For The Love Of The Game Part 2: Fighting

When I wrote my last blog entry I was a little bit discouraged and confused so I didn’t really address all that was going on. One of those things I didn’t mention was that the head coach made it clear that her coaching philosophy was that all players should come to her if there’s anything that needs to be talked about. I’m actually pretty good about being able to talk with adults, but not when it comes to my Cerebral Palsy. This is one of the major things that are holding me back. Being able to talk to the coach about my CP is just something I really can’t do without the help of my mom or the athletic director yet. So that’s my next step, talking with the athletic director at my school. Sometime this week hopefully I’ll get in contact with him and see if there can be some sort of meeting where we can discuss more about my CP and what my role, if any, will be on a team next fall.  

Over the past few years I’ve seen great improvement in opportunities for athletes with disabilities at youth, High School, collegiate and even Paralympic level.  I have come to realize that I’m in a position where I can help improve it even more. But I’ve learned it isn’t too easy. I have to and will fight for my right to be able to play sports like any other person.  I have to let my coach and athletic director know that I deserve it or I may never get the chance to continue playing in the fall. I feel fortunate to be in the place where I am and that I’m able to fight, even if no one acknowledges it, for other people with disabilities who never got to play sports. That’s what keeps me going. Even in the end if I fail, at least I know I didn’t give up. And if I succeed I’ll know that I had to do what many other disabled athletes do, fight. This is also why my true favorite athletes and inspirations are mostly Paralympians, knowing that they were once were I was encourages me and gives me hope.

As for now I am still dealing with pain in a lot of my body, but mainly my back. I’ve decided that I’m not going to worry about it too much and deal with like I have been for a while now. I’ve gotten a LOT better from the Mono in the past two weeks and finally feel like going outside and playing again. Over the next few months I am going to have to put in a lot of hard work. Starting with building strength back in my left knee, being able to run to where I don’t get as tired on the field and working on skills. I am willing to do all of this to show people that a person with a disability can play soccer too. Even if I don’t do all this or I am not in the coaches plans next year I still want to fight and stand up for the other kids with disabilities who never got to play sports at a high school level.  

Hopefully by the time schools out in mid-June I will have had some kind of talk with my school athletic director/coach and hopefully there will be good news! J