Lacrosse has been a sport that has changed my life forever, and has taught me some of the most valuable life lessons. It was second grade and my mom dropped me off at San Clemente High School for my very first ever lacrosse camp. I had never put the pads on or tried to go after a lacrosse ball. It was all so new to me. I loved the idea of playing a very physical sport, especially being able to hit the other players to get the ball. I loved the power on being able to have the entire game revolve around me, when I had the ball, being able to control the game and the outcome. The sport was just so unique and different.  I loved playing lacrosse that week at camp. From that moment on, I knew this was something that I was going to pursue for the rest of my life. From there I started to quit playing other sports to only play lacrosse.

I would practice for hours in my backyard, even though it was dark and time for me to go to sleep. I would bounce a lacrosse ball off my house for hours, to the point my mom would get annoyed of the “thump” noise of the ball. I would play so much on my back patio that I broke all the lights and parts of the fence. My mom would yell from the kitchen, “Please don’t play in the backyard, you are going to break more lights and windows!” I would never listen to her and continued to play.  Every time I stepped on the field, I felt like a cheetah hunting for its prey. The prey was the ball, and just like a cheetah, I knew I had to do anything to get it. But this can sometimes come with consequences and teach you some of the greatest lessons of all.

Last Summer I was given an incredible opportunity to play at the highest-level club lacrosse in Baltimore, Maryland. I had never been back east before, and I was skeptical if I was going to be able to keep up with the best lacrosse players from the east coast. But there was one obstacle preventing me from going…the costs and expenses. It was as expensive as buying a new computer or flat screen TV, and my parents were  doubting that they would be able to pay the full price. As weeks flew by like waves on a windy day, I started to panic and worry that I was not going to be able to attend this massive opportunity. But through some discounts and hard work I was able to go. I will never forget the plane ride to Baltimore. I was so excited that I was unable to sleep or stand still. I waited hours for the captain to say, “We will be arriving shortly. Prepare for landing.” As we landed, I was nervous, but excited to play.

As it was Saturday morning at 5:00 am, I woke up alive and ready to play. I got my gear and clothes together and prepared for a long day of lacrosse games. As we traveled through the cities filled with Oak trees, we finally arrived at the fields. The area was magnificent! It felt like an oasis: perfectly cut grass, nice sunny day, smell of ferns. The day was perfect, but now it was time to play lacrosse and make this the greatest day of my life.

The first game was vs. Laxachuttes, a team from Massachusetts. They were considered the best team to enter the tournament. But I knew we could beat them if we played with our full effort. As the game went on, both teams fought hard.  But from there the game became very close, and ultimately ended with a close loss.

The next game was vs. VLC, a team from Virginia. They were much bigger than us, but also slower. We had to once again try our hardest to outscore our opponent.  The opposing face-off midfielder towered over me like Goliath vs. David. He was much taller and bigger than I was, but that had never stopped me before.

After the first, second, third, and fourth lost face-off, I started to become frustrated and release a side of rage I had never seen before in myself. Then, after the fifth, sixth, seventh loss, not only was I losing the face-off, the refs were making calls against me, making it near impossible to play well. I felt that the refs were on the opposing side on every face-off, almost gifting them the ball. This only added more to my anger, making me feel helpless and emotionally upset. I started to play rough and ended up in the penalty box twice, which was unheard of for me. This also resulted in the opposing team gaining a pretty extensive lead. After seven lost face-offs in a row, I walked out to take the field. Trying to stay calm and collective, I took the eighth face off. The field was silent, to the point you could hear the trees swaying 100 meters away. All that mattered was the whistle. Once the whistle was blown, I once again lost the face-off. In agony and mentally defeated, I ran to the sideline frustrated and enraged with my performance. I started to bicker and scream, “Why Can’t I Win A Face-Off!” My coach turned and said, “Listen, it is going to be fine, you will win the next one.” After he said that I turned and yelled back, “How when he is cheating and beating me in very way. That makes no sense coach.” He swung his head around and said, “You are done for the rest of the game! Never talk back to your coach! Take your gear off and stand quietly.” This felt like being shot by a million bullets. The second I heard the words, “you are done for the rest of the game,” I knew exactly what I had done. I had disrespected my coach even though he was not part of the problem.

I had never been so embarrassed, and disappointed. I remember thinking that I would rather be losing every face-off, than not being able to play. As I stood there watching my teammates once again lose, I not only knew I let them down, but also my parents and coaches. After the game, as tears were running down my face, making puddles on the grass around me, I apologized and promised that I would never do that again. They forgave me and we continued through the tournament.

Even though we lost every game and got last place out of all the teams, in my heart this was the most important tournament so far in my life. They say failing is where you grow, and after that tournament I learned many valuable lessons: Always respect coaches and teachers, never let your emotions get the best of you, and last but certainly not least, always accept failure, because you never know how much it will allow you to grow.

After that day I have completely changed how I take a loss now. I still get upset, but now realize that there are many more face-offs to come. Also, this has shown me now that if I am losing, to never make it a problem for everyone else, especially my coaches. These lessons, are ones that I will value till the day I die.

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