College Admissions Essay: How Basketball Has Changed My Life

I was only in first grade when I picked up a basketball for the first time. I had observed my father, my brother, and my cousins all play it before me. Little did I know that the sport would lead me to new opportunities, incredible friends, and numerous championships.

Basketball has always fascinated me ever since I was a little girl. This game has taught me a lot about life and myself. It has developed me into a person, who is easy-going and fun, but also a leader who is dedicated and hard working. I am trustworthy, loyal, funny, honest, and open-minded. I want to become a role model for children and young adults. Someone they can look up to, admire, and impacts their life in positive ways. In life, I plan to advance in my personal life and in my job. In order to achieve my life goals, I strive to have a positive attitude and assertive behavior, because having empathy and compassion toward others is essential. Overall, I am happy with who I am and achieving to be. To continue to succeed, I am

I am Rashun Reece, a recent graduate of The University of Memphis with a bachelor's degree in Sport and Leisure Management, I also have an Associates degree in Educational Leadership from Southwest TN Community College. Since my sophmore year in college back in 2011 after playing junior college basketball at Southwest TN Community College my freshmen year, I have gained 6+ years of basketball coaching experience. Since then I have worked two internships as Middle and High school assistant Boys basketball Coach at KIPP Memphis Collegiate schools, several premier basketball clinics/camps such as The Tony Allen ProCamp and Nike Boys Basketball Camp at Northpoint Christian high school. I had the opportunity to learn how to operate, manage,

I’ve always been the kid that liked basketball growing up. It amazed me how the people on television did all the different moves and shots so easily. Even though they made it seem easily, when I tried it I always failed. I realized these players put in countless hours in the gym and I put in none. One day I was watching television and Kobe Bryant had lost a game, and after the loss he went to the practice gym instead of showering. So that day I knew that I will never be as good as I want to be if I don’t put the work in.

Basketball used to be my favorite pastime. It was something that I would look forward to and thought that I'd never have enough of. This however, all changed when I joined my high school basketball team. It was because of unfair coaching, trouble managing time, and the real things that come with being on a team that changed my view on basketball completely.

Ever since I was a little boy sports, arts and crafts, and fixing cars have always been my talents. My family has always should me new things and my main lesson was to always be polite, generous, and work hard. When I was in elementary school I use to play every sport but it never compared to when I played basketball. Once I reached fifth grade I was only playing basketball and bowling. After elementary I started taking school and basketball to a whole new level. Basketball and school were life to me and everyday it was school, basketball, and homework everyday for all three years of middle school. My last year of middle school was the best. All my friends made the team so it was like playing basketball with your friends at lunch. So basketball

As I grew older, I realized sometimes life takes sudden turns. Even if that does mean a basketball injury. To this day I am still wanting to be a Sports Physical therapist. Every now and then I get upset knowing around this time is when i should be on a court. Instead of dwelling on my injury, I was able to find a career I love and I can’t wait to begin to start it in just a few short

Basketball has been apart of my life for as long as I remember. At a young age, coaches began to pound the importance of hard work into my head more than they forced me to pound the actual ball. They made sure that my teammates and I knew if we wanted to be the best we would have to put

I'm a varsity basketball player at Bremen Highschool located in the suburbs of Chicago. I have been playing basketball my entire life and take the game very serious. I grew a love for this sport from watching my uncle play when he was in highschool, attending every game. I didn't start playing at an organized level until the age of 8 and I've stuck with it since. Playing basketball is my favorite thing to do; it keeps me in shape and is a stress reliever as well. When I'm in the gym I get very creative when it comes to working on my craft, thinking of different ways to improve my game.

Ever since I was young, sports have been a way of life for me. I started playing basketball in first grade, destined to be in the NBA. But only scoring one basket a season was not impressing any scouts. Nonetheless, I kept at it and once I reached seventh grade, it was time for tryouts. With my NBA dream still alive, I went into tryouts with a lot of confidence. When I found out I was cut I was crushed. Almost everyone who did not make it quit playing and never picked up a ball again.

I believe my entire life revolves around basketball. Any time anything else comes up I immediately think of my schedule with basketball. I’ve played the sport since kindergarten and haven't stopped since, so without the sport my childhood would be not very exciting. All of my closest friends today have been on my basketball team at some point in my life, therefore without it I would be in a completely different friend group then I am today. When I switched schools my main concern was basketball and what team I would play on. I started out on a Lincoln team, but during the summer of my 3rd grade year a few of my friends and I started playing on JYD coached by an old farmer named Rick Karr. We practiced 3 days a week for 3 hours in an old, small

I started playing basketball in second grade, and found a love for the game right away. However, I had no idea how much basketball would impact me through out my life. As I aged, my skill level and athleticism developed drastically. In addition, my passion and motivation grew indefinitely. With that being said, I have let many people dictate the way I play, but soon, I used them to push me positively, instead of negatively. Thus, basketball is an important component to my life.

Growing up in different parts of the country, it’s easy to feel out of place. When I would go somewhere new, the best way for me to acquaint myself with the people was through basketball. Basketball was universal, when I would go to the basketball court I didn't need to know anyone I could just play. Most of the friends I made outside of school out of the United States came from the basketball court. In Canada it was stress relief after high school, I’d go play for hours after school just to forget about the pressures of every day. When I lived in Israel and Germany it was the most fun place to be, going to the court with friends or finding a pickup game, gave me the energy to be a happy individual day in and out. I eventually came to realize basketball was something in my life that I was happy to do at any time. Pick up games and practicing at some point felt unfulfilling and I wanted something more from the game. In Germany, it was when

During my freshman year, I was invited by a friend to help coach basketball in the special olympics. At first I intimidated by the challenges I might face as a coach, but then I decided that I should just give it a try. When I first started it was not easy. Sometimes it was hard to communicate with the players, and it was hard to get them to understand what I was trying to get them to understand. Over time, these challenges began to go away, and I began to really have fun with my coaching position. In the three years I spent coaching the Stanislaus County Special Olympics Basketball Team, I served the team for over 90 hours. The experiences I had coaching the special olympics helped me to realize that I really enjoy helping and working with people, no matter what the circumstances.

When I was about seven years old I didn't know what I wanted to be, but i knew basketball was for me. Later in fifth grade someone told me a life lesson, I later realized what he said was not true. I have learned that you have to work hard to get where you want to be.