Title: Forced into sports

Draft #1: 

For many people sports has always been a passion and the same is for myself, but it didn’t come as easy for me. Flashback to August 2010, The year I was forced to start a sport that I did not like. The sport was football, all of my teammates were eager to start and excited for the season, then there was myself who was in tears begging my dad to let me quit after just a week of practice. The one quote I remember from this early on in my childhood from my dad is “Once you start something, you finish it.” This made me stick out the rest of the three month season. This quote is always something I remember and cherish that he made me stick it out that year.

In early November of 2010 my season of football had come to an end. At the end of the last game I was leaving the stadium with my dad and the only emotion I could let you was to cry. My dad was wondering why I was so upset and was trying to console me but I was sad the season was over. From this point on I knew football was my favorite sport. I kept begging my dad to sign me up for football instead of other sports when it was only spring time and football was only in the fall. 

I had always said from a young age that I would play football in college. When I was younger I did not realize how little of a percentage actually went on to play collegiate football let alone collegiate sports in general. But knowing that percentage made me want to work harder to complete my goal.

I ended up losing the love for football at the end of my senior year in high school, I wanted nothing to do with football after that season. I planned on attending a big college and maybe being in the stands watching football games. But I got a phone call one day from the head coach at the University of New England offering me a roster spot on the team. After careful consideration I got back to him quickly with excitement because he was the only coach to take a chance on me and want me to play for him.

Title: Forced into sports

Draft #2: 

For many people sports has always been a passion and the same is for myself, but it didn’t come as easy for me. Flashback to August 2010, The year I was forced to start a sport that I did not like. The sport was football, all of my teammates were eager to start and excited for the season, then there was myself who was in tears begging my dad to let me quit after just a week of practice. The one quote I remember from this early on in my childhood from my dad is “Once you start something, you finish it.” This made me stick out the rest of the three month season. This quote is always something I remember and cherish that he made me stick it out that year.

In early November of 2010 my season of football had come to an end. At the end of the last game I was leaving the stadium with my dad and the only emotion I could let you was to cry. My dad was wondering why I was so upset and was trying to console me but I was sad the season was over. From this point on I knew football was my favorite sport. I kept begging my dad to sign me up for football instead of other sports when it was only spring time and football was only in the fall. 

I had always said from a young age that I would play football in college. When I was younger I did not realize how little of a percentage actually went on to play collegiate football let alone collegiate sports in general. But knowing that percentage made me want to work harder to complete my goal. My dreams were to go to a big division one school like Notre Dame or Boston College. But I realized in high school that it was harder than I thought it would be.

Entering high school I was always one of the bigger players, and with that I had made varsity in my first year. I was playing a little bit on Friday nights at the varsity level but I was also playing with the sub varsity team usually the day after. Entering my second year of high school I was named a two way starter playing both offense and defense. This trend continued into my third and fourth year of high school. During my fourth year I was named captain of the team and later earned all conference recognition.

I ended up losing the love for football at the end of my senior year in high school, I wanted nothing to do with football after that season. The whole reason I lost the love for the sport was mainly because of a poor experience from a coach. This was mainly because of the relationship we had and how unhealthy it was. My high school coach refused to help me get recruited to college football, so I was forced to do it on my own. Being able to learn the skill of professional communication at an earlier age than most was very difficult at the time but beneficial for my future.

I planned on attending a big college and maybe being in the stands watching football games. But I got a phone call one day from the head coach at the University of New England offering me a roster spot on the team. After careful consideration I got back to him quickly with excitement because he was the only coach to take a chance on me and want me to play for him.

At the start of my college career I had struggled a lot with being able to understand the plays and move at a faster pace than high school. By my second year I had finally figured out what I was doing and was able to compete at a high level. During preseason camp of my second year I had torn ligaments in my shoulder and this put me out for the remainder of the season. This was my first time being faced with a season ending injury in the sport I loved. I worked as hard as I could to get back on the field for the next season. This hard work paid off as I was named a week one starter going into my third year of college.

Playing football in college has been nothing but challenges but being able to fulfill my childhood dreams has made up for all of that. Challenges faced have created more drive in myself to set me up for success post graduation. I have been set up to have a strong work ethic, and be able to come up with solutions to overcome challenges in my own life. Having these skills gives me excitement for what my future holds in a future career.

Title: Forced into sports

Draft 3: 

For many people sports has always been a passion and the same is for myself, but it didn’t come as easy for me. Flashback to August 2010, The year I was forced to start a sport that I did not like. The sport was football, all of my teammates were eager to start and excited for the season, then there was myself who was in tears begging my dad to let me quit after just a week of practice. The one quote I remember from this early on in my childhood from my dad is “Once you start something, you finish it.” This made me stick out the rest of the three month season. This quote is always something I remember and cherish, that he made me stick it out that year. 

