Why Basketball Is Important To Me

Sports have always been a prominent aspect of my life, it has been that way ever since I was very young. I began playing soccer, softball, and other sports with my friends when I was younger, however I never really took to liking these sports. As i grew up I stayed in sports switching from one to the other, until, when I was in second grade I discovered the sport basketball. I will always remember the day I found out about this sport; I was on my way home from tennis practice and my mom looked back at me in my carseat and asked if i was interested in playing this sport called basketball. Not really knowing what basketball was, or anything about the sport for that matter, I decided to go into it blindfolded and see how I liked it. The next week, as soon as i stepped onto the court, saw the kids dribbling and shooting, listened to the sound of squeaking sneakers and balls bouncing, I knew this was the sport for me. I had a lot of ups and downs

I had some mean coaches and over involved parents who would try to make me doubt my skill. Fast forward 7 years and I’m still playing basketball, only this time for a nationally ranked team in Philadelphia, on my varsity high school team. The older i got the more intense the sport got. I found myself in year round training along with being on my high school team and an elite AAU team in Philadelphia. Being in such a position in my basketball career, there were much higher expectations in your skill with every aspect of the sport. At the beginning of my career on the elite AAU team. I was quickly presented with almost a kind of roadblock when my coach called a team meeting before one of our first Saturday morning practices; we all assembled in the team room for this meeting and waited on my coach to get there. Upon him arriving to the team room he began handing out large red binders filled heavily with papers. My coach began his speech