Ella Malanga 

Rose

ENG 160-29 

9/12/2019

Draft

 

Turning It Around

For the past 10 years of my life, lacrosse has been (at the center) the center of it. I was born and raised in a family that values sports, and everything that comes with it. I was also raised as a strong individual. These two as a combination turned me into a competitive, hard working player, who had no problem mouthing off. Although I had no problem with making comments to players and referees, it actually was quite the problem. As you get older, the sports become more serious, and the stakes become higher. The sport becomes more about getting recruited and getting your statistics higher, then being young and having fun. Since my dream was to play a college sport, I knew I had to make a change in my play and behaviour. 

I think it all began when I had my mom as my coach from first to eighth grade. Being that she was (a part of my family) my mom, realistically< delete word I knew I could do and say whatever I want, and (without suffering consequences) I wouldn’t suffer the consequences that anyone else would. Since this went on for years, and my own mom wouldn’t typically bench me or yell at me like she would with anyone else, it became a habit for me to say what was on my mind. My travel coach has always been a huge mentor to me. She went to college for four years, played lacrosse successfully, won two championships, as well as being a captain for two of those years. She had an amazing job, and was the manager of my travel lacrosse program. Since she was someone I looked up to, I valued her opinion more than most people. She knew more about lacrosse then most people, so when she told me the following i listened. My coach told me that I had the talent and skills to play in college, but that my sportsmanship and attitude would turn college coaches off. After this, I started to do some research. What i< found was that the number one thing coaches looked for, was a positive attitude on and off the field. This immediately concerned me… (chapter 2)

As I said before, I have always wanted to play lacrosse in college. I wanted to be recruited, and know where i< was going earlier than everyone else. So, one day I told my coach I would do whatever I could to change my play. It was not the easiest thing to do. As they say, old habits die hard, and this was a good 7 year old habit of having a big mouth. My goal was to become better at controlling how i< play and talk. My first consequence, was push ups every time I made a comment or fouled someone. Being that I hated doing push ups, I slowly started watching how I acted at practice so that I could avoid facing the punishment doing the consequence. Before I knew it, i was playing a little cleaner. 

 

It seems like it just came that easy, and i thought that it did. At the end of the summer, my first official tournament, my attitude was put to the test. As easy as it was to remember in practice to behave, when my coach was right next to me and could make me do stuff at any time, it was harder to remember during a game. As usual I didn’t keep my mouth closed, and somehow, my coach heard me. She ripped me out of the game, and i didnt touch the field the rest of the day. This was the biggest wake up call possible. If i couldn’t play, coaches couldn’t see me, and then I would never get recruited. That was the last time I ever made a comment during a game.

 

Without my coach,  I would not be able to confidently say that I am a part of the New Paltz Women’s Lacrosse Team. She helped me become a better person, and player and this is what allowed me to make my dream come true. I am happy to say that i< changed a lot about myself, and grew into a better<greater person because of it. Lacrosse is, and continues to be a big part of my life.