Mac College Soccer Kick Off

I’ve been challenged with stressful and will crumbling trials all my life, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for my first week playing Mac College Soccer, hell week.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I drove up to my first college visit at the small campus of McPherson College. I had been speaking with coach Reyes for a while now after he saw me play in a high school game but I couldn’t help but be nervous.

 

I got out of the car with a look near to cockiness but underneath I was shaking like a terrified dog. The plan was to play a few games of indoor with the team and a few alumni followed by a tour of the campus. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I attempted to approach it with as much confidence and composure as possible. The game was a lot faster than anything I had ever played before but I must of done well because I was offered a great scholarship just an hour later. Little did I know they accpected much more than just doing well as Ardie constantly mentioned what great results they expected from me.

I feel bad for them because I have all but met their high expectations. In the first week, hell week, I failed all three of the fitness tests. It took me two weeks to pass all of them. I struggled in all of the fitness that we had to do. When I say “all” I mean ALL. It was embarrassing. But I eventually passed them and got back into playing shape. Although I had the fitness level I needed, I have been unable to break out with star power play that they had anticipated I would have. I’ve slowly, but surely progressed and have started to show little glimpses of the greatness they expect from me, I even started our first game.

My play has been much better and I even scored in our first conference game! I 40 yard rocket to the upper left corner was all it took for me to over come the lack of confidence that was holding me back from being as good as my coaches knew I was.

Has anyone ever believed you had something great, something that you didn’t see yourself? Why didn’t you see it? It’s odd to think about and even harder to come up with a reason why you don’t see the positive that you seem to miss. They may have a bit of a biased opinion as it is usually a friend that you will ask to evaluate you. What holds you back from being the best you can be and how can you overcome it?