It was a cold cloudy Friday morning. The day of the most nerve racking championship game had finally arrived for the two rivalry basketball teams, the Kress Lady Roos and the Hart Lady Horns. Weeks and weeks of hard, aggressive, closely won ball games one after another. Only a little bit of time after that to get ready for the most important game ever; this is the game everyone has been preparing for. A ton of exhausting conditioning and an enormous amount of shooting lead up to this moment. Every girl on the Lady Roos basketball team feels excited, pumped, and ready for the game later tonight. Constantly thinking and feeling overly enthusiastic of what the outcome of the game would be like. We all had predictions of what we wanted the game to be like but it was up to whichever team wanted it the most. With all the confidence and motivation that we had that morning we just wanted school to be over with already. It did not end quickly though. School was such a drag. We all could not wait for that three-thirty bell to ring so we could hop onto that big, yellow, warm bus. Finally, the loud, annoying bell goes off. It was now, “Game Time”! Only hours away until we would play the game of our lives. As we approached the humongous school our opponents were already there. We did not want to even look at them when we walked in. We did not want to be discouraged by what kind of players they were. As the minutes passed by it was time to get ready. We could already hear our loud and passionate fans approaching the gym. We love our dedicated and supportive Kress community. As the warm-up started we all became very anxious and jittery but knew we had to shake it off and stay focused. As we had our last talk with the coach and said our glorious ...
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... to trap the player with our hardcore defense. The Lady Horn player freaks out and throws it clear across the court. That is where one of her teammates was and as the Lady Roos hurriedly run down the court she shoots a jump shot. The ball up in the air for what seems like forever rolls and rolls around the rim and goes through the orange rim. The Lady Horns and their fans jump for joy as they have just won the championship game. The Lady Roos, walking back to the bench with tears in their eyes, have to find the courage to go shake their hands and tell them good job. The Lady Roos are devastated and hang their heads low with total silence as they get dressed in the locker room. To their amazement, the awesome Kress fans were all standing out there still cheering them on and giving them great remarks. Than they realized the experience they just had was an amazing one.
With through the roof expectations and tough love that Summitt once experienced from her father that she later relayed to her girls, one eight national championships. A team a school, that had no women’s basketball uniforms, lacked a locker room, and the attention from outsiders was nothing but a dream at the time, and turned them into a team and gave them a reputation that any rational person would deeply respect. Her book is full of thrilling memories, stories, and good times, illustrations that is hard for Summitt to rekindle now they just are as clear as they once were.
This morning I witnessed a tournament held in town. As I was watching I realized that I wasn’t exactly certain about all the rules. This is why I decided to write this article about the history, rules, and guidelines of this riveting sport. The words "tournament" and "joust" are frequently used interchangeably. Strictly speaking "joust" describes single combat between two horsemen. "Tournament" refers to mounted combat between parties of knights, but also is used to refer to the whole proceeding. The first written tournament guidelines are credited to a Frenchman named Geoffroi de Purelli in 1066. I would have interviewed this man but he was unfortunately killed, ironically in one of these very tournaments for which he made rules. Jousting is a way of gaining respect. It is what is done when there is no war to fight. Jousting is essentially a way of “playing� war.
The team was ready, we had been working extremely hard for the past seven months for this. We were all in great shape and very rested. A few of the returning players were meeting me at my house to carpool to the final game of the state championship tournament. Everyone knew that the hard work had paid off when we won the semi-final game the preceding day.
Finally, the day has come, October 25th. Our game was against the Washington Wizards at 7:30p.m. I didn’t realize the whole first quarter has passed at the score of 32-20 with Portland leading. Coach looks at Presley and I and says “ get in there.” We look at each other and nod at our chance to play. “Let’s do our best,” I say to Presley. He nods in agreement.
My team, Brookfield, encountered many hard times to win this spot in the finals, and we ended up losing in overtime. We were down two to zero in the first half. Everyone was working vigorously. At half time, my coach gave us an encouraging pep talk. It hyped us up and gave us hope. Then in the second half, my team scored two goals to tie the score up. This made the game go into overtime. During the overtime period, which was two five minute halves, Waukesha scored another two goals. At the end of regulation, my team was devastated by the loss. We were defeated four to two. On the other hand though, we were delighted we got this far and took second. Weather
So, with my birth in 1979 in a small town in Kansas, this was the world I stepped into. Naismith, Chamberlain, Winter, and others had been incorporated into a basketball pantheon by the public. They were part of the public consciousness, but only in a supporting role. The game of basketball itself was lifted above them all, the true source of the passion. Before I was ten years old I had seen this passion at its peak. The NCAA Tournament of 1988 turned out to be a great showcase of Kansas and Big 8 basketball. The team I loved, KSU, made an improbable run in the tournament, winning their first three games. This set up a Sunflower State showdown between KSU and KU in the round of eight. The game ended up being a blowout, with KU dominating. KU went on to win the national championship in exciting fashion, beating Big 8 rivals Oklahoma in an exciting championship game. As an impressionable eight-year-old, I soaked up the emotions. The hopes and expectations, the ecstasy and the heartbreak. These feelings stuck with me.
