My first shot in basketball
“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point you will”
-Venus Williams
I’m the worst one out here, I thought as I was on the court. The time was ticking…. It all started when my brothers started teaching me to play basketball in the summer of late June. My brothers have always been good at basketball. Tthey were really good when they played in high school. Ever since I had been playing with my brothers I thought I would be good when I started basketball in middle school. I had confidence in myself, but then we started practice…
At practice I didn't know how tiring it was but it was totally worth it in the end, in basketball I played wing/ guard. Everyone on my team was really good so when we had our first game against Waukon I thought we would win and I was right we did win. Then two days later we had our first home game against Kee High Hawks and that day at school I was so hyped because it was our first home game of the season and so was everyone else on my team. We were also excited about it because we get to dress up for home games. By dress up I mean we get to wear something that looks nice. School was over and it was game time.
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In the West Central drill we have two lines under the basket and someone comes from one line and that person in line throws the ball to that person and then that person throws the ball and tries to make a basket where they’re standing and it keeps going on and on and on. After that if we have time we make free throws and if you make a free throw our team claps but if you don't make it we say good job. Suddenly it was time to put the balls away and start the game. We all went into a huddle to say our little “yell” type thing. So we all went “1..2..3...TIGERHAWKS” and started the
My first practice was scary -(how i felt) because I didn't know anyone there, but that was the day I met my new coach and teammates. The first few practices were exciting because I got to learn how to play the game including the rules and how to keep score. I also learned what to do and not to do during a game. That season is when i first realized i was a good soccer player and a big help to my team. My team and I didn’t do very well but throughout the seasons we
“Just always stay brave and never give up,Stay the way you are.” Fred said smiling.
I had been practicing harder than the rest of the kids in 7th grade, but yet they were still so much better than I was. I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. I kept thinking that I wasn’t going to make the basketball team again. One day I had enough and just started working hard on building confidence in my shot. I would spend hours on end just trying to build confidence because I had no confidence in anything I did.
Basketball is a big part of my life, one year ago in tournament final game two of our best players were hurt and the team was relying on me. With the time winding down on the clock we were down 8 points. Somehow I got our deficit down to two points with 30 seconds left, after an intense defensive stop 10 seconds remained on the clock; our coach called a timeout. A play was drawn up for me to take the shot. Mitchell inbounded the ball to me as I came off of a screen, I had an some-what wide open shot, I took the shot, you could hear the crowd go silent as the ball left my hand and headed towards the basketball. It felt like everything was going slow motion, the ball was getting closer and closer to the hoop and I…….missed it. The buzzer sounded
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.
“Quick shoot the ball” Yelled the coach. Running down the field I shoot we won I scored the winning goal.” As I looked over at the scoreboard beep the game was over. We have won the game we are going to the championship. As we were going out to go eat with my team for our win “Bang” a loud crack of the thunder.
Let's take a step back, I woke up and I was not well rested. I thought to myself this is game day and I am still super tired. Then my Dad came into the room and said get your lazy butt you got a game today!!! I got and got all my stuff ready and checked bag not once but twice. I was ready to head to the school.
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.
I figured that I had grown about five inches since my freshman year and had gotten stronger it might be time to play basketball competitively once more. When November rolled around I was on the varsity team, but unfortunately my basketball skills was not up to par. It was tough at first, because I was a new face on the team, and the guys on the team had a great chemistry that they had built up throughout the years. After a few weeks had rolled by, I realized that I would not be in the rotation.I told myself that the team’s success is more important than my personal desired statistics.I decided to make the most of my role on the team. It was a tradition for the guys who were not in the rotation to contribute to the game in some way, guys did this by preforming stunts after significant plays and momentum shifts in the game in our favor. This was great because the crowd loved and it and more importantly my teammates fed off of the
I remember how bad it hurt to be told I didn’t make the team. Many of the kids quit when they found out they were on the B team. I was so emotional inside but I never complained, I showed up to practice everyday, I worked hard everyday, and I listened to the coach’s criticism and used it to make myself a better player. I was even on JV until my junior year in high school.
Basketball has been more than just a game in my life, it has always been a big part of my life, but it has been a part differently than what it is to others. I love everything about basketball. I have done everything from keeping the official book for a men's and women's collegiate team to washing a high school team's practice clothes and even making sure everyone has their uniforms and shoes before leaving for an away game. You don't have to be on the court, you don't have to be the one taking the winning shot or calling the play to be part of the team. I want you to think about this instead of feeling sorry for yourself because you didn't make the cut. I hope by the time you finish reading this you will realize being part of a team can come in many different positions, and anyone can be involved, if you have the desire and are responsible.
“I needed to find a way to get rid of your self doubt and this was the only option and it actually worked.”
“Can I play basketball?” I asked uncertainly. The next week my dad signed me up for recreational basketball at the huntley park district. Even though everyone was put onto a team, there was still a tryout. What happened there was the most embarrassing moment of my life; I missed every single shot I took, except for one lay up, and I did so poorly on the ball handling drills that the coach said, “Hey Jim, how many points does he lose if he didn’t go through the cones at all.”
And not being played as much I wanted was the worst thing ever. From then on I was determined to be a starting player my senior year and did everything I could to be better at my position on the court. Finally the day had come for tryouts to start and there was 2 other girls trying out for the same position I was trying out for. One of the girls had been the starting setter and an all around player for the JV team the past year and I was a bit intimidated by her and the other girl was just starting out the position so I wasn't that worried about her. A few days later we had a scrimmage and the coach told me she saw a huge improvement in my skills and I was pleased to hear her say that because I worked my butt off to be better. It was the beginning of the season and the first few games I was a starting player and was overwhelmed by the pace the other teams were playing at because I didn't play as much as they probably have but eventually got used to the change. All of a sudden the coach switched things up and the former JV setter was the starting setter and I was a bit angry. But for the rest of the season I was the starting setter and also was made captain of the Varsity team and got server of the year in our district that
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