I've been playing soccer since I was 3. I played for the club Ajax United. When I was little I was the soccer star, I was the top for my age group along with the top goal scorer for the 2007-2009 age group. My coach was the best her name was Tracy Moore. Then the age groups split so I went with another team, and that's when I fell out of love with this sport. I went to a team with girls who were bullies, and coaches who favored those. I was one of the girls in the background. We traveled hours for my games just for me not getting played and often the whole way back I'd be crying. I wanted to quit the sport I was once amazing at, my coach didn't feel bad like he said he did. The many times he apologized it didn't make me feel better, I was just 9 at this time. My mom wouldn't let me quit till the season was over, from this age on I was very intimidated and oftentimes saw myself in a shell because I didn't want people to have a reason to make fun of me. I quit after that season, and I didn't start playing again until I was 12/13. I was bigger I gained a few pounds from when I last played. Some of the girls who bullied me were on the team I joined. I wasn't as bad as I thought I was for not playing, I was just very out of shape. I was still very quiet and intimidated by the girls. The coaches would make fun of me for not talking and It was like a constant cycle. I would go home crying and wondering what made me an easy target for coaches and players. That was mini-season so it was only a few months, Once that was over I took another break. I got recruited by Brad, who is my old Ajax coach. I was the star on this team, I was doing amazing I was the top player. Brad loved me and my skills even more. I felt as if I belonged on this team and I could finally be myself and show off without being made fun of. Instead of being dragged down by teammates I was being praised. I felt as if I could finally breathe and I was in a good spot, I was wrong. I wasn't growing as a player, I got burnt out, and the coach was no longer praising me. I wasn't getting played at all anymore and I asked the coach why, he looked me dead in the eye and said "You're not good anymore". I was heartbroken, the coach I once looked up to and trusted is now just once a coach I had. I quit the day after. I switched teams to Manteca where I am now. My team environment now is so different, I have grown so much as a person and as a soccer player. Although I miss my old team I am not sad it's over, I'm glad I got the experience from my old coach and that he's re-taught me my skills from when I rejoined the team.