High School 's Basketball Games

As also described in Manning’s essay, his father never attended any of his orchestra concerts, but always at his lacrosse games, ready to coach him afterward. I was never really into sports myself, but my father was always trying to teach me something through his work around the house. He let me fumble with his dusty equipment that I found lying in the basement, and tries to explain to me the purpose of what it’s for, but I always zone out and just go back to fiddling with it. When I had just received my first bike and was ready to ride it, but first, my father taught me how to fill the tires with air, and to always try and maintain the bike in good condition. I won’t forget the moment when I

The path of life is not always smooth. There are ups and downs, sharp bends and unclear turns. Sometimes you are so bent on your reaching your destination that you blind yourself to other opportunities that life presents. This was my predicament before I joined college- an overzealous academician who was eager to conquer his dreams. Therefore, it came as a surprise when I learned that apart from attending classes, I would be expected to participate in at least one sport co-curricular activity. This was my father’s personal policy. He took it upon himself to ensure that all his children developed their athletic skills. I fought against this ideology. I told him that I did not have an athletic bone in my body. I even complained that adults are not supposed to be told what to do. I argued relentlessly. Needless to say, I lost miserably. “Co-curricular activities help in the development of the mind and body,” my father insisted-and took it upon himself to explain to a belligerent me. He even offered to go with me to college to meet my coach. “I do not need babysitting,” I said grudgingly. He then gave me a handbook and asked me to pick my sport. I knew I had lost the fight. The sports offered at my college included: soccer, basketball, hockey, badminton, cricket, rugby, volleyball, and swimming. After much thinking and critical analysis of each sport, I decided to settle for

While looking through the three lenses of family, biogenetic, sociolegal, and role lens, it is very hard to limit yourself to only agree with one. However, while studying these three ideas I have come to the consensus that the most prominent and practical lens to look through is the sociolegal lens. Although one cannot discredit the family values of others, throughout my lifetime I have experienced sociolegal family lifestyles. An area in my life that I have seen this lens play a huge role is throughout my tennis career. A unique experience that I have been able to be apart of throughout my college adventure revolves around Mizzou athletics. Playing tennis here at the University has been one of the most rewarding

There are many high school basketball phenoms that are scouted by pro teams even when they are in high school. A select few in the past have gone straight to the NBA out of high school and had a lot of success, while some players go to college all four years to develop their skills at the next level. However, there are athletes that will waste one year at the college level just so they could get to the NBA. Why would you waste one year of your life when you could have already been in the NBA a year earlier? Basketball players should either go to college all four years and enhance their skills and get a solid education. If not, skip college and go straight to the NBA, rather than wasting a year of your life, and possibly a classroom seat for a person who wanted to get an education.

This happened when my Great Grandmother married a man named, Clayton Thompkins. Clayton was eighty-eight years old, had never married before, and did not have any kids of his own. My father had left my Mom and I many years before so the relationship seemed to spark instantly. Clayton took me under his wing and became a father figure that I was not use to having around in my life. Every Sunday at my grandmother’s house, we would waste the day away with the sounds of our voices. We would discuss about our favorite team the Oakland A’s and how much we despised the New York Yankees. Clayton had kept me happier that I could ever remember as a child. However, it never slipped his mind that I was upset with all my sicknesses and that I couldn’t actually do any of the things we would talk about. It was then Clayton would fill my young heart with the ideas of being in sports without being on the field. The theory arose that, I could become a statistician for baseball since math came so easy to me as a subject. We would listen to ESPN Radio and he said I could be like our favorite sports radio analyst, Colin Cowherd. I may even choose to get into writing and become a sports journalist for a newspaper or magazine or even interview my favorite athletes on Television. These new dreams that Clayton inspired in me gave me new goals and purpose in

Although some think the decision to go to the National Basketball Association should be solely in the hands of the players and although current efforts ensure that basketball players are in college for at least one year, the one-and-done rule needs to be revised because it destabilizes the college basketball system, leaves players without a backup plan, and causes players to lack the wisdom to make wise financial and life decisions.

Growing up, my dad made sure that my brothers were involved in sports. Because he thought that football was too rough for them at a young age he signed them up for baseball. From then on out, we became a baseball family. Everything we did, all of our family friends were because of the sport. Even though, I did not play the sport, I still loved the game. It was the beginning of my seventh grade year when my dad informed me that it was mandatory that I participate in an extracurricular activity and because my dad was the authoritarian saying “no” to him was not a question. It was then that I decided to join a softball team.

I was discouraged by his abandonment of the team. I decided to never leave a game no matter the score. Although to no surprise, Kansas won. I could not believe it. A stream of tears began to run down my face as I ran up the stairs to deliver the horrible news to my father, who was disappointed but not surprised. I sprawled out onto the floor dispirited and let out a cry for longer than the baby had. My father made an attempt to stop me, but my sadness was not to be argued with. Today, I laugh at the story, impressed by the amount of passion and importance I held in a simple game.

