The Last Game

Did you know that 81% of children, under the age of 18,  have played at least one organized sport throughout their childhood? 

As a former athlete, I never realized how much my life revolved around sports. Every day throughout my childhood, my life revolved around what time practice was and when I had my next game. I remember my friends would ask me if I wanted to hangout after school and my answer every time was "I can't I have practice". Every weekend was spent with the team driving to our game and overtaking a restaurant in our uniforms after we won. I knew I limited myself from other opportunities by revolving my schedule around sports but in the end I do not regret that the decision. At practice and games, I would physically and mentally push myself as an athlete and as a person. I learned what it meant to be apart of a team. They saw me at my best and at my worst and stood beside me through thick and thin. We would go hours on end training, running, and pushing each other to become better. We understood that even though we were hard on each other, we only did it to make the other better. All of the bruises and sore muscles were worth the agony to reach the point of ending a game and looking over to see your teammates celebrating a close win. Nothing felt better then looking up at the clock and seeing only a few seconds left while you are up by 1 point, knowing that in a few seconds you will have won the antagonizing game. The best sound was not hearing the fans cheering for your team in the crowd, but hearing just that one special person, your mom or dad, cheering for you even when you lost. It was more then being "apart of the team" to me; it was being apart of a family. 

The game became a part of me. I never realized that until it was over. As an athlete the worst day of your life is the day the games and practices end. You never know which game will be your last and until that day, you take every other day for granted. You don't realize that every practice, team meeting, pasta dinner or game is just another day closer to having it all come to an end. Looking back now, I regret not running harder on our last sprint in practice, or diving to save the ball with only a few seconds left. I regret not appreciating my coach yelling at us to work harder because, little did we know, he knew what it feels like when it all comes to an end. I cannot explain in words how it feels to have something so significant in your life disappear but I urge you current athletes to appreciate what you have now, because everyday is just a day closer to the hardest day of your life; the last game.