A Soccer Weekend in Vegas

Before:

I am currently on the plane to Las Vegas for a soccer tournament. It’s not just a normal soccer tournament, though. This is the last time my team is ever playing together because everyone is going off to high school season and then college. There have been a lot of “lasts” for our team recently, which for some reason, have really spiked my anxiety even though I have seen them coming for a while. Going into this weekend, I have already put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in our games. For some reason, this being our last soccer tournament together is making me anxious and I am putting unnecessary pressure on myself to play well. I don’t know why. I know this is a team sport and especially this weekend, it is all about the team. However, I can’t shake the extra load of pressure I feel. I am going to check in again after the weekend to see how it goes. I am hoping I play with confidence and keep in mind that we are playing for the team as a whole, not just individuals. I need to live in the moment, and live every moment, and keep in mind that this is not our last time being together, it’s just the last time we are going to be playing soccer together. See you guys in a few days!

After:

I just got home from the trip to Las Vegas and let me tell you, it exceeded my expectations! Although it is really sad that this is the end of our team, the weekend was so fun and the soccer was so good that it made the ending a lot easier. We hung out and had a really great time together, I really enjoyed hanging out with all of my teammates. We played really well as a team and I tried not to focus on me individually during the games, but looking back at it, I think I played pretty well, which is a great bonus. This weekend was a huge success not only because our team did well and we had fun, but because I was anxious about the weekend so I came up with a game plan, stuck to it, and it worked and really helped me! It was really exciting to see that happen and I’m glad I documented it here for me to look back at and remind myself of this and to show others that it’s okay to be anxious about something coming up, but that they can get through it just like I did! I am feeling overall very satisfied and fulfilled. I have high school soccer tryouts coming up this week, so it will be a busy and tiring week, but I am excited. I am glad I was able to document this weekend. It is definitely a weekend I won’t forget. Thanks for tagging along!

– Avery