When I tell people I am from Phoenix, Arizona, they look at me funny and ask, “What are you doing in Connecticut?” My response is always the same, “I’m on the UConn women’s basketball team.” Sport has played a large role in my life and has definitely impacted me. My parents were key factors that helped me get to where I am now. Both of my parents were college athletes. My father played basketball at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before that, he was an all-state basketball player, tennis player and pitched for his high school baseball team. My mother played tennis at Marquette University. She was voted most valuable player all four years and won the prestigious McCahill Award as the university’s top student-athlete her senior year. She came from a tennis family. Her two sisters, her dad, and several uncles played college tennis. Her father, like her, won the McCahill award as Marquette’s top student-athlete. To this day, they are the only father-child combination to win the award. My parents met in line for drug testing when they were both athletes at Marquette. With parents so into athletics, it is not surprising that they decided early on in their relationship that their children would play sports. They decided my brother and I would participate in sports at a young age and knew that sports would teach us valuable life lessons.

Many people think Division One College basketball and high school basketball are the same, but do people understand the differences? In the same way they use a basketball, wear uniforms, have a student section, and have the same number of players on the court. Division One College basketball teams, such as, Villanova, Duke, or North Carolina, offer a more professional level type of basketball game for fans to watch. However, this would require fans to travel around to different states. On the other hand, high schools such as Archbishop Ryan or Father Judge, provide a more local game to make traveling less for people. Division One College basketball and high school basketball both provide a fun environment; however, they differ in capacity, rules, and arena.

Not having more hours and time on the clock and day, I learned quickly the way of life; waking up early in the morning; walking to school in the dark for morning practices; getting out of the classroom tired; going back to the pool and coming back home seven at the night. Not having food ready for myself and dad—who wouldn’t be home for hours— made life challenging. Struggling to stay on top of school work not just for days or weeks, but for months seemed impractical; coming home tired, just wanting to eat a meal and go to sleep wasn’t an option, rather I would stay up till 3am to get my homeworks and studying done. Along the way, wanting to have sports as an escape from the reality, but not having the same skin tone and background as everyone else, I constantly endured racial comments from my teammates. This adversity only made me work harder; attending both Junior Varsity and Varsity practices, watching multiple videos on perfecting my form, resulted in becoming the Most Valuable Player of my team. Furthermore, my struggles didn’t end in the pool and with my difficulties comprehending English, I was constantly reminded that a foreigner shouldn’t succeed in school. But these struggles only motivated me to excel in academics and become an honorary

The country was in a minor economic depression following the end of the Korean War. The Korean War represented a qualitative leap forward in technology and a lag in all other factors. However, morale broke down for a more simple reason. You can fight only one such war every twenty-five years. The Korean War took place within the effective memory of the Second World War. The academic and intellectual establishment, Left, Right, and Center, was shattered, demoralized, and discredited by the years of McCarthyism. Young men by the thousands were returning from the Korean War to the colleges disillusioned and contemptuous of their elders. They said to each other, “Keep your nose clean and don’t volunteer.” “Don’t believe anybody over thirty.” Communication between groups broke down. Only those of the older generation who had remained defiant were respected, listened to, questioned. Just as the Army took years to discover the almost total breakdown of morale in Korea, so the older intellectuals were unaware that a volcano was building up under

We had different grievances. The curriculum was often irrelevant to the social crisis we perceived ourselves inheriting; it needed reform. Students were powerless under the paternal doctrine of in loco parentis; we wanted rights. Students were disenfranchised, even though men could be drafted; we needed the vote and alternatives to the draft. Structurally excluded, we went to the streets, to the outside, demanding change on the inside. It 's an exaggeration, but only after strikes, rioting, and taking over buildings did colleges offer the mainstream menu of women 's studies; black, Latino and Asian studies; queer studies; and environmental programs that

My life began at Van Wert County Hospital on September 18, 1996. The town of Van Wert is where I am from and it is where I group up my entire life. My parents’ names are Greg and Amber Rickard. I have a twenty-two year old brother named Steven and a twenty-five year old brother named Paul. Throughout my life, my parents have been such great role models for me. They are both currently teachers and both have coached at the varsity level in basketball and volleyball. These factors lead directly to my love of sports. Sports have been a driving force me and have always been a place where I could be myself. Whether it was on a field, court, or anywhere for that matter, I was infatuated by competition. Athletics have been the direct reason behind unforgettable memories. An all time high in my life was having the

When I was an adolescent, I considered myself to be a shy, introverted person. Growing up, I had always admired my father’s adaptability through obstacles, but it wasn’t until high school that I discovered I had similar qualities of my own. During my sophomore year, my father was brought into the hospital for having five Abdominal Hernias as well as Hypertension, he was immediately brought into surgery and remained at the hospital for weeks. Each day, I visited my father at the hospital for hours and took care of my father's work at home. I also maintained my performance and reputation at school, balancing my many rigorous courses, as well as my multifarious extracurricular activities.