How a Basketball Game Changed my Life The unforgettable and life-changing event that took place in a fall league basketball game at Competitive Edge, King of Prussia, will always be imprinted in my heart and mind. As a sixth grader in the start of the 2014-2015 school year, I was the most arrogant individual that could ever possibly exist. Unfortunately, my lack of skill and size proved that I should alter my attitude, as I was playing with athletic, aggressive seventh and eighth graders. The specific milestone includes two wise, experienced basketball coaches who spoke mature, comprehensive advice. During the middle of the season, my team, The Iball Athletics, and another team, Philly Triple Threat, have yet to lose a basketball game. Consequently, many rude, detrimental comments were thrown back …show more content…
Our next game was against this team, and we were craving the bragging rights we would obtain if we were to win. This competitive matchup established an eagerness of pride, self-satisfaction, and hostility against each other. I modeled a dark image of an individual who acquires a selfish mind because I cared only about embarrassing them, no matter the problems that were to occur on court. However, little did I know that the experience following the competitive game would ultimately cultivate my perspective and attitude I perceived toward others. October 13, 2014 will go down as the toughest basketball game I ever played to date. As the game unfolded, there was a commencement of major resentment between the players to their opposing team. Despite the fact that we were all there for a basketball game, more trash talk was present rather than playing. As a large ego-minded player, I was willing to do anything to ignite a spark to win, but I did not have the skills
The first personal traits that Coach Dale was forced to exhibit were his toughness and his assertiveness. On his first night in Hickory he met the men of town in the barbershop who were all willing to provide their experience and insight on the team and how to coach. Coach Dale had enough self confidence to know that none of these “insights” were going to help the Hickory team win basketball games and let them know they weren’t welcome by turning his back and walking out. Additionally, he was forced to demonstrate his toughness twice more on the first day of practice by telling the temporary coach, “Secondly, your days of coaching are over,” and then by standing up to the group of men after he dismissed Buddy from the team. These actions made no friends of the men; however, th...
The gym is full of people; the stands are so full that they overflow onto the edge of the court and out the doorway. The shrieks and screeches cry out from the crowd’s cheers. The ball crashes through the net, as they jump popcorn flies. The home team hit a three-point shot; they are winning with only a few seconds left. In these few seconds, the coach looks around. He realizes why he does what he does. At this point, none of the labor, time, and effort matters. The only thing that matters is the win, seeing his team succeed; watching a team grow is unlike any other feeling. In order to understand that feeling, one first has to appreciate the game: the rules and regulations, the legends that have played and coached, the development of the game,
It was the most competitive three days of my life, basketball tryouts. This is the first time my friends and I were trying out for a school team, we were all hyped for basketball season. I entered the tryout excited and consequently energetic. Adrenaline was pulsing through all the players bodies, there were 6 foot tall 8th graders with years of experience competing against 6th graders who have never touched a basketball before for the same spots. I was in between, I was a 6th grader that had experience along with some skill. That was also my downfall, I went in overconfident and consequently cocky. I wasn’t planning on getting cut, I walked into the tryout overwrought, nothing could stop me from being on the team.
So, with my birth in 1979 in a small town in Kansas, this was the world I stepped into. Naismith, Chamberlain, Winter, and others had been incorporated into a basketball pantheon by the public. They were part of the public consciousness, but only in a supporting role. The game of basketball itself was lifted above them all, the true source of the passion. Before I was ten years old I had seen this passion at its peak. The NCAA Tournament of 1988 turned out to be a great showcase of Kansas and Big 8 basketball. The team I loved, KSU, made an improbable run in the tournament, winning their first three games. This set up a Sunflower State showdown between KSU and KU in the round of eight. The game ended up being a blowout, with KU dominating. KU went on to win the national championship in exciting fashion, beating Big 8 rivals Oklahoma in an exciting championship game. As an impressionable eight-year-old, I soaked up the emotions. The hopes and expectations, the ecstasy and the heartbreak. These feelings stuck with me.
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 championship game loss helps the audience, especially young adults with high, aspiring dreams, to understand, that even if you do work-hard and aren’t awarded with winning your goal, this isn’t the end of your journey. It only means you have to work harder in the future, if you want to succeed at your goal. This conclusion shows young children how to lose properly and how to be grateful for what they have, since being good a winning is a much easier task. For like a quote from Colin Powell, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” The under-class, basketball players learned from the mistakes in the title game, so they could go farther and win next year’s championship, because failure should never be your excuse to not attempt something.
