Since before I was even 1 year old, because before I was even one years old, I had a basketball in my hands. Im surprised it wasn 't my first word. it was my dads pray to be able to have a son who would have the opportunity to play college basketball and I am his answered prayer. since i was born basketball was the only sport I wanted to play. from elementary to middle school to high school thats all I played. Now i am playing basketball for Moravian Prep in Hudson North Carolina and I can smell the college basketball opportunity its so close. I owe it all to God. the path has not been as easy at it may seem or as you would imagine. God used each event to shape me into the young man i am today. My 8th grade year in middle school I attended FairPlay middle. I was the starting point guard, co captain averaged 10 points a game 3 assist and 2 steals. I was very confident about playing high school basketball for Alexander High school. that summer, summer of 2010 my dad lost his job and I was cut from a team I didn 't even try out for. my dad and i had …show more content…
we ended the season 15-7 losing to a top ranked team in the district semi final game. ultimately I was happy with the season for i felt i was playing with the best group of guys in the state, but i didn 't know if I was gonna continue to play the very sport I love. I had no offers from any college universities. I believe God used that season to humble me for he had something greater in store. I soon receive word from Coach ellis of Moravian Prep expressing his interest in having me play for him this upcoming season. i had no clue what prep school was but it in fact granted me another year to play basketball at a high level in hoops of earning a scholarship the next season. The lord showed me that in the times where we feel rejected by man, is really God trying to tell us he has something better in store. that lesson right there is what helped me grow as a young
A year later, I was again chosen for the team. This time, I worked my way from being a back-up catcher to the starting 3rd baseman in two weeks. But after going 0-2 in my first two at-bats, my coach took me out of the starting line-up. Again, I pinch-hit, and was very successful at it. I even hit what turned out to be a game-winning homerun. We later reached the championship game again, but we lost it for the second time. This time I was more frustrated than I could ever remember being. I was slamming my hand into walls and almost crying. I was really acting very childish.
Starting my freshman year at County High School, I played basketball and loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t be conceited enough to say I was good, but God did bless me with the talent to play. My life revolved around the sport of basketball; some would say I slept, ate, and breathed every part of it. I spent all my time training and practicing to make myself a more dedicated athlete. This dedication not only helped me as a player, but also molded me into the person I am today. It somehow helped to prepare me for what defeat I would face with back surgery in the future.
On my first year of middle school, I was so excited because I finally could try out to be on a school softball team. I never played travel ball, only recreation softball so I've never actually been on a team that I tried out for. Over the summer I went to batting practice and fielding to get ready for the year. This is my year, I thought ready to tryout and make the team. The day came to where I had to show what I could do to the coaches. It took a while for the tryouts to actually commence because there was so much rain that week that it kept getting pushed back. This made more nervous, I just wanted to get it over with. I worked hard throughout the tryouts, but when I went up to bat I could not hit the ball. I tried many times but I couldn't do it. I felt terrible because everyone else hit great. I was embarrassed. I freaked out, this is what could ruin my chance to be on the team. Even then I still tried my best.
Sadly, my family was going through financial struggles, forcing me out of the school zone I was destined to attend. When I discussed the situation wih the high school coaches they told me they would pick me up from my new house and take me to school every day; with the condition that I’d play football for them all throughout high school. Even though this was illegal I continued to go ahead and accept the offer. My first year of high school was so exciting that it went by in the blink of an eye. Sophomore year came and the clock ticked closer and closer to when everything would change. I started in varsity as a corner back but soon would have big shoes to fill as the team’s quarterback. Not only did this require skill and hard work but the ability and qualities of a leader as well. Ultimately, playing this position helped me acquire traits that would soon be necessary for success. That year was tough for us because the majority of the team consisted of inexperienced players, however the coaches knew I would be the one to lead the
Later we had our first football game and I was excited for my last first game in high school, I never would have known that it potentially could have been my last game played. Within the first quarter I had broken my foot completely and because of my adrenaline I shrugged it off as a minor injury and played the rest of the game. After to what seemed like I was fine I stood up and collapsed as soon as I did so. This was the first injury that I had ever sustained and I was still in denial thinking I had just sprained a muscle. After being told that I wouldn’t be able to play for the rest of the season I was heartbroken, along with this the college that I had hoped to attend the most being West GA dropped me as a recruit. Two games passed and I was feeling helpless for myself, I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t do anything without the help of others, I had crutches but being a 320 lb. man it was very difficult getting around. As Nancy Mairs said: “I’ve been limping along for ten years now” I was off of my feet for 2 weeks and to me it felt like an eternity. This was when I decided to let college aside and all I wanted to do was finish my senior season strong, my mother allowed me to get my cast taken off and have me put into a boot. For the remaining games I roughed it out and played with a broken foot. Even with
8th-grade basketball tryouts finally rolled around. I had been practicing for a whole year, but still felt so much further behind than the rest of the kids trying out. I knew I had to try my literal hardest to make the team. Our tryouts didn’t start till after all the other grades had their practices or tryouts. We did not start till 4:30 p.m., and I stayed after school to practice even more. Every day in tryouts I would try my hardest, and I would even try to stay after tryouts to ask the coaches what I needed to work
This past fall I tried out for the varsity basketball team at my high school. I had played both on the freshman team and then last year on the junior varsity team. Playing on the varsity team is all I’ve wanted to do. I’d practiced all summer and in September and October to get ready for the try-outs at the beginning of November. Unfortunately I did not make the team. It was a huge blow for me because I had worked really hard and had expected to make it. Thankfully my moms and my friends were there to remind me that there were other paths to pursue my dreams. I could have easily been bitter and decided to stop caring, but they wouldn’t let me. I was humbled by this experience and decided to turn it into a positive. I’ve since decided to join the Wilson Live club at school. It’s a group that films and commentates sports events at school. This connects to a possible major that I’m interested in when I go to college--communications or sports
And as my focus has changed from hockey when I was a child to basketball now many new doors have opened for me and I am very thankful. But it’s not over yet as I hope one day to play for my national basketball team and if all works out well maybe get a chance to get paid to play the game that I love.
