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Brennan Grady

Mrs. Cramer

English Comp I Pd. 4

06 Mar. 2018

The Championship Comeback

Have you ever heard of the saying, “second place is the first loser”? Well in my story, I

gained more from that loss than any win I have ever had. I have been playing soccer for my

whole life. I have been part of the Bradford Area High School soccer team for three years and I

won my first district nine title my junior year. My team and I knew that we could not have a

repeat like my sophomore year when we lost the district nine title to Dubois. That year, I learned

an important lesson through failure, and I gained much more from it.

During my sophomore year, my team worked hard, but we had issues during the season.

Our team had disagreements with each other. We started to have less participation in practice,

and a lack of motivation, which was affecting our playing on the field. When it was finally game

day, we didn’t have the confidence, the energy, or the motivation to play a district final. We lost

to Dubois in a penalty shootout and went home in second place. I came to realize my team gave

up on our goal to win the district nine title. My junior season, our goal was to take first place in

the district nine championship game. My team and I became closer as friends and teammates.

When we had a problem, we worked it out, which developed stronger bonds with teammates.

When we had practice, I tried my hardest so I could become stronger on the field. Most of all, we

were motivated to win that game and that made us play better as a team. We won the first game

of the district nine playoffs. Then, it came time for the championship game. We wanted to win;
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we needed to win; because of our passion, we had to win. We finished the game four to zero as

first place winners.

In conclusion, when my team lost in the district nine championships my sophomore year,

I learned an important lesson from that failure. No matter what happens I should never give up,

even when it seems hopeless. After that season, I understood that having a negative mindset will

not improve my skills or myself. I apply these lessons I learned from my failure to my everyday

life. I will continue to work hard every day because I learned after that defeat, never to give up.