I look around to see our players walking off the court, looking for reasons to blame anyone but themselves for the loss. Our young, dedicated coach sat in disappointment. I hear the soft insults, “Ben should have done this” “Jacob should have done this”. Everyone was their own type of player, and tonight we did not play like a team. Tonight we played for ourselves. Tonight we lost.
Parents and coaches are questioning whether participation trophies boost youth’s self-esteem, give rise to a deeper appreciation for sportsmanship, and promote more devout devotion in athletic activities. Do rewards have an impact on young athlete’s self-worth? Travis Armideo’s article “The Pros and Cons of Participation Trophies for Young Athletes” voices concern on the detriment to children’s self-esteem from sports related defeat and the child’s effort when not receiving adequate recognition. Consequently, he believes this creates a negative view of the child’s abilities. Meanwhile, Dr. Michele Borba discusses the importance of perseverance, being capable to learn from blunders, and the constructive role it can have on a child’s self-image
Parker Abate, Athlete at Misericordia University writes that “ young athletes should be honored in lesser ways and all deserve to feel some form of accomplishment.” Abate believes that rewarding younger athletes with participation trophies can show them that sports are not all about winning, and that its O.K to lose. These trophies may also attempt to keep the child in a sport as it can encourage them to work harder and stay active in extracurricular activities. Abate believes that “It will be very hard to go far in the ““real world”” without understanding teamwork. Participation awards begin to instill the idea in a child’s mind that working with a unit can lead to success.”
I took risks that I normally would not take and payed the price for them. I grew frustrated and did not focus on the game at hand. Finally, Mr. Johs, our team coach, came to talk to me. He attempted to calm me down and make me laugh, but I was far too angry with myself to even listen to him. Eventually my anger subsided enough to let me have a few good shots.
For this reason, I applauded the efforts done using the psychological tools that, were I read in the article into the basketball court. Since, there are several thoughts going on in the minds of the athlete and coach, which can cause the team to enter a state of chaos if they notice something is not going right. Considering that there needs to be methods that can control the athlete’s behavior and still have them be at their best abilities even during stressful times. Furthermore, I appreciated how well the team were together due to the fact that compared to the Burlington Central team, the team bond was there, but since the Head coach was silent the whole time and only spoke when he noticed a flaw in his player’s performance helped establish this idea that despite the fact that they may have won the game, the Johnsburg team had a better chemistry overall in terms of Athlete and Coach situation. Overall, the methods of first and secondary-order component skills that were utilized throughout the game greatly benefitted the players despite the loss. In spite of all of the positives, I feel that there were some aspects that the team could of improved on during the game, including the fact that there were times in which, particularly at the end of the game where other teammates were pressuring their star player to produce successful free
Ever since I was a little boy, about eight years old or so, I had an extreme passion for the sport of basketball. On weekends, I would wake up in the morning, eat a bowl of frosted flakes or cheerios, put on basketball shorts and then go in my driveway to shoot around. I would be out there for hours just shooting around or playing with some random kids that I would occasionally see walking around my neighborhood. This was satisfaction to me, but even better was playing on multiple public teams and not just playing in my driveway every day. In elementary school, I played in a recreational league, just like almost every other kid who tries out basketball when they were younger. This was fun and all but it was nothing too serious. There were never any practices, it was just one or two unorganized games per week. I never took
Josh must have known I was nervous because he came up to me, and he told me to stop thinking and play. I had followed Josh’s words, and just stopped thinking and played basketball. Not only was facing my fears a struggle, but it seemed that the opposing team was favored to win. People were cheering them on like crazy. Many even chanted for them during the game.
I’m Makenna Walker, and right now life’s pretty great. I’m a 7th grader at Silver creek middle school and everything is kinda perfect. I’m in honors and have great grades in all classes, I have SO many friends and i guess you could consider me “popular”. Basketball is my absolute favorite sport but I have to say the best part in my life is, I finally have a perfect non-replaceable best friends.
The winner of this game would make it to the championship game, so I already had a lot of tension. My temper and the tension, I did not have time to deal with other players being pricks. The team I was on did not like the team we were facing at all. We had a history with them, since I was around six. Even the parents got into it with the other parents.