The Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7gj1kqysCM
The Field
Every sport is played on some type of surface: a court, a field, and a track for example. Soccer is played on a field. Any open patch of grass with enough room to dribble is a soccer field. It does not need to have lines or proper goals; it just needs to be accessible. When most people picture a soccer field, it has one goal at each end with two 18-yard boxes and a midfield line. It is structured and specific. This is the type of field the Emory Women’s Soccer team uses. The soccer stadium at Emory has different perspectives from every point of view: the stands, the bench and the field.
It is used for games, practices, and fitness. It is not only used for one sport at one time for one team. Many teams for many different activities can use it. From my perspective, it is a soccer field. It is used to play soccer with a ball at your feet heading towards the goal. It is 120 yards long with 18-yard long boxes at each end. It has sidelines and a midfield line. Most importantly, it has two equal sized goals at each end. I have never used or seen a field as anything but a space for soccer. I have watched football, lacrosse, and baseball games played on many fields but that open area of grass has always been a space for soccer.
At the Woodruff PE Center, the campus sports complex, there is a soccer stadium in the back. It can be seen from the surrounding roads that go through campus as well as from inside the school buildings. It is not closed off from the school because it is part of the school and part of the community. From each view, the field is different.
Perspectives change from each area surrounding the field. From the bench, off the field, every shot on goal seems perfect. It never looks like the shot went wide or high but it always look like it is on frame. Off the field, soccer looks ideal. On the field, the sport takes on a new life. It is clear. When each shot is taken, it is obvious if it is good shot or not immediately. Each mistake is seen and taken in. But each perfect move is also obvious. When a player takes the ball and does a scissor step or pull back it is beautiful because it is pure.
Most people see the field from the stands. The game seems just out of reach. The field is right in front of you, you can smell the wet grass and hear the cleats stomping and the ball skipping but you are not close enough to be part of the game. It seems like a tease but it also seems possible. It feels like eventually or someday you could play on that field. The torturous part is that you cannot change the game from the stands. All you can do is hope and wish the game goes your way but you have no effect on the outcome. Each shot taken looks like it is perfecting on frame and going in. You cheer until you realize, well after the players on the field, that the ball had gone way right or left or flow over the goal entirely. The stands give you a very distorted but positive view of the game. The game holds potential and promise like nothing else.
The field is an entirely different monster from the bench. The game now feels personal. It seems like you are part of the game and can make a difference no matter if you step on the pitch or not. Hannah, a defender, said that no matter if you are on the bench, “you’re standing on the grass, you’re right next to what is going on and you are part of [the team].” All you can do is cheer on your teammates and hope to get a moment of playing time. The field is clearer and closer. Your goal of playing is so much more attainable. Yet something is still missing. More than anything you want to dig your cleats into the grass and take a shot but you know you need to be on the field. Each mistake becomes clearer because you can now picture yourself on the field and you learn from the mistakes. From the bench, you are part of the team. How loud and consistently you cheer changes the attitude of the players on the field. You’re job is to encourage and organize the team no matter if you never kick as ball explains Hannah. You now have an effect on the outcome of the game, but only a small effect. The team can hear you and can get energy from the noise on the bench but you still are not kicking the ball or defending the opposing team. You are wearing the jersey but the field is still just out of reach.
The only way to get that feeling of anxiety or nervousness out of your system is to finally be on the field playing. From the field, you are a soccer player. Stepping on the field, “it makes [being on the team] real. Once you’re in the pre-game and once you step onto the field. It makes it real,” claims Julia Bassell, a midfielder. The goal is in front of you. Not just the literal soccer goal but also all of your goals as a player. Cristina Ramirez, a forward, says that she tries to give her 100% effort every time she steps onto the field, even if it is just for a practice. Your dreams to win an NCAA National Championship or be the Player of the Year are waiting for you when you step onto the field. For the Emory Women’s Soccer team, the goals are clear and vital. A National Championship and UAA Championship are crucial to everything the team embodies. When you step onto the field in an Emory University jersey the team’s goals become your goals. The field is more than just a space for soccer it is now a place to make a difference. Every pass needs to be to feet and every shot must be on frame. You are representing the team, not just yourself, so every movement you make needs to executed to the highest standard. It is no longer good enough to just do your best it is essential to be the best.
The field is a representation of the team and all of its aspirations. “The field becomes your new home,” says Emily Matis, a forward. It is where games are played and where practice happens but it is part of the team. It is the team’s home field. Here the team has home field advantage and a crowd of students who are there to help you represent the school. It is where you stop being just another student and become an Emory Women’s Soccer player.
The field is where I become more than a player and become a college soccer player. The first time I saw a game from the stands I was only visiting as a senior in high school. I was not part of the team. This year I first saw the game from the bench. I did not play but I knew I was part of the team. I was afraid of getting on the field. From the bench, the field became intimidating and a place where I was susceptible to making mistakes. I was willing to risk the mistakes for a moment on that perfectly groomed field. I decided to cheer on my teammates no matter if I played or the score of the game. This was my initial role on the team, to be positive and create energy on the bench. I knew if I was not going to get onto the field, I would make the field a place of hope and possibility.
It was not until I played on the field for the first time that I really started to see the field as a representation of my goals. The first time I stepped onto the field in an Emory University jersey I became a college soccer player. But I was not just any college soccer player, I represented one of the top academic universities with an outstanding women’s soccer team. I stopped playing for myself and started playing for my teammates. The field no longer was a space for fear or uneasiness but a place where I represented my team. Every time I touched the ball I had to do my best because my team expected and deserved the best.
