My personal MVP is James Mason. I’m not related to him in any way, but I think that he has truly had the most impact on my life. I had been on a recreational soccer team for a spring season and wanted to join again in the fall season. We started emailing some people when we didn’t hear anything back from my coach. That is how we were put into contact with Mr. Mason. We told him my name and age and he found a team with girls my age. I went to a practice and decided I liked it, even though it was really hard and intense.
We started to fill out paperwork and instead of needing to pay $25 for registration and uniform, it was a lot more—like $250 more. We asked him why it was so much, and he told us that is the cost for a travel team. At first, I was very hesitant about staying on the team, but Mr. Mason told me it was worth it; I had the ability and potential, and he really wanted me to stick with it. I decided that I could give it a try. The practices were really hard at first and I felt like quitting many times. But Mr. Mason kept encouraging me to keep going and push through.
I made it through one season, then another, and now I have played over 10 seasons with the same team. I also have played for my high school soccer team for two years. I truly think that if Mr. Mason hadn’t put me on the wrong team and pushed me to keep with it, I wouldn’t be playing soccer like I am today.
This is a really touching story!