It all started when I was young and I would watch my dad’s soccer games. All I knew was that I liked to watch the sport. This was when he put me in a club team. I was not good at all. I would go to every single practice there was. Whenever they canceled, I would cry in my room. Two weeks into the team I had my first game. I was very nervous as if it were my first day of school because I was the only kid that had not played an official game and I knew if I messed up it was all my fault. The game ended 2-1 and we won. I was angry that I didn't score in my debut.

By the end of the short season, I had really improved and I had confidence in myself to be even better. One day, when our game was over, some of my teammates’ parents were talking bad about me. No one but me knew I heard them, not even my own parents. The comments I heard put me down. I did not want to go to practice for a good amount of time but I had to because I didn't want my parents to know about the situation. I knew I had to get better and stronger to be able to prove to those people I could do better. After some time, the negative comments disappeared. I doubled my efforts to try even harder and become the best on the team. The days when my teammates weren't at practice, I took full advantage of extra play time.

Around age 10, I started playing in tournaments. The level of competition was higher and our team had so much chemistry. Once 2019 came, I felt like the group wasn't going to last long because I kept hearing about COVID-19. After spring break, all practices were canceled. I wasn't feeling good because I was in my room doing nothing. I was really bored and I tried to find something to do but I really had no ideas. There was a moment when my dad got a call from one of the manager's siblings saying that the manager had died from COVID-19. I felt even worse and more hopeless about coming back to play again. The manager was also the coach for my group team. We took a very long break. Once we came back, I felt terrible and uncomfortable. The team wasn't the same without our coach. Many of my teammates were not ready to come back after COVID.

When we returned, we played terribly. My dad had also coached a club team and his players didn't come back. He didn't want to coach anymore. After the death of the manager, the club team disappeared; it wasn't a team anymore. My whole family took a break after that, and it lasted through spring, summer and winter.

The day came where my dad and brother went to a park and found a team that we could all join. The following day I went to tryouts for the new team. I was very nervous communicating with people that I never played with or even talked to. It wasn't too hard because I quickly got the hang of it. It was a time where I had the best strength in me and the most confidence. This was a prime moment. I had the best faith in myself to continue with the sport. All the experiences I had in losing and recovering my strength and confidence helped me be a better person outside of soccer. If I have a moment where something gets me down, I really don’t get affected anymore because my experiences losing and regaining confidence helped me to become a better version of myself.

© Alonzo. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.