I worked at a local university and our office was staffed with a few student workers. One of the students was a member of an amateur soccer team that needed a player. She overheard me talking to another student about how I'd always wanted to play soccer, but never got the chance. The soccer player offered to let me come and try out for the position.
I was excited and scared. Excited at the thought of doing something I'd always wanted to do, but scared that I was too out of shape and too old to keep up with athletic twenty-year-olds. There was no harm trying out, though. I agreed to be on the field for practice.
My husband and children thought I was crazy but I didn't care. I didn't move much while doing my job at the university and I'd just taken up running to turn back the clock a little. I had all the mom responsibilities, too. Between my work and family responsibilities, finding time for myself seemed impossible, but I knew playing soccer with kids would motivate me to keep active.
I showed up with butterflies in my stomach and low expectations. I just knew once they saw how out of shape I was, they'd let me kick the ball a few times and then look for a younger girl. During drills, I was slow and got breathless easily, but my desire to do that made me drive forward. Maybe they were touched by my spirit or maybe they just needed a player—they let me in anyhow.
I couldn't have been happier! They took my shirt size, jersey (球衣) number and my team name. I chose "Mama Platt" because it was what a couple of the students called me, and I chose my dad's soccer number from high school: 7. I still remember the moment I stood in a sporting goods store. Was that really happening? I couldn't believe it. These girls were actually going to let me be a part of the team!
注意：1.续写词数应150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
In order not to let my team down, I decided to improve myself.
……
We won our first game, our second and our third.
