The season of destiny 

“GOALLLLLLL!!!!” I couldn't believe it. I had just scored a marvelous goal into the right corner of the netting. Everyone in the stadium erupted in a chorus of cheering. It felt like I was living in a dream. 

A few months ago I was thinking about leaving the team. 

               It was a sunny August morning at my house in Shoreview. I was having a valuable summer, and wasn’t wanting to think about anything else other than relaxing and cherishing the month or so left of the warmth. Then however, after I slumped out of my room my Mom reminded me for the millionth time about joining soccer. I came out to the smell of hot sizzling bacon to fill out the registration information. Previously I had played with, for the most part, the same group of guys. I decided to take her up on the offer and join the team. 

My Mom then told me “Your age group does not have enough people to make a team. You can join a team with an age group older if you want to.” 

I thought she was trippin but after we chatted more about it I found out it was the truth. 

               Fast forward to November, our first practices of the season were being held remotely. Only about half of the team were even attending the meetings which made it hard to interact and develop friendships with the boys. Since it was freezing outside you had to find a spot in your house to participate in the training sessions. I had about an 8x8 area to practice my skills in. It was really frustrating because I had to always avoid hitting the furniture and breaking fragile objects because of being in such a small space. As my team kept improving their skills during the winter I was off playing basketball for Irondale. As my soccer team was continuing to do distance training, I was getting beneficial in-person basketball reps. I wasn’t as hype as I usually am when the soccer season comes around, because of having to be with a new team and learning how everyone is. 

               As we began to transition into in-person practices with masks, I began to attend more than I had been. We would practice inside of a humongous white dome. As I gazed across the seemingly infinite number of turf fields inside, I saw smiles on kids as sweat dripped down the sides of their heads. I could barely keep the ball by my side when dribbling slowly but the training was slowly but surely getting me back to my normal self. I got to meet the players in person and it was pretty awkward the first time because I had literally never seen these people before in my life. 

“Whatup Jakob? Let’s get this work in!” 

Max was one of the players that was friendly towards me and made me feel included. From then on, nearly every session after, he would greet me and do his best to be a mentor for me. Our anticipated first game was coming up in the near future and I was ready to show what I had to offer on the pitch. 

               It was gameday. We had home field advantage and the game was at Shoreview commons. As my squad arrived at the field I took in the smell of fresh cut grass and gazed across the beautiful vast area which fans were already seated at. In my warmups I did everything I needed to do to be as prepared as possible for the match. One and two touch passing lines were formed to get everyone's passing and ball control primed and set to go. As the head refs and assistants pulled up Coach Paul brought us in for a team huddle by the benches. 

“This is what you guys have been grinding for these past months,” Paul proclaimed. “We ain’t gonna allow this team to come all the way from Plymouth and expect to take our home field over like taking candy from a baby.”

 The refs shouted at the Plymouth Fusion and NSSA Storm to take the field and begin the game. Plymouth had the ball first for the kickoff but they also had to look into the blazing hot sun for the entire first half of play. NSSA initiated the attack from the jump and we were already forming clever offensive pushes forward, toward their goal. I got a ball from one of our creative wingers Alex. In a flash, right after he made the pass he left me in the dust by making a run down the right sideline. The fans cheered and encouraged us as we invaded the Fusion’s side of the field. I felt the long grass graze gently across my leg as I blasted a ball down the line back to Alex. He dribbled in and let a nasty shot sail through the air and just left of the goal post. That's how most of the first half went, with NSSA in full control and urging for a goal to grab the lead first. We went to our sideline and spoke about how the half went, as well as describing what we could do better in the second half. We took to the field and I was ready to make a sizable impact during the rest of the match. Nothing was really going on for either team during the first 20 minutes of the closing 45. Neither team wanted to be the one to give up the first goal and lose all of their momentum. All of the sudden Max made a move down the middle of the field charging his way through the Fusion’s entire midfield line of players, into the opponent's section of the field. At that moment I could tell he was going all the way for the net. He took a touch to the right of his body, setting up a powerful right footed shot, which the goalie got a partial hand on and thrust the ball away from certain danger. However, I was in the right spot at the right time and the ball fell into the perfect position for me to connect with my left foot. The goalie, who was stumbling off balance from the prior shot, didn't even have a chance to save it. I buried it into the right corner of the net and the celebration began!! I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride as I got mobbed by my teammates and coaches. After that night, I felt a new confidence that I could play a part in the team's success during the rest of the season. 

               The season played out how I thought it would, with the team being outstanding in the games and tournaments we participated in. I continued to improve and form stronger relationships with the other players. The season ended up teaching me an important lesson. When the future looks cloudy, you can always find a way to shine some light on the situation.