Hoops Galore

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Just to let you know i got a 97 on this paper.

Hoops Galore

Filled with tension as I walked into the run-down gym, I arrived early for my first day of basketball practice. My first line of business was to stretch my muscles so I could get loose and ready to play. As more of my teammates came in, we started to converse about old teams and coaches. Our talk reminded me of my earlier years of life and made me grin. As we started to play, I began to focus on the game. After scoring a couple of baskets, I started relaxing and having fun. After my first day when I practiced for some time, I began to realize that participating in basketball was helpful socially, mentally, and most importantly, physically.
My Participation in basketball was socially uplifting. One way that it helped me socially, was to change my reaction to meeting new people. When I first started playing, I was always the shy guy in the corner. After years of playing, I have come out of my shell and now am one of the first players to introduce myself to everyone. More importantly, participating in basketball helped me develop better friendships with people that I already knew. The first day of practice I knew almost everyone on my team from school and have talked to them, but never really got to know them. Playing with them helped me find the true personalities of these kids. The most important way that participating in basketball helped socially, was the fact that I met an abundance of new people. Every time that I started a new recreational basketball season there were always some new kids that I had never met. Getting to know these kids was a doorway to meeting their friends and expanding my horizons socially.
Along with the social benefits of participating in basketball, I found it also helped mentally. Regular participation improved my mental reaction timing. When I was playing and I saw an open lane to the basket, all those years of practice and play came in to focus so I could make the decision to drive to the hoop "quicker" than I could if I had never played. More importantly, when I played, I got into the game mentally and it brought out the most competitive person inside me. The more frequent this competitive person came out, the more it carried over into everyday life making me strive to do my best at everything I do.

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