To Win

Winning is truly the best feeling.

When I was in U10

It was the finals

In the playoffs against our rivals, CBS.

The game began

And we scored 10 minutes through

But they countered back with 2 goals

At halftime it was 2-1 CBS.

Our coach told us,

“It’s your game to win”

“We have gotten too far to lose”.

We looked at each other

And believed that we could win.

 However,

Despite our hard work,

They scored again before the water break.

 Again our coach said,

“Don’t stop… don’t give up”

“You can do it. You can do it.”

We looked at each other again.

We believed.

Yes we believed that we could win.

Our opposition had now started playing very defensive

And we came at them will full intentions to score.

For 10 long minutes

We came at them with all that we had.

Finally,

We scored.

We now had 3 minutes left in the half.

We were one down.

Only one down.

We continued,

Yes we continued, with an even more attacking mindset then before.

We played the best our little 10 year old bodies would allow us to.

I asked the ref

After the ball had gone out

For our throw in.

“How much time left”

“One minute” he said.

“We can do it.”

I said to myself

“We can do it.”

We threw the ball into the box

But they cleared it down the field,

…44…43…42…41…40...

We brought it back up to the half

And before I knew it I had the ball,

…36…35…34...33…32…

Instinctively, I beat a player

With a scissors,

…29…28…27…26…

I crossed it into the box,

…24…23…22…21…

Our striker headed it,

…19…18…17…

It ricocheted off the crossbar

And into the air,

…15…14…13…

A green blur redirected the ball

Towards the goal,

…10…9…

The keeper got a hand

Onto the ball,

…7…6…

The ball dropped,

…4…

A green foot

Got a toe on it,

…3…

It rolled

In slow motion,

…2...

And crept over the line,

...1…

Goal!!

Our team celebrated

As the ref froze his watch.

…1...

He pointed to the center circle,

…1…

And CBS pitifully touched the ball

…0…

Full time.

Which meant,

Overtime.

We were so happy when we came off

There was so much joy in that moment alone

It had felt like we had already won.

Our coach again told us,

“You can do it. You can do it.”

“You can win this game.”

We went back on the field again

And I suddenly found myself

With the ball.

I whispered to myself,

“You can do it”

I beat

One,

Two,

Three players.

I took a shot

Holding off a defender

And I fell to the ground.

I saw, in the corner of my eyes,

The ball,

Beat the keeper.

My face was in the grass

But by the reaction off my teammates

I knew I had scored.

CBS had lots of time to score

And tie it back up

But we could see that they were beat

In their eyes.

They did not believe anymore.

Their coach,

Raging on the sideline,

Wanted to abuse his boys,

While ours,

Was as proud as could be.

We finished the overtime with a score off

5-3 Tsunami.

We won as a team because we believed we could.

Even though it was only a small u-10 playoff

In Sebastian Beach, Florida

That was not important to any outsider,

Winning that game taught me an important lesson;

That any team off hardworking individuals that truly have each other’s backs,

Can achieve anything.