Day With My Friends

Finally. It is happening. My late birthday wish was to skip school and go to Six Flags Magic Mountain with my best friend, my dad, my brother, and my brother’s best friend. They were both pretty much family as we have spent our whole lives together. We pulled into the parking lot as the rides towered over us and we looked up with awe. We were going to make the most of this day, and we did. The day was hot but it was not crowded at all. We went on as many rides as we could go on. We only had brief breaks for food and the actual rides themselves. We all got huge sandwiches from Capriotti’s on our way home. We all had an unforgettable time but we had school the next day. 

Knockoff Josh

It was the first day of varsity. I replaced Josh, the goat, the wall, the best goalie. “You will never be the goat.” “You’re a cheap, not as good knockoff of Josh.” I never fit in. I was always an outcast. The only reason I was on varsity is because there was nobody else. I don’t belong here. How do I gain their respect? How will I ever get them to tolerate me? I don’t belong at all. What will I do? 

Hard Work+Humility=Respect. It hit me so hard. Even though Josh was trying to encourage me, nothing stuck. But it finally came. I had to work harder than everyone else on the team and stay humble. 

Black weight belts. Jugs. More and more legs. Every time I completed something hard, something even harder was placed in my way. I knew this wouldn’t be easy but dang, this is horrible. I thought of my brother in BEAST. I thought of him training to be an officer in the army. Going through worse situations and getting through it. I thought of my beliefs. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I could do these leg sets to show all the seniors and gain some shred of respect. 

Every day was a grind. It didn’t get easier but I gained more discipline. My team started to do less and less insults. Respect. There were more jokes. Respect. We laughed together. Respect. After practice, I got invited to go and eat tacos with the team. Respect. After one long tournament, my teammate said, “Eli, I’m proud of you this tournament. You really locked in and saved us way too many times. Good job!” Respect.

Dear Connor,

Goalie sucks. That is just the way it goes. You get no credit for the amazing blocks you get but blame for all the saves you miss. Just learn from them and move on. Stay calm. Work harder than everyone else inside the pool and you will gain trust and respect. It is going to be a long four years. You will go through lots of lows but also lots of highs. Have fun with your team and make them your friends. Enjoy water polo and enjoy being a goalie.