I believe that hard work beats talent because I wasn’t always gifted with talent. For example, in soccer I wasn’t always the greatest player, I would always have trouble on the field and would never get any playing time until I decided to turn things around.

I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old, my mom had put me on a recreational team where the competition was non-existent. The kids were just playing for fun and didn’t really care about winning or losing. I really cared about winning because I am very competitive even to this day. For 4 years I was one of the best players on the team and many of my teammates relied on me to score, I did just that and managed to take my team to the finals. On the day of the finals, a competitive coach came to watch the game and saw that I was dominating the whole game. When the game was over he came to me and asked to play for his team. I was very excited because I never thought I would ever be playing at a different level but in order to make the team, I had to go to a tryout. I was very nervous because I had never actually tried out for a team. When I arrived there were so many talented players I couldn’t believe it. It was hard for me to realize how bad I really was and was nowhere near their level. 

To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to make the team, but I ended up making it because the coach really wanted me but the players on the team didn’t. I assumed that because I had made the team I would get to play in games but boy I was wrong. I performed terribly in almost every game. I played and would only get 5 minutes of playing time per game, maybe 10 if we were winning. My coach was really disappointed in me because I couldn’t compete at a higher level and I knew I had to put in the work to get better. In order to get better, I had to get more playing time so my mom decided to put me in another team that needed players because they weren’t the best team but I was guaranteed playing time. I would practice every single day and play every weekend which meant no days off, and the results were amazing. I was getting in better shape and it especially gave me the confidence to play my game. I would then carry my team on to the finals and win it. My coach from the second team I joined was so proud of me and gave me the MVP for the season. I was very excited and happy because of my performances on the pitch and many teams contacted me to play for their teams. I felt very overwhelmed but I had to do what was best for me.

When I returned to my competitive team, my coach saw that I had gotten so much better since then. He finally gave me a chance on being in the starting 11 on the team. My team and I would go on to win so many tournaments and would go play out of state. Unfortunately, my team had to split up and I had nowhere to go but my coach had connections to other teams like an academy where only the best of the best players go. I was really excited but I knew I wasn’t quite there yet athletically, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. On the day of the tryouts, I was super nervous and went in not very confident at all. The competition was on a completely different level, way better than I was expecting but then again it was one of the best academies in California. The tryouts were for 2 days and I honestly didn’t think I did my best or even deserved to be on this team but the coach asked me to come another day and that day we played a full-field scrimmage. During the game, I could really see my weaknesses. I was really not fit at all for that high level of soccer which was also very difficult for me to keep up. When the scrimmage was over the coach gave me an amazing evaluation on what I needed to improve on and what I did well on but I, unfortunately, did not make the team which was okay because it was an amazing learning experience and I was only 13 years old. He did recommend me to join other academies out there but they just weren’t good enough and the price was way too high so I went on the search for a new team.

I found a new team that my friend played for who needed players and they were pretty good; they just needed a leader. I was very nervous meeting new people and just stepping in so I needed to earn their respect. In order to earn their respect, I had to be a leader which was hard because at the same time I needed to do really well on the field. I had the opportunity to play for this team for 3 years, during those years I put in the work and got better. We had a strong solid team but towards the end of the time, most of my teammates realized that there was no room for improvement because of the lack of coaching. This caused the majority of them to find new clubs to join, leaving me where I was at the beginning, with no team. 

Luckily once again my mom found a new team that was at a high level, something better for me as a player. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and even some days I don’t want to go to practice because I get intimidated by how strict and disciplined the coach is. I’ve never had that kind of coaching before in my whole life and every day I have to remind myself how important it is in order to play college ball and how I have to put in hard work regardless of the talent I have picked up in the last few years. With hard work, I get better and better every day and that is why I believe hard work beats talent.