Sensational Self-Sacrifice
"He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice." ~Henry Taylor
I have played soccer my whole life. During the summer before sixth grade, I joined a CYSA girl's soccer team, the MVLA Cheetahs. My team has lost and gained players throughout the years, but one thing has never changed. No one every wanted to play goalie. It seemed a death sentence for us. When forced into playing goalie most players felt as if they were being punished or demoted. On the rare occasion that we had a slightly injured player, that could walk but not run, she would be enlisted to play the dreaded position.
We began to realize that the resented position was becoming more and more important as the team, and our competition began to improve. The goalie had now become as essential as, or more essential than, a few of the other positions. We also began to learn to use all possible advantages to get an edge over the other team. As goalie, one player was allowed to use their hands, notably known as the biggest positional advantage in soccer. Yet none of us sacrificed ourselves for the good of the team by taking the goalie position. Luckily, we were able to recruit a permanent goalie. We all felt much relieved that we would not be compelled into the loathed position.
Our season went well. We went undefeated and got second place in the league. We owe much of our good record to our goalie. As we reached the end of the season, we began to plan an outline for the upcoming season including all the tournaments in which we wished to participate. Our first tournament was in mid-august, and our goalie was not going to attend. The first tournament of any athletic season is one of the most important because normally it sets the mood and flow for the rest of the season. We needed to get the best possible results in this tournament. We had the whole summer to find a replacement for the weekend. After about a month of asking around, we were still without a goalie for the tournament. We were all worried. If we did not find a goalie in time, someone would be forced into playing once again. After much self-deliberation, I reluctantly decided to offer my efforts as a goalie for the weekend. My coaches quickly agreed, relieved to have the dilemma resolved.
Through out the rest of the summer I trained with a specialized coach and attended a variety of soccer training camps in an attempt to improve my then less than stellar goal keeping skills. By the end of the summer, I felt confident in my newly specialized skills and was ready for the challenge.
The tournament weekend came and went. We lost all four games, and had no chance of continuing onto the finals. Even though the weekend had not gone as we hoped, we enjoyed ourselves and were able to make improvements all around. Many of my teammates and fans were extremely impressed with my ability to play goalie. I was happy to see that my efforts made the difference to them. After returning from her vacation, it turned out that our goalie had injured herself to the extent that she was unable to play for at least four weeks. Even though we were all upset that she was not able to play, I was excited about playing goalie for a few more weeks.
At first, I was only playing goalie to make others happy. Not only did I become happier, because the people I love were happy, but also I found the position on the field that most benefited my team and me. I now abide by the fact that self-sacrifice not only profits the people I am helping, but also me. |
