Shame Story

It was Nike cup week. A cool spring day, which was characteristic of the soccer complex. There was cold penetrating winds reminding me of how brutal the 2013/2014 winter was. But still, it was an excellent day for soccer. It was the semifinal round in the tournament and so in the game I was playing in there had to be a winner, no ties. It was a boring game, well boring enough for me not to remember any real details. But never the less the game ended tied at zeros. My whole team knew that winning the penalty shoot out would mean we were off to the finals. And i’m sure every single one of us was stricken with nerve. When my coach approached the bench and asked who felt confident taking a penalty, I firmly raised my hand. I went second , following a perfectly placed shot by my teammate Sean. I felt a strange confidence flowing threw me, it was unexpected. But when i placed the ball on the spot I felt just how much pressure rested on my kick. As I struck the ball i could feel the goalie had read me. Seeing the ball deflect off of his hand was painful. Walking back to the bench i could feel the disappointment from my teammates and coaches. We ended up losing that game and i couldn't get that image of the goalie deflecting my shot out of my head for weeks.