Allegheny College sophomore soccer player -- and major-league Ohio State football fan -- Jessica Boyle blogs occasionally as part of the College Connection project. Her second entry:
Do you remember why you play, or has it been too long? Is it because you’ve worked so hard to get where you are? Is it because you love the roar of the crowd or the anxiety before the game? Is it because you don’t want to let anyone down, or yourself? Is it because you love the feeling of scoring a goal, or because you would rather be on the field than anywhere else in the world? Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become, the hours of practice, and the coaches who pushed you, is the little girl who fell in love with the game, and never looked back…Play for her!
A girl I played with in high school sent me that a while ago and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. After playing soccer for 15 years it becomes easy to forget about why you play, especially at this level. I've never been a good loser, even when I was in elementary school I can remember being in a bad mood after a loss. To this day I hate losing card games to my 12-year-old sister. So after starting off 0-4-1, it's very easy to be frustrated and lose sight of why I'm still playing. I still love the game and want to play, and soccer still provides a release from the pressures of school and life. My teammates are AMAZING, they are the reason I look forward to preseason when I'm running all summer and why I laugh while I'm at soccer. I get along with and like my coaches, most of the time. My parents are still my biggest support system, coming to as many games as possible, hosting team dinners, and being there for me after a rough day. And all these people contribute to why I play, but I have to remember why I started playing in the first place. I play because when I was 5 I fell in love with the game and had fun when I was doing it. At the end of the day I need to realize that, soccer is a game meant to be enjoyed and when you stop enjoying it, that's when you know you've gotten all you can out of it. So here's to hoping, as a team, we turn things around and have fun while we do it. Playing for ourselves and each other.
P.S. The Buckeyes have a HUGE game this weekend. Saturday 8 p.m. at No. 1 USC. GO BUCKS!!!!!