Personal Narrative: Coaching Basketball

With the sound of the whistle ringing throughout the gym, I called in my fifth grade boys basketball team. My team composed of seven boys whom I’d coached since they were barely able to dribble a basketball in the first grade. We played for the Immaculate Conception School in Newburyport, a small catholic elementary school I attended from kindergarten to eighth grade. This community we had formed had grown into something special, the type of team that only came through the school every decade or so. These boys played their hearts out every game, and it made me proud to be their coach. Coaching basketball provides me an opportunity to give back to the game that has given me so much throughout the years. It affords me the opportunity to

serve as a role model for these young boys as they face a time of growth in middle school. Every time I walk out onto the court with clipboard in hand, I’m teaching them not only to play the game, but how to be a better person in life. Watching the boys over the years develop into young men and learn from their experiences has been an amazing experiencing, and knowing that I have had an impact on them as they grew makes me proud to be their coach.