The Beginning to an End. If you had to describe your life, how would you do it? What does your life consist of? Describe your life! When you meet random people and engage in conversations, what do you tend to talk about? I’m the type who likes to share my glory days… the days where I was a great athlete, the days of my prime, where my basketball journey began, and sort of ended, only for the time being. For me, my love for the game of basketball came early in life, and has always been important to me. I grew up with the sport of basketball. The times that I can remember most playing are in the seventh grade on the A team, eight grade on the A team, ninth grade on the freshman team, sophomore year on the junior varsity team, and junior and senior year on the varsity team. Growing up, I played just about every sport, but once I entered the seventh grade basketball just about dominated every other sport in my eyes! My love for the game grew and made me want to play this specific sport so much. Like I said I had now entered the seventh grade. For me to playing a school sport, a lot had changed; there was no longer the rule that everyone had to be allowed to play. This was my first time ever having to try out for a sport, kind of scary! School tryouts for the basketball teams would be held three days in a row for two hours long each day. As well as this being the first time I ever had to try-out for a sports team, this was also my first time being involved in cuts from a team! The three days that try-outs occurred, they were right after school. Seventh grade boy’s try-outs took place a week after the seventh grades girl’s try-outs and two hours before the eighth graders. During try-outs we would be judged on our abilities to do certain drills, plus scrimmaging. Depending on how good we were would determine whether we would get cut from the team or not. Just from reading what I have already written, do you think I made it? If you didn’t think I did, you were WRONG! For the sport of basketball at my middle school, there were four teams per grade; two seventh grade boys teams, and two seventh grade girls teams. The rest were the eighth graders. There were two teams because there was an A team, and a B team. Depending on how good you were, determined the team you were to be placed with. The next day after the last day of tryouts I went to go check if I made the team or not, and I made the A team, I was placed with the BEST! Even though we had a team of good people, we ended the season with a 6-6 record sad to say. Determined to do better, would I make the team next year? Eighth grade year came next and basketball season couldn’t have come any slower. The anticipation for me probably was too high, I was too ready to play and see whether I’d continue to play or not. Too anxious and ready for basketball season, I played football to make time go by faster. I had played this sport as a younger child as well so was pretty good. A good player I was but a terrible team I played for, sad to say. Unfortunately I was injured during the middle of the season in the middle of our last game! I broke my foot, and had to get a cast on it, the doctor told me I wouldn’t be back in time to try out for basketball. I was truly heartbroken and cried right there in the office. The way I made the team was because the coach had seen me play the year before and decided around that time that I would be on the team, a very BIG relief. When I was younger, and played recreational basketball I played for my grandfather, but this eighth grade year would be the first time I got to play under my grandfather who was a teacher at my middle school. My grandfather was the assistant coach for the eighth grade team before I attended the school and had previously retired from coaching, but decided to come out of retirement for my new teammates and I. My grandfather was best friends with the head coach and that was sort of a reason for him coming back to coaching, to help his old coaching buddy. The previous year my teammates and I had a 50% win record, we were 6-6. This year, we wanted to do better, HAD to do better. Since most of this new team was still sort of the same team we wanted to do it together, come across a winning record that is. That season we ended up going 10-2! A great improvement for my team and me, we had a great player’s banquet that year. Trophies, great food, and good laughs would end my eighth grade year off just right with basketball. My journey with basketball at a middle school had now ended and I was going to high school to try-out with the “big dogs”. A freshman, who probably was getting lost to class, couldn’t wait for any day more than freshman basketball tryouts! This would be the first year for me and my class where there was no longer an A and B team, just one team per grade. If this didn’t make me nervous, I don’t know what did. Tryouts went the same way as the two previous years; 3 days of drills and scrimmages for two hours. Would I make the team? Do I have enough talent? These were all the questions that rattled my brain, I remember being so nervous, but at the end of the day I did what I had to do, and once the teams were posted, I had made it once again. At this point I felt as if I was the man! Playing with a few of the same guys from previous years we came up with ways to make our bond even stronger. Setting