Post 2: Community Post Part II

                The bell rings everyone swarms out the classrooms into the halls, its 3:30 and it is time for practice. I rush to my locker weaving through the thick group of chattering teenagers. The best part of my day is about to begin as I walk to the gym building. I go down into the girl’s locker room, very congested with a very distinct thick smell of perfume and sweat. Once you’re done you sit on the old hard tile floor waiting for a familiar smile. Once the whole team is together, we march out into Skinner Park our cleats making sharp sounds on the ground, as if we were a marching band. Once you get off the concrete it is a sigh relief. No more hard pains in your legs that rooted into the hard flooring up into your legs. The area is filled with large smiles, laughter and discussion of our days and of course drama. We stretch and do our warm-ups, the hard uneven ground we practice on isn’t exactly the best either. The ground is not maintained by anyone. It is torn up you can see by the scars in the ground that the soccer seasons has not treated it well.  By the end of practice, even with a hard work out the sun is still shining and the girls are still smiling.

                To be a part of this community there is one thing you have to enjoy playing soccer. You don’t necessarily have to be the best, the most skillful, or even the fastest. You are there to meet people with a common interest which is the best game in the world, soccer. Also dedication, you have to show up to practices, meetings, games, in order to be a part of this team. To be a member of this team, you must have good grades; get along with your teammates, and to support them on and off the field. The requirement of others is to encourage your community members to strive for the best athletically and academically. You must be able to perform on a high level during games. You must also be disciplined, in order to show respect to not only your teammates but also opposing teams.

                The roles vary for each area of the field you are in, or what position you play. Defense must be able to protect, and feed the ball the offense, to help create or start the attack. Some other roles include good communication help the attackers see space and work their way up, also to set offside traps, which gives us possession of the ball after the opposing team past are 2^nd to last defender without possession ball.  The midfielder position must communicate and support its defenders and attackers. Midfielders must have the most endurance on the team overall. They are the “backbone” of the team. While forwards, like strikers and wings must be able to work together efficiently to get to the other teams eighteen and create shooting possibilities.  

                This community is very supportive of me both on and off the field. I have made many new friends that I know consider some of my best friends and Whitney Young. The thing is this community that I am in isn’t just about soccer; it’s about enjoying yourself with people with a common interest. We can talk about television shows, movies, gossip anything. They make me feel welcomed helping me both improve in academics and tuning my skills, making me a better player. More than anything, this community is making me a better person in the long run.