Basketball Is Not My Best Sport

One of the activities that I took part in that I feel has shaped me as a person, was basketball. I joined the Sea Point High basketball team in the tenth grade, in South Africa. Now basketball was not very popular in South African high schools, as such we lost our coach in my junior year. The choices that were given to the team was to either end the program or to continue without a coach. As team captain I rallied my teammates and we persevered through without a coach; we showed up for intensive training and competed against other schools. At the end of my senior year I was presented with the basketball player of the year; however I feel that award did not necessarily celebrate my skill in the sport, but it acknowledged the determination and

The day was October 8th, 2014. I hardly played. One school day, my 5th teacher, Ms. Smit said, “flyers for the basketball team on the table” ordinarily I took one. Kids from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade came to try out for the team. After tryouts, a paper next to the nurse's office was hung up. The paper sheet named those who had made the team. Surprisingly, I made the team, most likely from my height. I felt like I shouldn’t have made the team. At the time, I barely started to play basketball. I went to the practices at school and tried to make myself a little bit better, since a tournament was about to begin in a few weeks.

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I’ve played since I was little and I still play the game today. I played basketball at my elementary school, St. Cecilia, from Kindergarten till 8th Grade and also played AAU basketball for about 2 years before entering High School. Going into my freshmen year of High School, the first sport I played was basketball. Tryouts began in about the start of November and ended about 2 weeks after. I had made the Freshmen A team. I was excited and as the season progressed, we didn’t win many games but I still had fun playing. Nearing the end of the season, golf was another sport coming up that I also wanted to try and play. I say “try and play” because at the time, I was also going to play AAU basketball. I had set in my mind that I was going to play basketball for all of my four years of high school, but my parents pushed me to tryout for golf. When the basketball season ended, golf tryouts started. Tryouts lasted for about 2 weeks, and I made the JV team. When I found out I made the team, I was very surprised. I hadn’t put in the hard work as others before tryouts came around, but the coach saw potential in me and that I can become a great player. The coach saw so much potential in me, that every week, I kept progressing in skill and fine tuning my mechanics. Halfway through the season, about 4 or 5 weeks after I made the team, my coach gave me the chance to play with the Varsity Golf team for a couple days. I was excited and eager to

I had spent most of my childhood happy, without much pain or adversity; as a result, the moment I learned I did not make the Junior Varsity volleyball team my freshman year, I was especially devastated. When I showed up on our first day of tryouts I was excited. I looked forward to playing volleyball all summer with my friends. I worked hard, and I felt really confident at the end of the two weeks; certain that I had made the Junior Varsity team. The coaches took me to a secluded room and sat me down to explain which team I had made. I was almost already thanking them, not realizing that they were telling me, "We think that your skills at the moment would shine best on JV2; work on your technique and practice being a leader.”

The hardest part of having a passion is sticking to it even during hardships. Julia Silverman has been gifted at basketball since she was six years old, but it was not always easy. Since she plays on two teams, she is always busy with practice. Hardworking and dedicated, she practices ten hours a week at Pine Crest and three hours a week at Boca Hoops. Michael Jordan, a famous athlete inspired her to play basketball because of his talent. Acquiring very advanced skills for her age, Silverman is put onto higher levels at Boca hoops. She also made the A team at Pine Crest every year in middle school. This girl definitely knows what pressure feels like and can handle herself on the court. Two years ago, Silverman’s team was in the championship

As I started my senior year of highschool, I was approached by my head basketball coach. He approached me to tell me that he wanted me to help coach middle school basketball. At first I was a little skeptical because I already was incredibly busy. Because I did not want to disappoint my coach, I decided that I was going to go ahead and do it. I missed the first four days of practice because I had cross country practice after school. On a Friday, I was able to go to a practice. We went over our plays and scrimmaged each other. I was a little flustered because I had no idea the name of most of the kids. Practice ended and the head coach told me that I was coaching the B team on my own the next day. I was surprised to hear him say that. I couldn’t believe that I was going to be coaching a whole team on my

When I was 13 i moved from Decatur Il to the city capitol of Indiana (Indianapolis) hoping to get a better life in education and sports.All my life i dreamed of me going to a big college and becoming a professional basketball player later on in my life.My mother told me it will be a lest likely chance you will become a pro basketball player in a city we used to live in due to our “reputation”. Once We Got To Indiana I was sad but i was excited at the same time,Thoughts ran through my mind like “are the students are going to like me”?,”Will i become an outcast”?. I went to this private school in the central of the city named Lincoln Jr High. Once i got there i was focused on my grades and basketball that’s all i thought about. Once basketball tryouts began i reported to the gym

