Road trip with a soccer ball

Sofia Castore, seventh grader at Annunciation Orthodox School, juggled a soccer ball in every state she and her dad drove through, from Texas to New York.

This past holiday season, my dad and I embarked on a journey. The goal was to drive from Houston to New York City (and back) to visit family. I also decided that I would juggle a soccer ball in every state we passed through.

Soccer has been an interest since I was 4. Over the past eight years, my interest has developed into a passion. I joined Houston Express Soccer Club when I was 10, and there has not been an off-season for me yet. We always end our practice warm-ups by juggling. That’s when you keep the ball in the air by bouncing it off your feet, chest, head and thighs, just not your hands.

I juggled in places ranging from national landmarks to mountains to local gas stations. Not only were the locations varied, so were the times of the day. The worst instance occurred in New Jersey at 11 p.m. at an abandoned gas station. My dad had to wake me out of a deep sleep in order for me to juggle after we crossed the state line. I cannot say I was thrilled as I groggily kicked the soccer ball in the air.

Our road trip spanned 17 different states, almost 4,000 miles, and approximately 70 hours of total driving time. We visited many different attractions, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Thomas Jefferson’s house – Monticello, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the Clinton Presidential Library, and my favorite, the St. Louis City Museum, which has a system of interconnected tunnels and slides, a must-see!

This long journey to and from New York City was an experience that I will never forget. It combined two passions: soccer and travel. It was a treat to experience this with my father. While out-of-town soccer tournaments are not a rarity for us, this trip was the farthest out-of-town soccer experience I have had in my life. If you have a passion, start your engines, define the target and go the distance.

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