Daniel deRoosUWRT 1101Sept. 21, 2015Professor ArnoldLiteracy Narrative - SoccerGrowing up with two older siblings has always had an effect on my life through the form of competition. Most things that we did together growing up, was playing sports. I have an older sister, whos 18 months older than me, and an older brother, whos 4 years older. Being the youngest, I watched them play soccer for many years and learned from the mistakes that they or their teammates made on the field. When I started to play, back in 2001 when I was 4, I was a fast learner because I self-taught myself by going to siblings games and watching them play. I loved the idea of scoring goals instead of saving them. I started my career of becoming literate in soccer by playing the position of striker. When on a team, I would have as much fun as I could, and score goals one after another. The reasons that I scored so many goals was due to playing in the yard against my defender siblings who were better than me at the time. I learned from the mistakes I made dribbling or running by them. I pushed myself to be better and stronger than them thanks to competition. I have always like the idea of coaches and other players knowing who I am on the field. There was once a game where a coach told a player to never leave my side. I ended up scoring 3 goals during that game because I pushed myself to keep scoring and show the coach that it will not be that easy. My siblings helped me so much in letting that moment come true. To this day, we are all still competitive towards one another and strive to make the others stronger in any way, shape, or form. Thanks to them, I played soccer and have loved it so much because it is a great way to bond with them and cherish the memories that we had together. My teammates also had a positive effect on me through competition by becoming friends with them. Through becoming friends, this allowed me to work alongside them nicely and end up with a win. Having excellent communication on and off the field with my teammates let me play at a level that seems to me as unstoppable. Their willingness to communicate with me made my gameplay so much better and enhance my skills and thought process to play the sport I love. My dad was the biggest reason that I have become so advanced and literate in soccer. Through coaching and support along many years I have played, he has never left my side. My dad has been involved directly with my soccer teams for club soccer for my entire soccer club career. Being a coach or manager for my team he has been there to support me and my team no matter what. As well as being my coach, he also helped to coach my siblings soccer teams. While he helped them to develop their skills, he help me more because I have more of a natural ability for any sport compared to them. With my dad coaching my soccer teams over the many years I have played, he has taught me many skills and techniques to better my game for the sport. Hours upon hours of running, sweating, and repetition of drills, my skills have been honed to the best they can be. When my dad was in high school, he was on the soccer team there as well as baseball and basketball. He taught me everything that he learned as well as pursuing me to work on my first touch, weight of a pass, and to be unselfish with the ball. With his help, I have become so much smarter and wiser about soccer and my literacy in it. There is no one I would rather have to push me harder and farther than I have ever gone before. Being the coachs son was always something that I was very aware of when he coached me. Normally in the experiences that I have seen, the coachs sons or daughters are below the average level of play, but are still on the team because their parent coaches the team. I strived to be the best one on the field to be the exception to that thought. While I loved my dad being coach, it pushed me to become greater and to never be thought that I was only on the team because of my father. Along with being a great coach, my dad was always a huge supporter of my school career for middle and high school. I played middle school soccer and high school soccer for the maximum number of years I was able to play. With 6th graders not being allowed to play any sports, I started in 7th grade and progressed all the way to a senior in high school. My dad came to every one of my games that he could, if his work travel schedule did not overlap. When I scored or did a really good play, my coach would cheer and congratulate me, fans would clap and cheer, but my dad was always the loudest and the one I heard most of the time. With his cheering, it made me better by trying harder to score again or make another good play again and again to get the cheers of the fans and my father. After my games, we would talk about how the game went and what I did well, and what I did not do as well in. This exchanging of information and communication between my father and I was a time that we really bonded. In order for me to have become literate in the sport that I love, I needed money. Thats where my dad pulled through for me by helping to pay for soccer cleats, jerseys, bags, tape, and accessories for soccer that I needed. For me it was hard to become literate if I did not have cleats or shin guards. My dad has invested a lot of money for me to play soccer over the 14 plus years that I have been playing. Being able to buy a new pair of cleats when the ones I was using busted or tore, or driving me to and from practice as well as games, and the time he used for helping me to advance my skills was the best thing he could do for. He gave up so much time for me to be happy and Im eternally grateful for all he has given up. My physique has allowed me to create opportunities to hone my skills and better myself and stand out amongst other players. Endless hours running around neighborhoods and along streets built my cardio to be very good. I have always enjoyed running because it would keep me healthy, but also let me blow off steam by giving me time to think about situations. I was/am in great shape which makes me happy and strive to enjoy life without having to worry about a weight problem. By working out, running or walking, I have been healthy for my whole life. With me being healthy a lot compared to being sick, I can practice and play more soccer and better my skills by performing more drills or playing scrimmages against friends, family, or teammates.A Thursday night, lights are on the Steve Rankin Memorial field, music blaring as the two teams facing each other start warming up for the long 90 minute game. The smell of the freshly cut green grass and the coolness of the air rushed over my body raising goosebumps all over. After warm ups, the announcement of the starting players where I was the first to always be called for my team. And for your home team, the Lake Norman Wildcats! Blaring over the speakers. Senior defender number 20, Danny deRoos. The sweat dripping down my back as I run towards center field, turn, and high five my teammates when they come join me. Singing the National Anthem out loud and getting hype for the game right after. The whistle to kick off the game blows and we all play or watch the game we love and have become literate in, thinking as one and not eleven. The tackles into opponents, smart plays and passes to teammates, and focusing on the skills I have learned throughout my many years coming together for me to be the best that I can be. Literacy in Soccer, my favorite sport.