Senior Series - Marissa Ruple

I am not ready for my soccer journey to end, nor do I want it to end. After this season, I will hopefully still have club soccer - but will it be the same? All the good memories of late-night bus rides or ice bathing as a team, along with our team's sleepover, will slowly fade away. I won't be able to turn to my friends in math class and tell them how sore I am from last night's game. Or after practice ask my teammate for help from a class that day. 

Additionally, soccer is always a way for me to get my mind off something and help me relieve stress. As soon as my foot crosses the line, my world glows just a bit more and adrenaline flows through my veins. This is what I crave, and I don't ever want to lose that feeling. The feeling of competition or hours on the field just practicing. The drills we do as a team and the sprints we hate. The feeling of wanting to succeed not just as a player but as a team as well. If one member of my team scores a game-winning goal, we are all still winners that night. Being able to leave it all on the field and be proud of our performance as a team is what I want after each game. 

During my time at Hawken, I was able to improve my playing ability and learn what hard work is. I started my soccer journey when I was six years old, running around a tiny field and shooting on tiny goals. Somehow trying to put a ball into the opposing team's net is what stuck and what I wanted to keep doing. Although I did many sports such as dance, horseback riding, basketball, swimming, and softball, as the list continued, I always stuck with soccer. 

During my freshman year at Hawken, I don't think I contributed as much to the soccer team as I wanted to. I showed up to every practice and played hard, but I just wasn't cutting it in my playing ability for myself or the team. I set a goal to get better by next season and was able to accomplish it. Additionally, I was able to keep improving my skills and build better connections with my teammates, and it was a better season for me.

I continued to work my junior year and am now in my senior season. I am so grateful for the coaches I had all four years. These coaches helped me grow as a player, taught me that you are not stuck at one level, and showed me that if you take advantage of opportunities, you can become better.