a goal of going undefeated, we also wanted to play with style and so we did. This was the first year that the team and I played in a team shoe. This was where the team not only matched uniforms but shoes as well which was different from previous years. This was another thing new about high school basketball; it was more organized when it came to team stuff. Let me remind you, the previous year the team and I went 10-2, only losing two games on the season. This year we wanted to go UNDEFEATED! Even though we had this goal from the beginning, we failed on the second game with a bad road game loss. We still didn’t let this stop us, and played hard until the very end. We ended the season with a 17-1 record, improving from the year before by only having one loss! What a great accomplishment, and trust me, it was way harder due to the fact we played more games this time. At this point, my game developed and I had more confidence than ever. I practiced every day and my game on the court attracted coaches to approach me months before the season had even started, basically guaranteeing me a spot on the junior varsity team. A sophomore now I could try-out for either junior varsity or varsity. I said my game developed but it didn’t develop to its full potential, so junior varsity was definitely the best move for me. This was the first year where I went into the season with confidence and more skill, and because of that I would now play in the starting five! In three years, this would be my first time earning a starting spot and be awarded most of the playing time. Like I said earlier, I developed my game a lot. In the previous years, I was known for my defense but my attack mentality would start to come out of me and I wanted to score more. With that being said I attempted more shots, and focused on scoring the ball more. I remember it like it was yesterday, there was a stretch of games where I was scoring 15 points a game, and this would benefit me at the end of the season. My average amount of points scored per game was around 10, and this was my first year averaging double digit points, nice! Starting of the season great, with a 14-0 record, we definitely thought we were going to go undefeated this season. At the beginning of the season, I started with dreadlocks, the night before the 15th game day I decided to cut my hair. This would be my first year playing without my hair! It felt so much different, I think I just made myself regret it a little bit. I started the season with long hair, but ended it with none! It was quite a change, but not more of a change than what I was going to experience my junior year in high school. This was the biggest change of my life, and definitely one of the top worst feelings ever in it as well. Teams were depicted to what they were going to be like in the summer and I was one of the choices. I played summer league with the varsity team and was planned to be on the team once the winter season came about. Although it was planned for me to be on the team, this isn’t what exactly happened. Due to some disagreements with people in the school before the season started, my coach decided to kick me off the team, he decided that I had an attitude problem and thought kicking me off the team was best for me. He was so wrong. After begging to my coach and even crying in front of him he still wouldn’t allow me to play. My junior varsity coach from the previous year even told me I could play for him but my varsity coach wouldn’t allow it. At this point I then felt like there was no chance of me ever playing for my school again because of this new coach. I then decided to move and play for a different school. Makin that move, I transferred to a school in another city. The next year, senior year, I would play for this team. This was my first time not being a “Viking”, my first time not playing with the same people who I had been playing with for years, my first year being a “Comet”. My journey with basketball had ended with my previous city and began with this new one. I was so ready for it, and so nervous at the same time. I was coming into a system as a new player which isn’t always good. Have you ever heard the saying that “the grass ain’t always greener on the other side”, I feel like this would describe my basketball career at my new school. Coming from a school where I was recognized as a good player and started, I transformed into a bench rider. There was a stretch during the season where I didn’t play 6 games in a row. This was a burden on my chest, and forever gave me a chip on my shoulder for being overlooked. I ended my season as a “Comet” with a terrible record and even more terrible outlook on basketball. What I mean by that is, the game isn’t always based on skills these days, and sometimes it is who you know, very sad to say.In the end my love for the game of basketball has never left me and never will. I just have a new perspective on it today. I work on my game as much I can and I practice quite often in the Rec/IM. The thrill could never leave me, that thrill of doing whatever I want on the court and not being able to be stopped by a defender will always brighten my day. I feel like I’m just waiting on my chance, and one day it WILL come. Until then, I’m just patiently waiting. This is my life with basketball. 🏀🙇
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