My stomach twisted at the thought of losing when we pulled into the McDougal High School’s parking lot. I ran into the building where our coach taught us the new positions until it was time to play. The ref blew the whistle and threw the ball into the air. I jumped up with my feet dangling off the ground and slapped the ball out of its orbit and ran down the court. I could feel my heart beating, I lurched to a screaming halt at the three point line and pushed the ball towards the basket. I shut my eyes hoping it would make it. I heard the ball drop to the ground and the crowd that was erupting with cheers, I opened my eyes and saw my teammates smiling. “That’s a girl!” my coach hollered as I ran towards the sideline and sat down on the bench. We ended up winning by 2 points after two overtime periods.
The crowd is cheering, the pressure, the weight of my team on my shoulders I take three dribbles and then I spring up and take a shot and. It was a December night on the day of the Oley Championship Basketball Game, against Oley. After the tip off, the game was in Oley’s hands. They played great defense, made a lot of their shots, but our team just played horribly and they were up by 16 points. At the end of the third the score was around 26-10 Oley, but in my head the game was not over yet because we still had 8 minutes to come back, and I always want to win. Nothing really happened in the first 4 minutes, but in the last 2 minutes I contributed with an assist and 5 points including a layup and a three.
Even though it was a struggle for me to even go to practice everyday, I still pushed through and I made the best of every single situation. When game day came, and it was time to play, all I could think about was the feeling I would get when the ball hit my hand. Many people don’t understand what it feels like. It feels like you found a missing puzzle from your life, which you didn't even know was missing. It’s like every worry you ever had, big or small, is gone. For that split second that the ball touches your hand, nothing else matters. It’s just you, the ball, and the court.
8:00 A.M at a basketball tournament in Chatham, Illinois. Playing with the grade level above me, as an 8 year old, I was scared to death. It was an honor to be asked to play with the older girls, although I didn’t realize this at the time. As I arrived to the tournament, I was nervous. I got into the game for the first time,
The mixture of dread and excitement come as I walk onto the court. It’s eight in the morning and as I look around, everyone has a tired look on their face. The parents all have coffee and look half asleep. On the other hand, the coach is pumped up. I slip my shoes on not really noticing what I’m doing. Our first game on a new team. We are expecting a team we have played team before but when they walk in, we get a real shock.
I sat with my head sunken into my hands, my eyes were burning, and my head was spinning. I was sitting on the bench during the final minutes of what would be the last basketball game that I would ever play. I had played basketball for over fifteen years, and I had never imagined how I would feel once it was all over. My high school team had made it to the region semi-finals during my senior year, and we had to play Bearden. It turned out to be my last basketball game, because my team had lost. I never realized how much basketball had impacted my life until that game. I knew that basketball was important to me, but I never thought that it would lead me to where I am today, especially a single game.
Basketball time. Halfway through the season. It was game night. I was nervous. I always got nervous for basketball games. So after school I’m getting all my stuff ready and I’m putting on my basketball uniform. I had to get fired up. So I listened to some Kanye West. Ok. I was ready. My mom drove me to my game. I put my bag in the locker room. I go out on the court and warm up with the other girls. I’m getting even more nervous. BUUZZZ. That’s the buzzer. Time to go bring it in. Our coach talks to us and tells us the play to run first. I wasn’t a starter or anything. So I sat on the bench waiting to go in. The jump ball had started. Our team got the ball. During half of the first quarter, Coach told me to go in. I went in. I did my part and I played ok.
Joseph threw the ball in to me and I dribbled the ball down the court. My coach said to me, "Make sure you get the ball to the hoop!" I took his advice and I shot the basketball. It was spinning through the air with a perfect arc. All that flooded my body was nervousness and excitement. Suddenly, the ball went in. All I heard were loud cheers, I had made my first basket! I got a lot of high-fives from so many people. We continued to play hard and we ended up winning the game, it was a great team win.
Basketball has always played an important role in my life, however, one game in particular stands out above the rest. In this game we faced our rivals and the fifth ranked team in the state, Pleasure Ridge Park. No one believed we had a chance at beating this team. We have only beat them once in our school’s 25 year history. Before this game I really did not have the confidence in my abilities. But this game allowed me to believe in myself in knowing I could play among the best.
The referees told us to come out and I was the tallest on my team so I was going to jump the ball. The other tallest girl on the team who was going to jump the ball was a little shorter than me, so I thought to myself and said, “I got this.” My eyes were big before that game started. The referee blew the whistle and I jumped the highest and the point guard on my team got it. She was dribbling the leather ball and she passed it to me and I shot it with all my might, but it didn’t go in. The other team got the rebound and they started to dribble down the court. The girl made a layup and she got the first point of the game. I started to get mad because my friend on my team was not guarding her. I put my game face on even
The sound of the whistle and the tip of the ball got me on my toes, even though I was on the bench. Being the sixth man on the team, I was always anxious to be in the game. Today, however, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on the court. Sure, I loved basketball, and was always willing to play. But the mere, fearful thought of making a mistake and costing us the game was enough to make me want to stay on the bench.
It was a chilly fall evening at the local park. There I was on the court, practicing my shots for an upcoming game. I felt like I was on the level of the greatest shooter like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. I was “in the zone.” That is the greatest feeling any basketball player can experience. Every shot was going in the basket. I kept on hearing the swoosh sound of the net. Even my friend, who was there with me, was in shock. He knew I was a good shooter, but what I displayed was something beyond normal. This good shooting carried into two pick up games I played. I had felt as if I was given the green light to shoot whenever I pleased to. My teammates kept on passing me the ball and for the most part I did not fail them. That day I was “The
It was the day of the tryout, and right when I came home from school I grabbed my ball and practiced. Every time I grabbed the ball I thought about the possible outcome,
As the referee blew the whistle, it was game time! My teammate were on her tip toes already in motion to jump, she jumped and smacked the ball before the other opponent could even get a chance to jump! The ball came my way and I dribbled the ball three times, crossed doubled between my legs two times, I lingered up, did the Lebron James basketball shake before I took my shot and put up
It was the first day of tryouts in ninth grade and I was nervous out of my mind. I walked in the freshly lit gymnasium, with maroon bleachers and the roaring black panther mascot in the dead center of the court. The first game of tryouts and I stepped onto the court knowing that I should display my talent for scoring, passing, and defending. I made sure that talked on defense “Down Low, Cutter, I got two, One D, Baby J” and I made sure I said it enough where the coach heard me from the sidelines.