Defining Moment-Personal Narrative

I stood on the goal line and tried to steady my breathing as much as possible. I looked back at the goal and to the posts beside me to make sure I was completely centered. I had already done this about 3 times, but I was extremely apprehensive.

The referee finished talking to the other team’s first shooter and walked over to me. “You have to keep your feet on the goal line and not move until the ball is kicked, understand?” asked the referee. I nodded my head to show that I understood, and he walked to his place at the edge of the 18 yard box.

The first goalie coach I ever had told me something about defending penalty kicks that I’ve always listened to. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 10 years old and completely scared out of my mind. My team was going into penalty kicks to decide who would win the tournament. I was so afraid I was going to mess up and then my whole team would hate me. Seeing that I was nervous, Coach Neil walked up to me and said “Try to psych the
Now this might not seem like something that would make her uneasy, but trust me, it does. The girl expected me to be super nervous, so seeing me smile so confidently and at ease probably made her a little nervous. That little moment of nervousness is all I needed. The ref blew the whistle to signal that it was okay for her to shoot. I got set, and everything seemed to go in slow motion from that point on. My eyes were trained on the ball as she slowly jogged up to it, cocked her foot back, and shot. I watched the ball travel off her foot and towards the left side of the goal. I leapt into a dive. I shot both hands straight out and parried the ball wide of the left goalpost. I felt the familiar second of pain as I hit the ground. I sat up, and smiled. I could hear my teammates and all the parents cheering. I walked to the side of the goal and watched as my teammate, Meghan, took her shot and