My chest was heaving with every frantic breath that I gasped. The air seemed as hot and dry as an Arizona summer day, stealing the moisture from my mouth and leaving me unable to swallow. My head hung low with the weight of my helmet, making the struggle for air even more impossible. The coach looked at us with an unmerciful look as he raised the whistle to his lips yet again, releasing it’s piercing cry. My legs burned and ached, but my mind wouldn’t allow them to give up.

Somehow, I was able to make it to the next line, and as I looked back at where we had started, I had no doubt in my mind that the next run would kill me, but again I made it. That night, when I came home from practice, I thought about the struggle to keep up and a wave of pride came over me. I knew that barely a few months ago, I would have given up in a similar situation. Instead, I persevered and that gave me strength that I never had before. The change I underwent my first year playing football at Cardinal Newman High School was one that would shape my life for the future.

Before high school, I was generally a very unmotivated person. My after-school life consisted of watching TV, playing Xbox, then doing my homework. My mom would have to beg me to go outside and do something active, and I always dreaded it. I was always the last to be picked in sports at school. On the rare occasions I chose to participate, I would take the easy route and put the least amount of effort necessary in everything I did. I never really pushed myself in life, despite my parents’ pleas to get more “passionate” about something. When my mom suggested that I try to play freshman football, I thought she was out of her mind, but my friends finally persuaded me to join. My first day at football was a grueling one; I think I ran more that day then I ever had in my entire life. I contemplated taking the easy way out and quitting, but there was a part of me that wouldn’t allow it. I did something I had never done before: I worked hard without giving up. Every day of the week from January to December, I spent at the least three hours a day at practice after school or, in the off-season, lifting weights and running at five in the morning before school started. Before my days of high school, such activities would have been unheard of and as the season ended and I looked back on it, I felt so proud of myself for pushing through all the conditioning and the hard hours of training.

Football benefited me so greatly, making me both physically, and mentally stronger. I learned how to work hard, to keep pushing myself even when it seemed like the task was impossible. I learned that to be great, you need to push your body to its limits and to not be afraid to give it your all when you do something. Another benefit of football was the friends I made. Being a sport so reliant on teamwork, I developed a bond with all my teammates that helped greatly to make my transition into high school much easier. I had multiple friends in every class, all of whom played football with me. I have kept all these friends throughout my four years at Cardinal Newman and I have no doubt I will keep in contact with them for the rest of my life as well.

My coach always told us that you have to play to the best of your abilities not just for yourself, but also for your teammates around you. Everybody must rely on one another to do their part for the whole team to have success. If one person fails, the entire team fails, so whenever you were in the game, you knew that you had to do your part for your team. This led to a strong sense of camaraderie between myself and my teammates that stayed with us long after the season had ended.

Everyday, I give life as much as I can so that not a day goes by wasted. It is a lot like how my coach would tell me to play every play in the game like it’s my last one. You never know when you won’t have another opportunity, so you need to give every task your best effort. I work hard in my school because there’s only one chance and then I’m stuck with those grades for college. I know that I would regret not working my hardest in school in the future so that is why I always give my best effort in school, football and special projects like my service work at Kid Street School teaching young, underprivileged kids how to play music.

I am sprinting now. I can see the next line ahead of me and I know that I will have to get to it to accomplish my goal. I also know it will be a struggle, and I will need to push my body and mind beyond its limits and find the strength to make it to that next line. Whether it’s college or a job, I will run to that next line and once I’m there, look back at the last line I was on and feel the pride and accomplishment that comes with hard work. As of now, I am running towards the next line in my life that is college, and it will be hard work, but I can see that line up ahead of me and I will keep pushing myself harder until I finally reach it.