It all began at the age of 5. It was 2004 and I was going to begin playing soccer for the first time in my life. I was ecstatic. My parents and I headed to the first practice where we got our jerseys and could come up with the name of our team. By the end of the team meeting, I was on the Surfer Girls and I chose number 5 since I was 5 years old.

Then came the next season. I was 6. On the Blue Beach Girls I repped number 6. The season after that I was 7, and put on a number 7 for the Purple Funky Monkeys. My little goal was to always wear how old I was on the back of my jersey. 5 to 7 year old me thought this was genius. The numbers never meant much to me. I hadn’t found my lucky one yet.

At the age of 8, I walked on to the field for my first practice and saw a man with the longest hair ever. His name was Coach Ted. Naturally, when we picked jerseys, I was 8 so I chose number 8. We practiced two times a week, so things were getting serious. This season felt kind of different for some reason; I caught feelings for soccer. I cared if we lost or if we won, even if I scored. I had a coach that really cared. It felt weird for little 8-year old me to think about something so much. That season, we advanced to regionals. I realized that this sport was something I couldn’t really live without. I decided that number 8 should stay around. I had found my lucky one.

It stuck around. From recreational soccer, 2 All-star teams, middle school soccer, club soccer, high school soccer, and even in my short basketball career. It may or may not be included in every single username, email, and/or password I have. The number 8 was more than something on the back of my jersey. I had put all of my determination, focus, and my ability to play soccer behind it. Without it, I was basically just another person kicking a ball. But when I had it on, everything was in its place. All I had to worry about was playing. It brought my confidence in every game. I had my lucky one.