It all starts with getting ready for your first practice right after you get off the bus from elementary school. You have your bag and water bottle in hand and you’re ready to try something new.
You soon fall in love with the feeling of playing and the adrenaline rush from winning. Its all you look forward to after school and your parents can’t seem to keep you away from the sport. As you grow older you beg to be put on a travel team because the game is all you can think about.
As you enter high school, the competition gets harder and the pressure to perform your best increases. You attend classes for hours just to go right to practice after. You get home for only enough time to complete your homework and maybe eat dinner. You need to keep your grades up so you can play in college. There is no room for error but such little time in a day.
None of this matters because the game is still all you think about.
Soon enough it’s your senior year and you realize the time with the people you grew up playing with is coming to an end. You barely have time to think about this because playing in college is your biggest concern. When choosing a college your first question is “how are the sports programs”. You apply to all your favorites hoping the best ones let you in. Finally, you decide on the right one and you can’t wait for your future.
You are now able to focus on your final memories playing the game in high school. school work is put to the side because this is all that matters and it’s what you will miss the most. you prepare to play in front of the hometown fans for the last time with tears in your eyes. Thinking of leaving breaks your heart but you are ready for the next chapter.
Soon enough it’s fall, and you’re leaving for college and once again are preparing for your first practice ready for something new. You learn to work with new teammates for the first time in what feels like forever. Excitement fills you as you prepare for the next few years.
You’re quickly realizing juggling schoolwork, practice, and workouts is a challenging task. You have priorities because failing in school is not an option if you want to keep playing.
As time goes by you learn how to complete all your tasks and your new environment begins to feel like home. Your teammates become family and life seems normal once again.
Once again, you are a senior and will soon be entering a new chapter but this time you must leave behind the sport you fell in love with as a young child. What once got you through a long day at school is now going to be gone forever. School was always second in your life but now your first will no longer be an option.
Your first love is now gone.