soc·cer [sok-er]
ər
–noun
a form of football played between two teams of 11 players, in which the ball may be advanced by kicking or by bouncing it off any part of the body but the arms and hands, except in the case of the goalkeepers, who may use their hands to catch, carry, throw, or stop the ball.
Soccer. The Beautiful Game. The Ballet Of The Masses. The Opera Of The People. The World's Game.
Billions of people all over the world play soccer -- from the highly competitive Premier Leagues, to the thousands of collegiate and youth players, to the children who play on the streets in the city -- as long as you can find a ball, you can play.
Soccer has been a part of my life for the past 17 years. The sport has taken me on a journey of thousands of miles, several different countries, and a dozen different states, and taught me lessons about life that one can only learn through teamwork, dedication, determination, and, inevitably, loss. I have probably lost more games in my life than I have won. And some of those losses stand out to me more than the wins.
But, oh, the victories. How sweet they were.
After four years of college play, I thought my life with soccer would be over, but I think I might have discovered something better.
For the past six weeks, I have been working at an assistant coach for a local high school girl's soccer team. What a perspective. Suddenly, all those things those coaches yelled about made sense. Suddenly, I understood.
And suddenly, I wanted more. Coaching turned on a dusty, unused light bulb in my head. Coaching is what I am supposed to be doing!
All my life I have been trying to figure out how I could make a difference in the world. And without warning, it was in front of me.
I decided to pursue coaching on a whim. I jumped in with both feet and took off running. That leap of faith has turned into a desire to continue to teach young people everything the game and my coaches taught me.
Soccer has brought me some of my lowest moments, but it has also carried me to where I am today. A strong, successful, independent woman who dreams big and continually pushes past the realm of normal to pursue bigger passions.
My name is Coree. I am a girl. I play soccer, too.
Billions of people all over the world play soccer -- from the highly competitive Premier Leagues, to the thousands of collegiate and youth players, to the children who play on the streets in the city -- as long as you can find a ball, you can play.
Soccer has been a part of my life for the past 17 years. The sport has taken me on a journey of thousands of miles, several different countries, and a dozen different states, and taught me lessons about life that one can only learn through teamwork, dedication, determination, and, inevitably, loss. I have probably lost more games in my life than I have won. And some of those losses stand out to me more than the wins.
But, oh, the victories. How sweet they were.
After four years of college play, I thought my life with soccer would be over, but I think I might have discovered something better.
For the past six weeks, I have been working at an assistant coach for a local high school girl's soccer team. What a perspective. Suddenly, all those things those coaches yelled about made sense. Suddenly, I understood.
And suddenly, I wanted more. Coaching turned on a dusty, unused light bulb in my head. Coaching is what I am supposed to be doing!
All my life I have been trying to figure out how I could make a difference in the world. And without warning, it was in front of me.
I decided to pursue coaching on a whim. I jumped in with both feet and took off running. That leap of faith has turned into a desire to continue to teach young people everything the game and my coaches taught me.
Soccer has brought me some of my lowest moments, but it has also carried me to where I am today. A strong, successful, independent woman who dreams big and continually pushes past the realm of normal to pursue bigger passions.
My name is Coree. I am a girl. I play soccer, too.
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