Soccer had been a passion for me during my whole life. Although I have never wanted to become a professional player, I enjoyed every single pass, every single kick, and every single goal I scored when playing. When my High School years started, without ambivalence, I decided to try out for Immaculata-La Salle’s team, and the rest is all history.
“If you want to be part of this team, you gotta show up to every practice and be willing to leave all your guts on the field!” Coach San Miguel said to us on the first day. “If you are coming only to receive a jacket with your name, then you are in the wrong place,” he added.
Jorge San Miguel was a 55-year-old, La Salle alumni who looked like the typical movie football coach. He was about my height, had grayish hair, and by looking at facial characteristics, in addition to his name, one could easily tell he had Hispanic heritage. He would scream at everybody for any single mistake one did, regardless of what extent. That was when I learnt that he loved ruling over others, and that he had an inner desire for winning, no matter what risks it could take. He would make fun of any player at any time, and the rest of team would have no other option besides following the joke, as nobody wanted to see him madly furious.
After an intense month of conditioning, the day of the player selection came. Stress all over the place, people with nervous faces, and excitement all over the field. I was no exception. At the same time I was excited to know if I made it into the team, I was also afraid of not making it even after all the effort and hours of practice I have given. Coach Richard, a tall, dark skinned man brought to the team on that season, was naming the players, and my name wasn’t being said. When all hope seemed lost, the last name he said was, “Agustin Cardano.” To our surprise, San Miguel called off that day’s practice, giving us more reasons to be celebrate. However, what seemed to be a cheerful ending, turned out to be eradicated completely.
“Can’t you make a pass right, Ebola?” San Miguel yelled at me one day. By then, I had acquired that nickname because of one time I was sick and when I returned to train, apparently, I looked like a guy who just came back from death. Assigning alias to players was a way such coach would make fun of us, and I have to admit, some of them were hilarious.
Workouts and games would go by, and there would be no time in which Coach would be proud or at least not mad at me. All that my season was mainly formed by giving all my effort to unsuccessfully improve, Jorge’s mean jokes and being benched on all games. I would be asked to go to games as far as Fort Lauderdale, FL, with big hopes that I would play good, but at the end, I wouldn’t even have time on the field. If I didn’t go, then he would get mad at me on practice and make me do extra work because of it, so I had no other choice than going.
I had nobody to talk to and I had no idea how to solve the riddle. If I quitted, I would have been judged as a loser who just joined the team for the jacket. If I stayed, that would mean to waste many hours a day on the field trying to develop skills, that with my situation, would be hard to accomplish.
After reflecting on what would I do, for an unknown reason, a special day came to my mind, a day in which I ignored a special call for a vocation. It consisted of the first time of soccer conditioning, in which something unexpected happened to me. The coaches made the players run a mile around the track, in other words, 4 laps around it. I have never done such task in my life, meaning that I had no experience and didn’t know what to expect from me.
We were split into two groups of about 20 people, a considerable number for such long race. With my heart pounding and my legs shaking, I heard Coach San Miguel screaming, “On your marks, set, go!”
First lap passed, and for everybody’s astonishment, I was in first place. I could feel my legs burning and my mouth in need of water. I could feel all the adrenaline going through my veins and the sweat rolling down my face. I wondered if the following laps would feel the same way.
I could see I was on the lead for a significant distance of about 200 meters, and feeling with enough energy to continue running, I didn’t settle for that. I continued running with all my efforts, feeling like every fiber in my legs, mind, and heart were turning into steel. For the first time in my life, I felt I was embracing the pain, allowing it to push myself from where I used to be to where I needed to be.
All of a sudden, I realized I was a 100 meters away from the finish line, and nobody in front of me. I had overlapped many players, something that impressed both me and the spectators. I sprinted as fast as I could, unintentionally closing my eyes and moving my arms back and forth very aggressively. After those long, unending seconds, I realized I finally did it, I reached the finish line. I felt empty, like if all I had before the race, was left on the track, with every single step taken. I was experiencing a series of feelings related to pride, while at the same time I was desperate to catch my breath. Up to that day, I had never realized how good cold water felt after a great exercise. Feeling it going down your throat meanwhile the drops of sweat were dripping all over my body.
Everywhere I looked, teammates discussing about me and congratulating me for the way I ran that day. I couldn't understand what they were saying, as I felt like I was swimming in an aquarium and the water around me didn't allow me to listen clearly to the audience. However, I knew one thing for sure. The sound of the clapping made me realize that I did something very good that day, something that I had never done before, and I was proud of it.
After I recovered, San Miguel with another coach came over to me, both with surprised faces.
“You know you just did a 5:54 mile, right? That’s 1 minute and 30 seconds faster than an average Freshman should do,” Jorge said. “This is Coach Eddie, and he is in charge of the Track and Field and Cross Country teams,” he said pointing at a man of about 50 years-old, with a beard and La Salle sports outfit.
“Agustin, have you ever been a runner?” Eddie said.
“No Coach, I had never ran in my life,” I answered while I was still trying to catch my breath. “You know that you have great talent, and I think you would be great in my team,” he said with a smile on his face.
“Sorry Coach, but I am not looking forward into getting on another team other than Soccer. The seasons are too close together and I want to focus on only one sport. If I change my mind I will contact you,” I said, an answer that now years later, I regret.
After reflecting on this event, I realized Soccer wasn’t my sport, that I was given the gift of running. I went up to Eddie’s office and briefly I said, “Coach, I want to run.”
That marked the beginning of my new life as a runner. I wasn’t a soccer player anymore, but a member of a family in which everybody cared for one another. I would eventually become the captain of the team, participating every year in more events and currently holding a school record for the 2 miles with a time of 11 minutes 4 seconds. Now that I see the positive change such race had in my life, I value it more than the day I achieved it. I feel even more proud of it, considering it like a sign from God that such decision led me into the right way.
I will never forget the moment when my current coach and teammates looked at me when I finished the race on such outstanding time. The way his mouth moved when saying that I had great talent for running meanwhile I was trying to catch my breath after the big challenge.
I learnt that one must try all kinds of activities and adventures in life. Our time on Earth isn’t infinite, meaning we have to discover at one point our talents by trying new things. I totally regret not trying out running before because if I would, my current performance would be much better. Now this event made me see the value of trying new things regardless of the feeling that I won’t be good at it. Without attempting, one would never be able to find out one’s true talents.