The field is now real and a part of my team. It is where we started and will finish our journey towards becoming NCAA National Champions. The field is where we stop being students and become champions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7gj1kqysCM
The Field
Every sport is played on some type of surface: a court, a field, and a track for example. Soccer is played on a field. Any open patch of grass with enough room to dribble is a soccer field. It does not need to have lines or proper goals; it just needs to be accessible. When most people picture a soccer field, it has one goal at each end with two 18-yard boxes and a midfield line. It is structured and specific. This is the type of field the Emory Women’s Soccer team uses. The soccer stadium at Emory has different perspectives from every point of view: the stands, the bench and the field.
It is used for games, practices, and fitness. It is not only used for one sport at one time for one team. Many teams for many different activities can use it. From my perspective, it is a soccer field. It is used to play soccer with a ball at your feet heading towards the goal. It is 120 yards long with 18-yard long boxes at each end. It has sidelines and a midfield line. Most importantly, it has two equal sized goals at each end. I have never used or seen a field as anything but a space for soccer. I have watched football, lacrosse, and baseball games played on many fields but that open area of grass has always been a space for soccer.
At the Woodruff PE Center, the campus sports complex, there is a soccer stadium in the back. It can be seen from the surrounding roads that go through campus as well as from inside the school buildings. It is not closed off from the school because it is part of the school and part of the community. From each view, the field is different.
Perspectives change from each area surrounding the field. From the bench, off the field, every shot on goal seems perfect. It never looks like the shot went wide or high but it always look like it is on frame. Off the field, soccer looks ideal. On the field, the sport takes on a new life. It is clear. When each shot is taken, it is obvious if it is good shot or not immediately. Each mistake is seen and taken in. But each perfect move is also obvious. When a player takes the ball and does a scissor step or pull back it is beautiful because it is pure.
Most people see the field from the stands. The game seems just out of reach. The field is right in front of you, you can smell the wet grass and hear the cleats stomping and the ball skipping but you are not close enough to be part of the game. It seems like a tease but it also seems possible. It feels like eventually or someday you could play on that field. The torturous part is that you cannot change the game from the stands. All you can do is hope and wish the game goes your way but you have no effect on the outcome. Each shot taken looks like it is perfecting on frame and going in. You cheer until you realize, well after the players on the field, that the ball had gone way right or left or flow over the goal entirely. The stands give you a very distorted but positive view of the game. The game holds potential and promise like nothing else.
The field is an entirely different monster from the bench. The game now feels personal. It seems like you are part of the game and can make a difference no matter if you step on the pitch or not. Hannah, a defender, said that no matter if you are on the bench, “you’re standing on the grass, you’re right next to what is going on and you are part of [the team].” All you can do is cheer on your teammates and hope to get a moment of playing time. The field is clearer and closer. Your goal of playing is so much more attainable. Yet something is still missing. More than anything you want to dig your cleats into the grass and take a shot but you know you need to be on the field. Each mistake becomes clearer because you can now picture yourself on the field and you learn from the mistakes. From the bench, you are part of the team. How loud and consistently you cheer changes the attitude of the players on the field. You’re job is to encourage and organize the team no matter if you never kick as ball explains Hannah. You now have an effect on the outcome of the game, but only a small effect. The team can hear you and can get energy from the noise on the bench but you still are not kicking the ball or defending the opposing team. You are wearing the jersey but the field is still just out of reach.
The only way to get that feeling of anxiety or nervousness out of your system is to finally be on the field playing. From the field, you are a soccer player. Stepping on the field, “it makes [being on the team] real. Once you’re in the pre-game and once you step onto the field. It makes it real,” claims Julia Bassell, a midfielder. The goal is in front of you. Not just the literal soccer goal but also all of your goals as a player. Cristina Ramirez, a forward, says that she tries to give her 100% effort every time she steps onto the field, even if it is just for a practice. Your dreams to win an NCAA National Championship or be the Player of the Year are waiting for you when you step onto the field. For the Emory Women’s Soccer team, the goals are clear and vital. A National Championship and UAA Championship are crucial to everything the team embodies. When you step onto the field in an Emory University jersey the team’s goals become your goals. The field is more than just a space for soccer it is now a place to make a difference. Every pass needs to be to feet and every shot must be on frame. You are representing the team, not just yourself, so every movement you make needs to executed to the highest standard. It is no longer good enough to just do your best it is essential to be the best.
The field is a representation of the team and all of its aspirations. “The field becomes your new home,” says Emily Matis, a forward. It is where games are played and where practice happens but it is part of the team. It is the team’s home field. Here the team has home field advantage and a crowd of students who are there to help you represent the school. It is where you stop being just another student and become an Emory Women’s Soccer player.
The field is where I become more than a player and become a college soccer player. The first time I saw a game from the stands I was only visiting as a senior in high school. I was not part of the team. This year I first saw the game from the bench. I did not play but I knew I was part of the team. I was afraid of getting on the field. From the bench, the field became intimidating and a place where I was susceptible to making mistakes. I was willing to risk the mistakes for a moment on that perfectly groomed field. I decided to cheer on my teammates no matter if I played or the score of the game. This was my initial role on the team, to be positive and create energy on the bench. I knew if I was not going to get onto the field, I would make the field a place of hope and possibility.
It was not until I played on the field for the first time that I really started to see the field as a representation of my goals. The first time I stepped onto the field in an Emory University jersey I became a college soccer player. But I was not just any college soccer player, I represented one of the top academic universities with an outstanding women’s soccer team. I stopped playing for myself and started playing for my teammates. The field no longer was a space for fear or uneasiness but a place where I represented my team. Every time I touched the ball I had to do my best because my team expected and deserved the best.
The field is now real and a part of my team. It is where we started and will finish our journey towards becoming NCAA National Champions. The field is where we stop being students and become champions.