Family stretches beyond the walls of any house and is thicker than any bloodline. A family is not limited to the people you share a room with or see twice a year on the holidays. It's the people who have made a consistent impact in your life, and who have changed you for the better.
The last three years my family has grown tremendously with each season of field hockey I play. Mountain Lakes Field Hockey is truly a family, as anyone on the team would tell you. The concept of a team being more than just a team is preached throughout any sport I've ever played; yet I cannot put it into words exactly why this is so different, but it is. It wasn't until the last two minutes of our State Sectional final game, that I realized this.
I've loved being apart of MLFH since freshman year. Maybe as I get older I become more aware of the concept of time and how easily the clock in a game can change from 30 minutes to 30 seconds, and one year to three.
As we celebrate our wins together, we mourn our losses. It's these make-or-break moments that test both our courage and our loyalty. As I watched my favorite people play their hearts out, it didn't matter whether I stood to the right of that red line, cheering or to the left, playing. The passion and love that I have for this team, like every single girl standing next to me on that side line, exceeds past any amount of playing time or talent. The dynamic of Mountain Lakes Field Hockey is not comprised of who can hit the ball harder or who can score more goals. Regardless of your role, whether it be team captain or ball girl, you are important. MLFH is living proof that a team does not need to thrive on competition within in order to be successful, as our record clearly states. At the end of the day, its about your teammates, and what they mean to you.
It took a desperate loss for me to realize what was right in front of me this entire time. My JV coach lead us off the bus and into the gym for a final talk of the season. She said "Look around, this is your team." It was then, when I saw a group of talented and incredible people, I was proud to call my teammates. It's easy to overlook the bad times, when you had a rough practice or had to run a lot, but when it comes down to it, its those moments. When you can look around the room and be surrounded by your family -- the people you love. You know you are lucky. It's not a feeling you acknowledge in the midst of long practices and difficult games, yet its important to stop and see everything that is right in front of you.
"You certainly do not always like your sister, but you always love her," is a quote that is always said with the opening of each season and is truly the foundation of this program. Not a day went by where I did not feel valued as a player, or a person on MLFH. Its easy to make a lineup with the best people, and ensure that your team can perform at it's optimum. Yet that is not what makes a team a team. It's the people that not only count your wins, but your losses, too. A team consists of people who are dependable and loyal. It's sad that from a modern perspective, this is so rare. Both mine and my teammate's passion for this program is special, as I know that most people will never get the opportunity to feel this way.
And as I sat there, with all my soon-to-be-seniors, I realized that there is no one else I would rather be sitting on the high school gym floor with, crying our eyes out. It was an unexpected type of emotion; as if it all suddenly came rushing toward us, as we acknowledged all we had accomplished together. I couldn't image living that moment with anyone else, as it was those girls that I had laughed, ran, played and cried with. How I got the opportunity to be apart of something so special, I'm not exactly sure. Although it's a little late, I'm glad I "stopped to smell the roses" before it was too late. Because like all good things, this will one day come to an end. One day it will be me, and the girls that sat around me devastated over that last buzzer. The thought of that breaks my heart, yet there are many more games to be played, timed miles to be ran and memories to be made.
