For as long as I could remember, I have always been on a team. In small towns in Maine, sports are just as important as your friends. From running track in fifth grade to district basketball in eighth grade, to playing three sports all year long in high school.
Sports have been about giving to the community along with an opportunity to grow and learn. It is a challenge to make yourself better and to be a good teammate. Winning and losing is not about just about talent, but about chemistry on the team. Once I graduated high school, I knew I did not want to lose the feeling of being on a team. Being on a team you spend so much time with other people.
I love learning about other people and making memories from the long bus rides. I love the challenge. I love the feeling of victory. I love the community recognizing you and your team. I love feeling the audience in the game. I was close to not having these feelings anymore. As an athlete in high school, I was a big fish in a small pond. Once I got to college and was trying out for the soccer team, I realized I was a small fish in a big pond. The girls I was playing with were very talented. The sport was played a lot different than what I was used to playing in high school. I had a lot of learning to do.
"You are strong as your weakest link." Why would anyone want to put in extra time coaching me when they could spend that time recruiting a player that was ten steps ahead of me? My coach gave me a chance, and I took it and ran with it. He saw potential in me that no one else would look twice on. He saw I worked hard and learned quick. He could see that I understood the game of soccer. Most importantly, he believed in me when many people did not.
Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Hell yes. Being on the Women's UMM Soccer team makes me feel like I am a contributor to the college. I feel as if Machias is my home and my team is my family. I have endless memories and countless hours spent with my team. I wouldn't trade a minute of it. I am forever grateful for the chance I have been given. I have never been so emotionally attached to a sport or to my team.
The season is such a roller coaster of emotions. Exhaustion, fear, stress, happiness, joy, excitement, pride, pain, disappointment, every emotion possible. I wouldn't change any of it. My coach gave me a number to wear. That jersey is a lot more than a number. He believed in me, he saw potential in me when most coaches wouldn't have given me the chance. My number is number two. And I will forever wear that jersey with pride.