The emotion is intense. Everyone in the gym is on the edge of his or her seat. Time is expiring as the final shot for the win sails through the air. The buzzer sounds… Athletics are a critical element of high school lives--whether it be playing for or supporting one’s team. In order to accomplish success in a season, these supporting individuals are forced to rely on a select few of premier athletes. From day one of tryouts, these athletes are crafted and molded based on their hard work as well as their ability to play in accordance with the coach’s style. At a varsity level, where victory has his or her job on the line, coaches should not be required to play every member of the team equally.
October 12, 2004 eight different squads line up single file, in front of an eager and restless audience. The many different squads seem to have their own special fan sections. Moms. dads, sisters and brothers all here to lend their support. In the very center there seems to be an ocean of blue and green, our entire football team is there to support us like we do every tuesday and friday night.Our Freshmen and Junior Varsity cheelreaders are here also, watching us in awe, and day anticipating their three minutes and thirty seconds on the blue matts. Its time to say hello!The entire stadium size gym has its own energy, it seems to seep thr...
The Cardinals were all huddled up together wiping the sweat and rain off of their faces trying to come up with the last play to win the championship. It was now or never. One of the team players, Jason, decided to give the team a pep talk and boost their confidence before the referee called them back on to the field. He knew the team was going to do the best to their abilities and try to rush
The Kings received the kick at the beginning of the first quarter. I ran down the field and tackled the runner so hard he fumbled. Colt picked it up and ran into the end zone for a touchdown! “Hawks up 7-0” the announcer said. Now we had to kick the ball back to the Kings, but this time they held onto the ball.But they walked into a huge trap. They just stepped on the field with the most aggressive defense in the country. Jamie, James,and I came on to the field confident knowing that we were going to either get 10 sacks or an interception in this drive. Both came true we had 12 sacks and a pic 6.
All of this led up to the moment of the State Championship Game. From the locker room, we walked into the dark tunnel leading to the nervous light of The M...
With the sound of the whistle ringing throughout the gym, I called in my fifth grade boys basketball team. My team composed of seven boys whom I’d coached since they were barely able to dribble a basketball in the first grade. We played for the Immaculate Conception School in Newburyport, a small catholic elementary school I attended from kindergarten to eighth grade. This community we had formed had grown into something special, the type of team that only came through the school every decade or so. These boys played their hearts out every game, and it made me proud to be their coach. Coaching basketball provides me an opportunity to give back to the game that has given me so much throughout the years. It affords me the opportunity to
To make matters worse the team we were going up against were the defending region champs and a currently undefeated team. They were the Dent Blue devils and they were stacked with the meanest, biggest players of the whole district. We already figured we were going to lose so the record they had didn’t intimidate us considering everybody we played was meaner and bigger than us anyway. Our game plan was simple, Run the ball up the middle, Hope to get at least a yard and try our best not too fumble the ball. Scoring wasn’t even in our minds because the Blue devils haven’t given up a single point all season. They were ferocious on defense and was by the far the most difficult opponent we would face all season. As we prepared for our future death, all 17 of us, somebody spoke up after coach got finished talking after our last practice. “As long as we play our hardest we can win” said the person. All of us turned our heads at Karl as he began too unstrap his pads. Everybody agreed with him sarcastically but you could tell Karl was as serious as can
Down two with six seconds to go fatigue had taken it tolls on the players. With little energy left; over time was not an option. I knew I had to go for the win. I walk on the floor confident of my ability that was until the whistle blew quickly turning my confident to butterflies. As I fought to get open I quickly saw the ball coming my way. As I rose for a jump shot time itself began to stay still. An in flesh everything became silent. As I watch the ball leave my hand I envisioned greatness; sure the ball was on its way in I started to celebrate that was until I hear the announcer say my teammate tip in miss shot to win us the game. Mix with emotion I celebrate with my teammate. “Ok guys, we have 24 hours until tip off. Get some rest because this is going to be the biggest game of your life. Let’s bring this championship back to Barton College. Go Bulldogs and Goodnight!” Why few players stay in the lobby to hang out I took it talk upon to work on my game and reflect on the semifinal game that just took place. At basketball games you will notice how there are all sorts of fans attending the game.
Basketball is a highly competitive sport, usually played between two different teams. Yet, the competition runs deeper than just the game played between two opposing teams. The truth is, players on the same team compete over roles all the time. This type of in-team competition is normal, but it must be kept at a healthy level. The Legacy Girls' Basketball team suffers from this type of competition everyday. In the past, the girls have had very successful seasons––just last year, in fact, they went 13-12. This year, however, with a record of 6-15, the girls are having a losing season. An unfortunate streak like that can be tough on any team––even those with the closest of bonds.