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More than a Game BY Christian Lassahn
Football is not just about the suffering and hard work which it takes to be successful, it is about the physical and mental toughness it gives people, and most of all to me it is my pride and joy in my high school life. Through the hellish practices and hard work, time and time again I find myself leading and uplifting my teammates as a captain, and inspiring others with the same passion for the sport that I have. My confidence skyrocketed and allowed me to make many of my lifelong friends, however, football also gave me a skill which I believe I could not have found anywhere else, and that is the ability to persevere through adversity and lead others through nearly impossible situations.
Lights beating down on my face,the crowd cheering, for a moment, I can hear them, I then realize this is where I belong. I take in the moment during the national anthem of the championship game. I am nervous, with my hands shaking and heart racing. Realizing the journey this team has taken me on, and knowing that this is the “last ride” with these teammates, and after the shortest minutes of my life, I take the field with my brothers for the final time.
There is no better feeling than trotting onto the field in front of the fans, and playing the most rewarding sport in the world. This is the field where I learned to no longer avoid my fears, and where I learned my capabilities as a human being. Football has been part of my life since I can remember. Whether I was in first grade or now in my senior year, I can honestly say that I worked as hard as I could, and, through challenges, continued to stick with the sport I love. As a three year varsity starter and senior captain of the team, I pushed myself to my limits time and time again, and played through broken bones and torn ligaments for my teammates. Football is like no other sport, there is no sport that truly requires every single person on the field to work perfectly together, there is no other sport that requires the same amount of mental and physical fortitude, and there is certainly no sport that forms the same brotherhood that a football team has. In addition, football has a side not many people understand. The nearly 100 degree summer practices, the pain as you get hit and keep playing, and the mental toll it takes on the body is something only a select few can withstand, and doing so has without a doubt transformed me into the person I am today.
Now with the benefit of hindsight, I can see how my experiences and development on the field has paid dividends in terms of improving the person I am off the field. The ninth grade student who once was afraid to speak his views and lacked confidence has been transformed into a student who can work collaboratively with others and lead them while bringing the best out of my peers. For example, a freshman me was often scared to ask for help from teachers, and often would just attempt to follow others, while now, especially in mathematics, I attempt to lead my peers and learn as much information while confidently addressing my teacher. In addition, when my grandmother passed, beloved as she was, my parents were extremely distraught. My mother noted that I “stepped up well” in this tough situation and did whatever I could to help my family out as much as possible. Also, people who are not as close to me have noticed changes. My manager at work noted recently how I persevere through difficulty and lead my coworkers in ways atypical of a teenager. Lessons learned with cleats on helped me realize the man I have become off the field.
Football is not just about the suffering and hard work which it takes to be successful, it is about the physical and mental toughness it gives people, and most of all to me it is my pride and joy in my high school life. Through the hellish practices and hard work, time and time again I find myself leading and uplifting my teammates as a captain, and inspiring others with the same passion for the sport that I have. My confidence skyrocketed and allowed me to make many of my lifelong friends, however, football also gave me a skill which I believe I could not have found anywhere else, and that is the ability to persevere through adversity and lead others through nearly impossible situations.