Anthony Galli

To get to know a little about me I want to share with you one of the biggest parts of my life for the past 14 years. I was dropped into the North Atlanta Soccer Association at the ripe young age of 4 years old. Did I know what I was getting myself into? The answer is no, but at 4 years old it wasn't really up to me what I did in my free time. I ended up loving to play and was not half bad. At the start of middle school I had finally convinced my parents to let me join a travel team with some girls I had played with for years. My life quickly changed and soon both my schedule and my parents schedule revolved around 4 soccer practices a week and 2 games every weekend. It was exhausting and overwhelming but was so fun. High school was quickly approaching and my love for soccer began to dwindle. For my freshman year I did club team in the fall and decided to try out for my high school team in the spring. I made the team and finally achieved what I was so excited for for so long, but it was not all that. I despised practice every day and the coach and I did not get along. That team slowly made me hate what I had loved for so long. I made it through the season and decided I then needed a break from playing for a little and planned to return the next spring. I now had all my days free and had time to focus on friends and school. My grades improved and I was able to hang out with friends whenever I wanted. Spring time came around and I did not want to give it up, so I made the decision to not sign up. Not long after I made my decision, an old friend came up to me and asked if I wanted to join a recreational club team just for fun with some other girls I used to play with. I convinced 4 more friends to join and we quickly signed up. Our team was called the Shockwaves and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I loved every person on that team and our coach was someone who helped me so much and I will truly never forget. The team was much more relaxed and I was never under pressure to attend long practices if I wasn't able to go. I looked forward to those games every weekend and we always had a crowd of friends to cheer us on. It was so carefree and fun and I was finally enjoying playing soccer. Leaving that team to go to college was tough but I am so thankful for what it gave to me. Despite all the ups and downs of my journey with soccer, it has shaped me in so many ways and I would not change it for the world.