I became very interested in playing basketball over the past couple of years. It initially started in the fifth grade. Back then, I was completely new to the sport so I had a lot to learn. I practiced as much as I could but it just wasn’t enough to make the cut. Even though I didn't make the team at first, I continued to practice with the team and play harder so that my coach would notice me. And he did,that same week he offered me a position on the team as a center, being that I was pretty tall. I then went on playing basketball for two more years for my school's team until my privileges of playing basketball were stripped from me, for neglecting my duties of maintaining my good grades . This put me in a slump because I was unable to play basketball for about two years which in turn decreased my skill level that I had previously worked hard to achieve. I refused to let it hold me back from achieving my goal to play college basketball. My tenth grade, I tried out for my school's basketball team and I made the cuts on the account that my grades were good and that I never missed a practice. It was indeed difficult for me especially because I wasn't skilled, to point where I had not score one …show more content…
You see, if I plan to go pro in basketball I'll have to train like the professionals. I’ll have to put myself out of my comfort zone, ridding myself of the idea that losing is OK. I’ll have to exercise very aggressively and rigorously.I’ll have to train practically every day for countless hours, mastering the techniques to the sport until they become second nature.My skills must be constantly improving, never staying stagnant I’ll have to change up my eating habits,making my food choices more lean and beneficial to my health on a long term scale. I’ll have to cut out all unnecessary sugars and starches which overtime slows down the body. This may seem that my life will become boring and monotonous, but that is just a matter of
As soon as I started high school, my goal was to play college baseball. I played baseball for a very competitive select club that traveled out of town every week from Thursday through Sun as well as practicing every Tuesday and Wednesday. All through high school, I sacrificed my free time in the summer to prepare myself for college baseball. After receiving offers from four year universities as well as junior colleges, I decided that a junior college would provide me the best opportunity to continue to develop as a player. Even though I decided I wanted to play at a junior college, I wanted the experience of going away to college and living in a dorm so I decided to attend a junior college in Iowa where they had dorms for student athletes. Being ecstatic to be able to go off to college and play baseball was short lived. During the first month of baseball practice, I injured my arm, spent two months in physical therapy with no improvement, and then finally receiving the bad news that I would need surgery to improve. Surgery was performed over Thanksgiving break, but I was now faced with months of physical therapy, which meant
Ever since I was young my parents said “Drew you should try new things, even if it means you fail at something.” I never really listen to them until one time in the study grade when I decided that it was ok to fail. I asked my parents “ Can we look for a club basketball team that I could try out for?” Thrilled in hearing that I wanted to try something new, they found I tryout for a team called the Cincinnati Royals. A couple of other friends agreed to try out with me, but I was still very nervous because it was my first tryout. All three of us made it through the first round of cuts and were called back for another tryout. I remember being more nervous for the second tryout than I was for the first. My palms sweated the whole night, every shot I took clanked of the rim, it wasn’t my night. My two other friends were told that they made the team, but I unfortunately got cut which I expected given how I performed. At first I saw this experience as an overwhelming failure, but I soon realized that I challenged myself, and I could learn from the criticism the coaches gave me. Taking the new stuff I learned from the tryout, I found a different club basketball team that I was fortunate enough to make, which I got to meet new people and play a sport that I loved. Although I may not have gotten the
Beginning as a freshman I started every game never, but to sit on the bench unless there was a major problem. This repetitious cycle mirrored itself over and over again until there was a problem, physically, with my body. I had felt a pain in my back that ran down my leg for some time, but no one other than me knew of this pain. I am a very strong willed and determined person, not letting pain stand in my way. The pain started to vaguely effect my everyday activities, such as walking across Wal-mart which put me in agonizing pain. The only way I played basketball with this pain was by focusing on the goal I was out to achieve.
As a kid, I was born and raised to love the great game of baseball. Many young kids have had dreams to become professional athletes, and achieve prestigious awards/ titles. Like many kids I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. As a younger kid with my head in the clouds, I never really knew what it was like to put my actual blood, sweat, and tears into something I loved, until my worst season I had ever played. This whole story starts in the beginning of my ninth grade baseball season. It started out different from every other year because, of course I was a freshman. This was the first year I had ever practiced with the varsity squad, it was much more difficult, but I still figured I was going to do great. After weeks
In 2014 I was determined to make the high school soccer team. Every day at 8 am at the beginning of a dreadfully hot August morning, I would get to the turf fields for 4 hours and participate in “hell week”. After a long week, I made the JV team. I was never put into the game and felt like my hard work was put to no use. My sophomore year rolled around and I tried extra hard to impress the coaches. Anything and everything was a competition to make it to the top. By the end of the week, we all gathered around the paper that had names of the players who made it. I didn’t make the team. After tears and telling myself to move on, I went to the field hockey tryouts. I knew nothing about the sport and was terrified that soccer wasn’t my go-to
I began to play basketball by the 2nd grade and immediately took a liking to the game. I played competitively on my town’s PAL (Police Athletic League) team up until the 7th grade. Then I was old enough to play on my School’s junior high boys’ team. During this year and the following year as an eighth grader I lost the passion and drive I previously had for the game of basketball. As of the 2007-2008 school year our total enrollment barley reached 130. Because of this we did not have a JV team like ...
