Man are penalty shots nerve racking. It's such a humdrum way to end a soccer game, yet probably majority of soccer players have had to take a penalty shot a few times in their career.
I remember the penalty shots I had to take like a blur from the past.
I pole vaulted and long jumped for track and field and ice skated so I became accustomed to the pressure of the individual moment in a team sport.
I learned to shoot really hard and into the corner of the goal.
I learned to know exactly where I was going to shoot the ball before walking up to the goal... decided during practice and practiced repeatedly until I felt confident about it.
I tried once, to choose a different spot on the spot before a penalty kick and when the ball went wide I decided ritual is best in the penalty kick scenario.
I'm pretty sure I cried when I missed the shot. I cried a lot.
My dad told me, if you give 100% effort in every game, you're going to feel good about it no matter the outcome.
That's the truth. If you give 100% effort, you know you gave it the best you could.
Even if I gave 100% effort and the outcome was not in our favor, I still cried sometimes.
I wanted to win every single game.
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