Adidas manufactured their first soccer ball in 1963.People from all around waited to see what this round ball would look like, but this story begins with a soccer ball produced about one year later. Even though at the time the ball played no importance to the world it would play a major role in the future. The journey for this ball begins at a Target in Ann Arbor, Michigan. From the beginning of the aisle to the end was full of soccer balls in every color combination known to man. But there was one ball in the back tucked behind all the others. Covered with black and white hexagons, it was not desired by many in comparison to the others with bright colors. Time after time, people would go up and down the aisle but never once did they pick the black and white ball. Finally, on a rainy Friday evening a woman comes barreling down the aisle looking for a soccer ball for her son. He had asked for a bright red soccer ball but the black and white was the only one left. Unsure, she still bought the ball any ways since her son’s birthday was the next day. After being wrapped it was ready to be his gift. The next day all his friends came with gifts to celebrate his birthday. First, he opened the black and white ball and was thrilled for a while till he opened the next gift which was another soccer ball but this was bright red like the one he wanted. He was even more thrill this time, he never let the red ball go. Even though he didn’t need both he kept them anyways just in case. Every day he would go to the park with both balls but never touch the black and white ball. While he was shooting one day at the park he accidentally kicked the black and white ball over the fence into a tree. Too high up in the tree he decide to leave it there because he had another one and quite frankly he didn’t like the black and white ball. Through this whole ordeal there was a young boy watching the whole time. He was around the age of ten, wore raggedy, old clothes, and he was all alone. Without very much money, he never was able to buy anything to play with. For years, he yearned to play professional soccer it was his biggest dream. Once he saw the ball he immediately tried to climb up the tree to reach it but while climbing he accidently slipped and fell on his face. After falling on his face he decided to give it a rest and went to sleep on a park bench. That night it was quite windy and the ball blew out in the middle of the park. The next morning seeing the ball there the boy became ecstatic. For once something had gone right in his life he thought. Dribbling up and down the field he used the ball for the first time and it just felt right to him. He had gotten one step closer to his dream to be a professional soccer player. Then one day while he was practicing penalty kicking a coach for a local rec soccer team noticed how well the young boy was shooting. He asked the boy if he played for a soccer team and the boy said no I don’t have enough money to. The man said that’s a shame because he was pretty good and had lots of potential. Feeling sorry for the boy the man called his wife asking if she would take in this boy off the street. At first she was unsure but after a while of pondering the thought she said yes. Hearing this, the boy wondered why this man was letting him into his home but willingly said yes because he did not want to sleep on a park bench anymore. Pulling up the driveway the boy became nervous that he wouldn’t feel accepted in the family but walking up the porch steps he knew that for once he had finally got the chance to live a normal life. Since the coach’s wife could not bear children he was a miracle to them because they always wanted a child. Eventually, they enrolled the boy in school and he was beginning to become a normal boy. Soccer season was beginning in a few days and the boy furiously practiced so he would be prepared for tryouts. It was a hot, summer day and all the boys gathered at the park for tryouts. Each boy had new shoes and bright new soccer balls but the boy had his old hammy down shoes and black white ball. This made him feel out of place but he still went on. After three days of shooting, passing, and scrimmaging they figured out the teams. Nervously, the boy waited to here that he made the team and finally they shouted his name and he sprinted over and hugged his father. After receiving the jersey and other materials, the boy and his father went home and celebrated his accomplishment. Weeks went by, but finally the boy had his first practice. Nervously, he approached the field with the black and white ball in his hand unsure how his first practice would go. This nervousness consumed his brain and caused him to constantly mess up. Seeing this, the coach came over and asked him if there was something wrong. The boy told him that he was just nervous because he had never been on a soccer team before and didn’t want to screw things up. The coach told him to keep his head held high even if he did mess up. After practice the boy went home and was angered by how bad he did so he went outside and for the rest of the night he practiced. A week later he went to practice and was determined to do better this time and he did. Quickly, he dribbled up and down the field and no one could stop him and he felt great. That weekend was the team’s first game. The first half was rough neither team scored and it was very intense. Luckily, in the second half the boy got a break away and scored a goal winning the game for the team. But this is just the beginning of the boy’s very successful soccer career. After accomplishing four successful years of elementary school soccer the boy faced the obstacle of high school soccer tryouts. High school tryouts would be even more difficult to make so the whole summer the boy practiced every day. Even though he was fully prepared he still impatiently waited for the dreadful day. Finally the day came, and he walked to the field with the black and white soccer ball even though it was old and worn out he felt as if it was a good luck charm. As tryouts began the nervousness started to effect his playing but then he remembered what his old coach told him and he found the confidence to keep playing. A few days later they concluded their decisions on the teams and began announcing names. Relatively last they called his name and he burst with joy. Another obstacle under his belt and now he was one step closer to his dream. Rushing by, the boy had finished four more successful years of soccer. This means college is the next obstacle he has to face. That same year he got a soccer scholarship to U of M. As college soccer started to come close he realized that he probably needed to get a new soccer ball even though he did not want to give up his good luck charm. After purchasing a new ball he still kept the black and white ball for sentimental reasons. Later after college he finally had faced all the obstacles ahead of him and achieved his dream to become a professional soccer player. He joined the U.S. professional team and eventually got married and had a little boy. Today, the boy is about ten and plays on a rec soccer team with that same black and white ball that had helped his father achieve his dream.