Blog to Rally for Girls’ Sports Day - How Sports Saved My Life

This is a blog written as a part of NWLC's Blog to Rally for Girls' Sports Day. See all of the Women Talk Sports members' blogs for this cause HERE.

I was a shy little girl. No seriously, I was. I realize that's hard for many of you who know me to believe, but it is true. I took things very personally, cried in my room a lot and preferred to be alone reading my books, drawing sketches and recording good songs from the radio to a blank cassette tape. Without other people around, I couldn't get criticized; I was free to be myself.

I started playing soccer at age four because I wanted to be like my big brother and sister but as my mom puts it, "You were the one picking flowers near the sideline." She thought I would be the "artistic" one. Catherine and Matt were the athletic ones, the natural leaders, the extroverts. I was the nice and sweet people-pleaser. I had natural athletic talent too, but not the assertiveness and confidence to go along with it.

My brother worked hard to make me tougher. When I think of my childhood, I think of my brother and I hanging out - playing catch outside, having sock fights in my parents' room, helping him with his paper route early in the morning. He taught me not to be a tattletale and not to cry when things hurt. He also made me mad pretty often and therefore indirectly taught me how to stand up for myself.

When I was in fourth grade, I tried out for the Five Star Soccer Club even though I was a year younger than most of the other girls. I remember being so intimidated. The head coach Dave was tough as nails, and today I'm reminded of him whenever I see Geno Auriemma. Dave saw no gender, just soccer players. He gave us a speech about what it meant to be on Five Star and how hard it was to make the team. The other girls knew each other, they were loud and boisterous, and they were good. I definitely felt like the underdog.

Somehow I made the team, even though as Dave put it, "You didn't say one word the entire time." I was terrified of saying anything stupid, of doing anything wrong. But I made the team because as Dave put it, "You didn't think you were any good, Annie, but we could see it." I'll never forget those words.

I went from being a substitute outside halfback to a starter, to the one who took the corner kicks, to a roaming stopper whose main goal was to make the other team's striker have to play defense. My strength was that I could run circles around everyone else. I perfected my right foot shot AND my left foot shot, so the striker had to come back and cover me because otherwise I would score. Sometimes I would be all the way up next to the keeper on corner kicks. There wasn't much risk because I had no problem getting back down the field to cover the striker if the ball was cleared. I went from feeling inadequate to feeling NECESSARY.

Do you understand what feeling NECESSARY does for a young girl? I'll tell you what it does. It gives her a sense of SELF WORTH, boosts her SELF ESTEEM and empowers her to pursue her own DREAMS as opposed to giving in to PEER PRESSURE.

Becoming NECESSARY came at the perfect time in my life: junior high. The time when sexual promiscuity is on the rise among your classmates for the first time, the time when people start trying out cigarettes, weed and alcohol, the time when boys are no longer gross and suddenly you are worried - very worried - about what they think.

I wrote something in junior high that only I have ever read. I still have it, 15 or so years later. I still read it when I temporarily forget who I am. Essentially it says, I will not go gentle into that good night. It said while everyone else is busy messing up, I am going to be soaring by them to the top and taking over the world. I said that. Little old me, scared to open her mouth at soccer tryouts, embarrassed that she didn't have the cool cleats, afraid everyone thought she was foolish for thinking she could make Five Star. Me.

I believed in myself. And I still do. And it is because I played sports.

View anngaff's Profile

• Filed Under:  
• Sports, SportsPLUS, Inspiration, Cause/Charity

This post is related to an event on our Calendar:

• Blog to Rally for Girls Sports Day

This post is related to the following ongoing stories:

• Blog to Rally for Girls` Sports Day

There are 3 comments on this post. Join the discussion!

robm says:

Yours is a telling story, Ann. It illustrates perfectly the strength, the confidence that participating in athletics gives to a young girl.

Good work!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 10:26am PST

KeriMikulski says:

Amazing post, Ann!! :) And so true! Thanks for sharing.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 1:41pm PST

anngaff says:

Thanks, Rob and Keri :)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 2:03pm PST