Player of the Year Speech

When the phrase "Public Speaking" is brought up, I instantly think about standing behind a podium with an audience present, while giving a speech. I've had many experiences with public speaking, but the most nerve raking speech I had to give is when I won the "Player of the Year" award for football. Players and family members gathered at Damon's for a banquet of Centre County's Player of the Year award. We had a very delicious dinner before the presentation and then gathered to meet each player. When the presentation started, they slowly credited each player and how their season went. When the time came and they started to present the award, i thought to myself, "What am I going to say if I win this award?" As my name was called, I was filled with excitement and joy because it was a great honor to win this award. As I walked up and received the award, I was asked to give a speech. I was extremely nervous because I was not prepared to give a speech. When I reached the podium and looked at the audience, I started to awkwardly smile because I was nervous. When I gave my speech, I didn't speak loud and I took long pauses to think of what I was going to say next. I was just telling myself that I couldn't wait to go home because of public speaking is something I'm not as good at as I want to be and my speech definitely reflected it.