I can no longer hear his voice coming from the sidelines. I lost my dad four years ago. He died unexpectedly from a heart attack when I was thirteen years old and my life has never been the same. I had to grow up a lot faster than all the other kids, my childhood was cut short after losing my innocence to this tragedy. As a result of losing my father so young, I gained a sense of maturity that no one else my age could relate to. Navigating through grief at any stage in life is difficult, but learning how to navigate it as a child is an even greater challenge. The biggest impact that my grief had on me was deriving a resilience from within myself that I did not know I was capable of. I could have gone down a destructive path, but I came back from my lowest point. After my world was flipped upside down and the reality that I had woken up to every day was forever changed, I took a moment to reflect on what remained. The primary constants in my life were God, my mother, my sister, and soccer. I have played soccer since I was five years old, and my dad is the reason I still play today. He passed during the time of COVID-19, so with the combination of the pandemic and losing my dad I almost decided to quit playing. However, my dad and I always shared a special bond through soccer, so I have continued playing to keep that connection alive. It was a hard decision to make because for weeks there was a pain in my chest that I felt every time I stepped onto the pitch without him there to support me. I would have breakdowns after not hearing his voice cheering me on anymore. When I almost quit because I thought the pain was too overbearing, I remembered something—my father's smile. I remembered the smile on his face while he was watching me play. I remembered the comfort I felt from hugging him after my games and seeing him beaming with pride. I remembered the excitement and passion in his tone when I scored a goal or broke my opponent's ankles and beat them down the field. His daughter playing soccer brought him so much joy. These reasons were more than enough to convince me that it would be worth it to persevere and keep playing the sport that we both loved. I've also learned so many lessons from playing soccer that can be applied in various aspects of life. I have developed skills in teamwork, collaboration, leadership, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Soccer has taught me how to be patient, committed, disciplined, hardworking, reliable, encouraging, resilient, quick, assertive, respectful, and a good listener. Additionally, I've gained knowledge and wisdom from coaches and mentors throughout my athletic career. Soccer and my dad's absence have both contributed to shaping me into the young woman I am today. My dad was an amazing man and I play to honor him and carry on his legacy. He is my motivation and inspiration to keep showing up and working hard to be the best player, teammate, and person that I can be. I hope I am making him proud.