To be an athlete, especially one of the three sport variety, is a huge undertaking, as it requires year-round commitment and a passion for hard work. Personally, I have played consistently in three sports since the fifth grade, and I believe this lifelong dedication has paid off for me. It’s impossible to put all of your energy into being an athlete, because while becoming successful in sports is one thing, it is an entirely more important matter to become a successful student. Balancing this can be hard and it is that balance which must be perfected in order to become a good athlete. An athlete to me isn't just someone who straps on their jersey and plays a game, it is a person who is dedicated to a sport on and off the field, and someone who exemplifies the best qualities in their environment.

I love football, but I love basketball even more. When you look at me, you don’t instantly think that I am a basketball player. Everywhere I go people ask me how wrestling season is going, and I remind them every time that I am a basketball player. When I came in my freshman year, I realized I was not a very good basketball player. I was blessed with a senior class that

A couple of my friends told me I was too passive, not taking enough shots and not being aggressive enough. It was as if my real life attributes translated into this sport. My shyness in class, reluctance to answer questions in fear of failure prevented me from trying to score in basketball? The connection was so real that I was worried I could never

It was my first day of Grade 10, I didn’t want to go through being that new kid and having the thought of life being so complicated again but this time I had a reminder that if I went through it 6 years ago and turned out fine, I can do it again. It was very difficult at first because I had to spend lunch time alone and no one to talk to in class. I’m a very outgoing person and make friends easily or so I’ve been told, so after two weeks, I have made new friends. Two of the people I had made friends with Helen and Mika, were on the basketball team and I had told them I’ve always wanted to join basketball. They were begging me to join the team. The first day of tryout I didn’t want to go, I've never joined a sport before so I had this sick feeling that I wouldn’t make the cut, surprisingly I did. I was in grade 10 so I was in the junior team but we would always practice with the seniors because my coach wanted us to do really good for that season. On my first ever game, I went on the court with a lot of confidence and didn’t feel anxious at all. I shot two points at my first game and that made me feel so good about myself. I grew really close with my team and bonded really well with them. At the end of the season, we won all of our league games and the championship

At age 16 I was told that I was incapable of being an athlete, I was told tennis was not a sport, I was told I could never play “a real man’s sport”. That same year, I stepped onto a soccer pitch for the first time in my life, I lined up against young men who had been playing the sport for more than a decade.Yet, I went out there with confidence and challenged them along with the notion that I could not play a real sport. Although, I was scared to embarrass myself, I knew that this decision would be one of the greatest I would ever make because of the life experiences I would gain from leaving my comfort zone for the first time,

When I was cut from the modified basketball team in eighth grade, it created a painful moment of failure. It pushed me to get where I am today as an athlete, student, and as a young adult. The beginning of winter during my eighth grade year came down to The final day of tryouts for the basketball team. I’d became nervous because it was the final day of cuts and being one of the last people left to get called in to be talked to by the coach. Coach called me in sat me down and gave me the normal start to the meeting, what I did good and what I needed to improve on. While he explained all of these positives and negatives to my game to me it had felt like he talked for hours on end and then his final words to me would be something

Fifteen years were spent with nothing but rubber and concrete as I would practice in my front yard with a nine foot hoop. This never fully prepared me for the actual sport. I never focused on any other attributes to the sport of basketball except for shooting. Not to mention it was only with my right hand. I have wanted to play on a team since seventh grade, but injuries limited my ability to do so, including a broken leg and a sprained knee. Therefore, I had to wait until my freshman year to participate. By the time freshman year had came, I was still oblivious to everything I did not know.

When you are a child you probably dreamt of becoming an astronaut, or police officer. While some achieve this, most discover they would rather be something else. I had always wanted to become a princess; much like other little girls, but as I became older I realized I had other interest. Ever since I was little I have always played a sport. I started off with softball but as I grew I knew I was capable of trying different ones. Sports came easy for me, and not everyone has that advantage. So when I was in sixth grade I knew I wanted to play a sport in college. I want to be known as someone who is athletic, yet can also keep up with my grades. Whether it’s basketball or softball that is my biggest goal.