However, I still was nervous and very hesitant when I went to my first varsity high school football practice. All the coaches looked at me as if I were an outsider. I had already been looked at as a player that wasn't gonna make it. I watched how the upperclassmen would act like they had more power or could disrespect the coaches. The players wouldn't give as much effort as me and because I had not made the team yet I had to work ten time harder. I prayed before every practice that I’d get better to prove to myself and to everybody who doubted me and said I couldn't make the team. When tryouts came, I played outstanding and had earned myself a spot on the team and had gained respect from the coaches and players due to my determination.
As a former point guard and shooting guard for the University High Hawks, I, also, had a shot to play Division I, in Michigan for the Wolverines and Spartans and West Virginia for the Mountaineers, and Division II, in West Virginia for the Fairmont State Falcons. With all this excitement, I was told that my talent stood out but, I was the best vocal player these four schools have seen but, my dream of playing college basketball ended when I received a brutal knee injury in the beginning of the season of my senior year in high school.
Ever since I was young my parents said “Drew you should try new things, even if it means you fail at something.” I never really listen to them until one time in the study grade when I decided that it was ok to fail. I asked my parents “ Can we look for a club basketball team that I could try out for?” Thrilled in hearing that I wanted to try something new, they found I tryout for a team called the Cincinnati Royals. A couple of other friends agreed to try out with me, but I was still very nervous because it was my first tryout. All three of us made it through the first round of cuts and were called back for another tryout. I remember being more nervous for the second tryout than I was for the first. My palms sweated the whole night, every shot I took clanked of the rim, it wasn’t my night. My two other friends were told that they made the team, but I unfortunately got cut which I expected given how I performed. At first I saw this experience as an overwhelming failure, but I soon realized that I challenged myself, and I could learn from the criticism the coaches gave me. Taking the new stuff I learned from the tryout, I found a different club basketball team that I was fortunate enough to make, which I got to meet new people and play a sport that I loved. Although I may not have gotten the
My self esteem plummeted and disappointment filled my soul. Fortunately, my dad was there to give me the “Just keep on working hard” speech. I will never forget this one sentence he said: “If you tried your best and you didn’t do well, so what! That’s all they can ask for.” After tryouts, I was placed on team with my best friend at the time, Cal. We were the Huntley Park District Pirates. However, we did not strike gold . We only won three games the whole season, but at least it was a
I had been cut from the team because there wasn’t a place for me that year. Accepting that this wasn’t where God wanted me to be was extremely difficult for me. He had other plans for me though. I gradually was able to bounce back and become a stronger person through my faith. When rebounding from volleyball God opened more doors and possibilities for me to participate in and enjoy. I was able to take a step to think more about life after high school and what I wanted to pursue in life. I got involved in East Noble’s DECA club, where I successfully found my love for business. Another door was opened when I started working at a pizza place. I was able to experience the owners starting a new business and the key aspects of
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
When I was four, I received my first Fisher Price basketball court. The court was in my house and the basket was only five feet tall. My parents placed it in the living room since it was the only room in the house without carpet. I practiced shooting every day. I would wear my father’s sneakers and imitate basketball moves that I had seen on T.V. At that age, I did not yet have any self-awareness about my potential for the sport, but my father knew it was very likely to become a passion. By the age of five, my father was taking me out to the park with a basketball and I can actually remember the day I made my first basket. After that, I went on to play in basketball leagues, as well as work out with my father in gyms every night. Those were the best of times.