucks but you learn from the losing situation. Not only do you learn how to take the loss like a true player, but you also learn that just because you lost this game does not mean that you're going to lose the next one. I have lost a lot of games, but those game taught me a lot. It showed me that it wasn't about winning, it was about how I played and how I could improve for next time. That losing is okay and at first, it may suck, but later I’m going to look back at it and be okay with. Life is like a soccer game, I’m going to win in some situations, but going to lose in others. When I do lose, I have to keep my head up and keep trying because a bad loss can turn into a great win.

5. You will fall and get back up.

If I had a dollar for every time that I have fallen down on the field, I would be rich. I got to know the grass very well, I could say it was one of my best friends because it caught me every time. In soccer, you're going to bruise up and get injured, but that will never stop you from getting back on the field. It will physically hurt so bad, but what hurts more is not getting to play. The pain will always go away like a good bruise. Like a good defender, life is going to knock me down. Like a good soccer player, I'm going to get up and keep on fighting.

I recommend everyone to join something that will make you a better person and that will teach you lessons that will stay with you forever, just like soccer did for me.