The Second Fourth Grade Championship Basketball Game

Bzzzz! It was the start of the fourth quarter of the fifth-grade championship basketball game, and we had the lead. Thirty-eight to twenty-three. With only an eight-minute quarter ahead of us, we were confident that we had this game in the bag. By this time, we thought we were invincible, after all, we were undefeated, and we did a comfortable lead. But quickly, this confidence began to reveal itself in our play. We slowed down and lowered our intensity. The aggressiveness and relentlessness that brought us this far were suddenly replaced by passiveness and laziness. Sloppy passes left and right, not taking care of the ball, and hands down on defense. Our fight was gone.

However, our opponents never let up. They saw our quality of basketball drop in spite of our overconfidence and bit at this opportunity. They began to cut down the lead, and quickly. Forty-one to thirty-four, with four minutes and thirty seconds left to go. We immediately realized that the game was not over yet, so we tried to pick up the pace once again. But all the rhythm and momentum we once had was lost. They took control of the game, scoring at will, and completely shutting us down. We could do nothing to stop the mounting comeback, and before we knew it, they were the team with the comfortable lead. Forty-three to fifty with only one minute to go. An undefeated team that had the championship in their hands…are now on the brink of elimination. Trailing for the first time ever we panicked, but it was too late.

Bzzzz! All of us drop to the ground almost simultaneously, heads hanging in sorrow. Shocked, ashamed…broken.

The cause of this shameful defeat came down to us not giving it our all the whole game. We didn’t work hard enough, and ultimately, we got wh...

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...ast a ninety-three in all of my classes. A goal I would have never reached if I continued to believe A’s and B’s are enough.

Although it would have nice to have gotten a trophy that says “Champions” instead of “Runner-up”, I am glad I lost that game, as much as it hurt. The loss meant so much to me that it actually taught me an extremely valuable lesson that has ultimately lead me to more success than just a championship. A simple lesson, give it all you got and never be satisfied with where you are, but It has taught me how to be successful on and off the court. I would not be the player nor student I am today if I would not have failed. My failure actually drove me toward success, giving me ability to push myself to better grades, and a more skillful basketball player. Sometimes, all it takes is one failure to hit you the right way, to knock onto a path to success.