I love soccer. I have been playing the sport ever since I could walk, and throughout my youth I always knew that when I entered high school, I would be met with a difficult challenge regarding which team I would represent: Beachside, the club team that I’ve been playing for since I was 9 years old, or the Staples High School team. Due to the many amazing connections I made with Beachside and believing that sticking with the club would be best for my development as a player, I chose to stick with them.
Thus far, I am more than happy with my decision; playing at a high level alongside some of my best friends from different parts of the Tri-state area has brought me great joy, but there have certainly been in-school challenges that I have run into through playing a sport competitively for a team not affiliated with Staples.
Firstly, since Beachside competes in a top league that holds multiple tournaments and showcases across the country throughout the year, players like myself miss a heaping amount of school. To make matters more difficult, playing for a team not representing Staples means that missing school for soccer doesn’t count as “Athletic Dismissal,” so my absence tab on PowerSchool is beginning to put up 2012 Lionel Messi numbers. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know what I’m signing up for by playing with Beachside and I have created some of my best childhood memories that I will forever be thankful for, but telling your teachers that you will get caught up on everything that you missed when you get back is easier said than done; especially when it is five days worth of the AP Gov Linkage Institutions unit.
Another inevitable experience for athletes who play a club sport is being asked why we don’t play for Staples, which will frequently be followed by the questioning of our school spirit. Though it is true that sometimes I feel like I lack some Staples spirit for not representing the Wreckers athletically, the real answer is simply because I am not allowed to, and even if I was, the schedules of the two teams conflict to the point where I would physically be unable to play for both.
Even after the school year ends, Beachside remains in full swing. In fact, the most important part of our season comes after Staples’ final bell of the school year rings. In under a month, just one day after the last day of school, my team and I will depart to Nashville for the playoffs; during this trip, I won’t have to worry about having to make up any missed tests or completing assignments the night before a game. Instead, I will have to explain to my friends that I won’t be able to attend the ‘First Day of Summer’ pool party, but I will get caught up with everything I missed when I get back. Déjà vu.
Despite some of the aforementioned hurdles in school that come with playing for a team not affiliated with Staples, my experiences playing for Beachside have been extremely valuable to my development as both a person and a player. From Maryland, to Arizona, to Texas, to California, to Toronto and soon, Tennessee, competing with Beachside all over North America have been experiences that I will cherish forever. Through reflecting on these memories and appreciating what I have been able to do by playing for this club, it is clear to me that the above-stated obstacles are only extremely minor inconveniences when put in comparison to everything Beachside has given me, both on and off the field.