When I reached seventh grade, basketball took a different role in my life. I played on my junior high basketball team and absolutely loved it. From November to March, my life revolved around an orange ball. From seventh grade to eleventh grade, this was winter to me. I was a true student of the game, learning and improving constantly. I became fairly good, and even won some awards my eighth grade season. During my freshman year in high school, I once scored 29 points in a junior varsity game. When I stopped growing at 6’, however, it became fairly clear that there was no future in it for me as a player.
I never anticipated that when I decided to play basketball, I would endure so much pain, soreness, or diversity, but I was inevitability mistaken. Basketball has taught me how to compete as a team with teammates whom you might not get along with. As in any sport, teams go through many ups and downs together throughout the years. When times get demanding and strenuous, as teammates, we have to encourage each other, build our strength up together, and keep good character through it all. My late grandfather always preached to me about never letting my circumstances define my character, and I find myself teaching my teammates, friends, and classmates more about that saying each day. Additionally, I do not consider myself a defeatist because I have never quit a sport or activity in life because it got challenging, problematic, or more demanding. My grandfather also taught me to press through the tough times in life, and I would be rewarded in some way. Now the reward was not money nor fame, for it was a profound understanding that I would never be handed anything in life because I had to earn it. In
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
I shot two hundred baskets every night before I went in for dinner over the summer, not because I enjoyed I it, but because my mom wouldn't let me inside If I didn't. My life was consumed by the game of basketball. I remember when I used to admire everything about the gym; the smell of the hardwood floors, the sound of the rubber basketballs smacking the ground, the sweat shimmering on the court, the harsh yellow lights gleaming down from the ceiling. It made my fingers tingle, and a rush of adrenaline stemmed throughout my body. Hours of practice, camps, and games added up, and I was one of the best players in town. My priorities were as follows; athletics, family, and then school. Basketball was my only focus and it soon started to show
Basketball seems to get into your blood. It is said by those who play, "You eat, you sleep and you play basketball." When I was a little girl all I wanted to be was a professional basketball player. I couldn't count how many times I pounded that dumb ball in our driveway until it was too dark to see, then I would play for hours more by the porch light. Now I realize that was only childish insanity. Back then they didn’t even have a girls’ profession basketball league in the states. However, that didn't stop me from walking away empty handed. One thing I learned was how to prepare oneself for life. Well, at least, how to prepare oneself for a game.
Basketball has been my lifelong passion. I have had basketball on my mind ever since I can remember. I have always played basketball. Due to it being a part of who I am, I had to maintain my strength and endure despite a setback that changed my life in my junior year of high school. As the late great Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom famously said in his song “Dedication”, “Minor setback for major comeback.”
I had always heard playing basketball at a high school level was always the first step in order to become a professional. Though I only played once throughout high school I was still interested in how one could become a professional at basketball. For my senior project I chose to research about it and found out many interesting things I didn’t know about it. My knowledge for basketball grew even more.
“Leadership is the ability to take an average team of individuals and transform them into superstars” stated by Jonas Falk, the CEO of OrganicLife. As a point guard, throughout my life, they are the heart and leaders of the game. The specialized position coordinates basketball plays similar to a quarterback in football. We are not the primary scorers; we assist in getting the ball passed to the right player at the right time. Basketball is a team sport, but in a sense, my position resembles the leader of the team.
It was the start of summer 2002, and the Mid America Youth Basketball (MAYB) national tournament was taking place in Andover, Kansas. Along with the rest of the team, I was excited to play some basketball for the first time since the middle school basketball season was over. Our team, Carlon Oil, had been together and played every summer for the last four years. We were a really good team, with an overall record of 65-4 over those four years and were hoping to continue our legacy. Lonnie Lollar, our coach for the summer, was also the coach of our high school basketball team. I had a history of groin injuries, and every summer it seemed that I would have to sit out at least a game on the bench icing my groin. But this summer was different, and I along with everyone in the gym wouldn't have expected my summer to end with a injury such as a broken leg.