Middle School Writing: “My Home” by Jose Melendez

3rd PLACE MIDDLE SCHOOL

My Home

For me soccer was never just a game: it was my home. If my day was rough all I had
to do was grab a ball and go outside and my worries would go away. However, that all
changed because of one team and coach. I have always loved soccer ever since I was five.
Why? Because it made me calm, I always enjoyed dribbling and kicking the ball. I enjoyed the
challenge. “Dad, I have a question: when can I join a soccer team?” My dad shortly responded,
“Soon, son.” I waited five months until my dad finally got me on the team.
Los Futboleros was a great group of people, but we struggled on the field. I stayed
there until 2020, the year when the Corona virus caused everyone’s world, including mine, to
change. I was devastated. I was lost without my home. A year went by and everyone started
to go out again. I moved to another team Los Angelinos, a team I would never forget.
Every practice went well. Coach Eddie was the best coach I had ever had. He would
always encourage us to do our best. I have been a stubborn person all my life. I didn’t have
much confidence in myself. Sometimes when the ball was kicked to me, I let it slip out of my
foot. Coaches yelled at me and their criticisms echoed in my ear. As a stubborn person who
was hard on myself, that didn’t make things any better. Every practice I failed I saw other
players improving, inside my head I said, “I shouldn’t even be here.” I was home but felt lost.
With the help of the team coaches, I started slowly improving. The coaches saw improvement
and they said, “That’s it, Jose, keep going don’t give up now!” I chose not to give up. I needed
those words of encouragement. I felt proud of myself, knowing that all the hard work paid
off.

My games would happen every Saturday and usually I was benched most of the time.
But this time was different. I saw the roster. I could not believe it. I was on the starting lineup
and I was amazed. I would finally get the chance to play! No more sitting on the sidelines and
just sitting there. My first game went so well I stayed in the starting lineup. But like people
say, “Not all good things last too long.” Unfortunately, this was true because one event
changed everything.

There were many age groups in my team and the 2012’s were invited to play in the
SoFi Stadium. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Everything seemed normal until the
opposing team started trash talking to our team. Instead of ignoring it, they decided to fight
and the field turned into a battle ground. The parents’ screams echoed in the stadium, the
referee’s whistle stood no chance. The situation escalated but the stadium grew silent as one
of the kids broke their jaw and yelled out in pain. The staff stopped the game and talked to
my coach. It turns out that everyone put the blame on him. Coach Eddie’s coaching license
got suspended which meant he had to abandon our team and Los Angelinos would be
forgotten. I cannot describe how awful I felt losing our coach.
Now I had to depart to another club, Inglewood FC, the new team I was going to be a
part of. Only this was the biggest mistake I could have ever made. Why? At first the practice
was going well and the coach welcomed me. I thought this was the club I would stay in

forever but after two practices the coach kept yelling at me. My teammates were laughing at
me. It got so bad to the point where I didn’t even want to go to practice because I knew what
was going to happen. I wanted to stay strong but this one Thursday changed my perspective
of being strong. I went to practice the usual running and cone drills, but this one exercise was
too confusing for me. I kept making little mistakes and I tried my best to fix them but instead
of my coach helping me he decided to do something worse.
He pulled me out and said these exact words to my face with no guilt, “Jose you keep
ruining things for others and you keep messing things up for this team! You are terrible! If
you don’t get things together, I will kick you out!”
I stood there silently while my heart shattered into a million pieces. I wanted to cry,
but I didn’t. During another exercise, I accidentally made a bad pass and my coach yelled at
me, “Jose get over here and stand there on the sidelines!” I cried in silence. I rubbed my tears
off with the sleeve of my sweater. I wanted practice to end already. I couldn’t handle being
bullied like this. All my teammates laughed at me.
When practice ended, I made sure not to cry. But when I got in my sister’s car, she
asked why I was just standing there. I told her that my coach told me to and that he yelled at
me and said, “Jose you keep ruining things for others and you keep messing things up for this
team. You suck if you don’t get things together, I will kick you out!” My sister looked mad
and said, “That’s what he said in those exact words?” I responded with a yes but repeating it
caused me to have a waterfall of tears; I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
When I switched teams to Paramount FC, I was scared if the same feelings would
repeat. I worried if I would continue to feel lost in my home. Thankfully, the coach proved to
be both supportive and kind; he understood me. I was still stubborn after the events that had
occurred. It’s hard to kick some old habits but as time went on the coach taught me to be
resilient, to not give up and he would always explain the drill if I didn’t understand it. I finally
found my home again. Although it was a hard journey, I learned something along the way
that I’ll never forget. I learned how to be resilient even when you are your own worst enemy.
So, if you’re ever feeling down or feel discouraged, never give up no matter what happens.

7th Grade, Ánimo Mae Jemison
Guiding Teacher: Yolanda Amaral