In early November of 2010 my first season of football had come to an end. At the end of the last game I was leaving the stadium with my dad and the only emotion I could let out was to cry. My dad was wondering why I was so upset and was trying to console me but I was sad the season was over. From this point on I knew football was my favorite sport. I kept begging my dad to sign me up for football instead of other sports when it was only spring time and football was only in the fall. So the waiting game had begun until I could get back on the field.

I had always said from a young age that I would play football in college. When I was younger I did not realize how little of a percentage actually went on to play collegiate football let alone collegiate sports in general. But knowing that percentage made me want to work harder to complete my goal. My dreams were to play at a big division one school like Notre Dame or Boston College.I had realized early in high school that it was harder than I thought it would be. But it just made me want to work harder.

At the end of my middle school football season I played on a best of Massachusetts team. I was named a starter for this team just after a few practices. I knew from the start I really had no business being on that team. More than half the team already had big division one scholarship offers in the 8th grade. With this it gave me exposure to just about every big name private school in Massachusetts. I decided to attend public school instead and play with my friends who I started out playing with from the beginning. 

Entering high school I was always one of the bigger players, and with that I had made varsity in my first year. I was playing a little bit on Friday nights at the varsity level but I was also playing with the sub varsity team usually the day after. Entering my second year of high school I was named a two way starter playing both offense and defense. This trend continued into my third and fourth year of high school. During my fourth year I was named captain of the team and later earned all conference recognition.

I ended up losing the love for football at the end of my senior year in high school, I wanted nothing to do with football after that season. The whole reason I lost the love for the sport was mainly because of a poor experience from a coach. This was mainly because of the relationship we had and how unhealthy it was. My high school coach refused to help me get recruited to college football, so I was forced to do it on my own. Being able to learn the skill of professional communication at an earlier age than most was very difficult at the time but beneficial for my future.

I planned on attending a big college and maybe being in the stands watching football games. But I got a phone call one day from the head coach at the University of New England offering me a roster spot on the team. After careful consideration I got back to him quickly with excitement because he was the only coach to take a chance on me and want me to play for him. Knowing that there was only one coach at the next level to give me the opportunity, I knew it was meant to be.

At the start of my college career I had struggled a lot with being able to understand the plays and move at a faster pace than high school. By my second year I had finally figured out what I was doing and was able to compete at a high level. During preseason camp of my second year I had torn ligaments in my shoulder and this put me out for the remainder of the season. This was my first time being faced with a season ending injury in the sport I loved. I worked as hard as I could to get back on the field for the next season. This hard work paid off as I was named a week one starter going into my third year of college. But the struggles only began after the first week. I ended up not playing as much after I had a bad game in the first week.

Playing football in college has been nothing but challenges but being able to fulfill my childhood dreams has made up for all of that. Challenges faced have created more drive in myself to set me up for success post graduation. I have been set up to have a strong work ethic, and be able to come up with solutions to overcome challenges in my own life. Having these skills gives me excitement for what my future holds. If I was not forced into sticking with football at a young age I do not think I would have gained the skills I have gained.

Phase 2:

7-10 Questions:

• What are some of the memories from sports you will carry forever?

• How does it feel to be entering your last year of football?

• What are some of the injuries you have faced in your sports career?

• How did you overcome being sidelined with injuries?

• What is some advice you would give to your past self about sports?

• What does your path to getting into sports writing or coaching look like?

• What emotions have you been faced with when watching your favorite professional teams?

• Did your brothers ever continue sports careers?

Outline:

Zak background introduce how he got into sports

Common theme of his life is sports

Quote from his dad Andrew

Talk about his parents divorce and how he brought it to sports

Memories and friendships he has made along the way

Favorite high school sports memory/ College sports memory

Zak quote.

Sports haven’t always been perfect for zak has faced injuries

Zak quote.

Wants to get into coaching or sports writing

The games he has played has shaped him into who he is now.

Reflection:

What went well with this project was my ability to present and report on my subject. I think this was important to me because I was able to get more in depth with speaking in front of the whole class and creating a presentation. One thing I would have changed was the story I gave on Zak. I think I could have done a better job with presenting him. If I were to do this again I would add in more detail about what led him to enjoying sports and how his favorite teams to watch have impacted the way he views sports. One thing that surprised me was how comfortable I was with presenting in front of the class. Usually I am more nervous and tend to use filler words such as um. Overall I thought this project was very fun because I was able to learn more about someone and be able to get some sort of real life experience by doing a presentation in front of the whole class.

youtube link:

After reviewing the video of my presentation, I think I had great tone with presenting. Some of the things I think I could work on is having a better flowing presentation. I also think I could be able to move a little bit more instead of standing in one place. Overall I think I gave a good presentation but was not my best. Some of the things I need to work on are taking the filler words out and having the presentation flow better.