As the weather changes and I find myself back in Maine for the Fall season for the first time in four years, I was instantly hit with a slew of memories from youth and high school soccer. There was nothing better than our local Fall tournament, complete with spraying our hair to match our team colors. But, what I miss most of all were the rivalry games.
If you’ve ever played sports, you know what I’m talking about. These were the games that your heart was pounding from the moment you woke up to the moment you stepped onto the field. On these days, music was played louder, warm-ups were taken more seriously, and nobody could seem to stand still. That feeling is incredible.
In college, we didn’t necessarily have rivalries, per se. There were most definitely competitive games that we got amped up for, but nothing like in high school. My teammates at Slippery Rock were from the general area (I consider 3-4 hours from home general) and got to play against friends and people that they had grown up playing against. That was one of my only regrets about going to school so far from home, I loved playing against people I knew. (The other regret was that it was really hard to surprise your mom when the drive home took 12 hours and she could track your location.)
Over the course of my pre-college career, I played for four different teams. Maine is not known for having a lot of soccer clubs (a reason I eventually left to play for a New Hampshire club), so I got to play against the same people over and over again, whether it was town or club soccer. Due to this lack of clubs, I also got the opportunity to play with a lot of these girls at least once as we all moved around teams. With friendships and rivalries established, high school soccer became infinitely more fun.
I was most definitely that player who was talking to my friends on the other team during games and laughing in between subs or throw-ins, only to knock them to the ground seconds later as we battled for possession. It feels wrong to talk about rivalries without mentioning Greely. There’s a special place in my heart for our games against them and win or lose, they were always my favorite. No doubt that the girls on that team made it as fun as it was.
When I finished high school, people constantly told me that I was going to miss high school games more than anything. At the time, I believed that they were full of shit. After all, the next level surely must be more exciting. In the end, we were both right. There were games that I’ll never forget from college (like my senior day) and there were games – usually rivalries – from high school that I’ll always wish I could go play again.
To those of you who are lucky enough to still be in it, try and get some perspective before your games. One of the worst parts of big games is that very often they’re over before you know it. If you’re anything like me, I only seemed to remember bits and pieces. So if you’re waiting to be called into the starting line-up before a huge game, take a deep breath, think about how fucking excited you are, and bask in that feeling.
High school games hit different for sure. Good times.
I’ll never forget scoring against Cape and jumping into your arms and you collapsing to the ground because I had like 5 inches on you. Miss those games still everyday!
I’ve got that picture somewhere, I’ll have to post it. Pretty sure my back bent in a way it wasn’t supposed to that day!
Ty!!! You articulated these feelings so well! It’s so weird being home late August and fall for the first time in four years, but with no FGS or FYSA. This time of year in Maine is reminding me of all the mems we had! Makes me feel like I should be at soccer practice, a game or team din right now, or even selling gold cards!! Miss you, buddy!
Marcy, thank you so much! I miss you too! Such good memories, wish we could go back.
Honestly, as someone who never got to pursue a collegiate career in soccer, I still connect with this so deeply. This hit the exact feeling in terms of the excitement and energy in high school sports. I remember on days when I played against rival teams or even teams I was just really familiar with (even good friends with) that I seemed to have way more adrenaline and my performance would peak. I miss that sense of fire that burned in me on those game days. I remember during my last high school game, we were losing in a district playoff game and I wanted to win so badly. I refused to anticipate this would be my last competitive moment in soccer. I couldn’t take my eyes off the clock, but with every second it counted down my view grew blurrier (because of tears). I knew there was no way my team would be able to have some crazy comeback in the last 10 seconds. I could feel my soccer career ending. I could literally see it with every tick of the clock. When the buzzer went off I remember that I just sat down on the field. Tears. I didn’t want to leave. And truly, it’s really odd to reflect back on the days I played competitively, I hate that those days feel so distant now. I spent ages 3-18 playing soccer religiously. I engulfed myself into club teams. I remember when it was indoor season, I played on 3 different teams because I never wanted to stop. I never wanted that fire and passion to burn out. And truly, when I read your post, I felt a little bit of that flame again. I connected so much with your words. Sorry for the long ramble, but your post made me feel! Keep going, I look forward to reading more.
Wow. I’m so glad you connected with this so much. Thank you for sharing!