More Than A Game Essay: Determination

Coach Steve Rocker is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Kentucky’s history. Coach Rocker was very successful in previous years. Strangely, this year was very different for him. For the first time in his professional life, he is falling short of his expectations, the community expectations, and the team’s expectations. His team lost a lot of games, but most importantly the boys had no motivation or desire to bring the team out of the rut they found themselves. His players have lost their will to win, their love for their teammates, and their passion to play. Coach Rocker’s motivational methods that have always worked before and resulted in success are now failing, and he doesn’t know why. He argues that his players have become selfish and bored with winning because they have been so successful in previous years. “And there’s no question that my guys have lost their drive to win because they’ve won so much in the past. Now all they want is individual ‘wins’…which just doesn’t cut it on a team” (Gongwer, 2010, p. 17).

One of the greatest lessons I have learned as a high school athlete has been how to overcome adversity and to be resilient after failure. As with any sport, particularly basketball, many valuable character traits and qualities are obtained such as: an incredible work ethic, a competitive nature, and the ability to be an effective leader. If I had not been a basketball player, I would be lacking some of the important characteristics that make me a well rounded and whole person.

There’s a saying that everyone’s said at least once in their lifetime, I’m sure. It’s so cliché, but now I know that there is so much truth behind it. “Believe in yourself.” Rather than giving up on yourself, use your failures to make you better. Learn how to bounce back from adversity and learn from those experiences. This is called using your growth mindset. According to Carol Dweck, research psychologist, in her book Mindset, “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” It wasn’t until the summer between my junior and senior year of high school that I learned this and of course I learned it the hard way. I had played club basketball for four summers in a row with the Longmont Rush basketball club. I loved the game of basketball and I had spent countless hours working on my skills on the court. I even wanted to play in college. I already had schools scouting me. Unfortunately, in my final season, just before my senior year, my biggest fear came true.

You are going to fail more times you succeed so keep trying because success is on its way. To start, the fiction book Playmakers, written by Mike Lupica, is about the rivalry between Ben McBain and Chase Braggs in basketball. Ben plays for the Rockwell Rams and Chase plays for Darby Bears. The author shows us the battles between Ben and Chase and the problems Ben faces such as one of there best players getting hurt. In the book two main themes show. The first theme is never give up and the second theme is treat others the way you want to be treated. These two themes show up throughout the book multiple times.

Michael Jordan's life on the court. Michael as you know is an outstanding player. One of Michael Jordan's favorite quote is “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games, 26 times i’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” (MJQ). A quote coming from the greatest of all time Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

“Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Some people have to overcome challenges to have a meaning in life and not just give up. This is exemplified in, “The Contender,” by Derek Burnett, “Life in the Red,” by Benedict Carey, and “ Paralympic Star makes history on NBA stage,” by E Lancaster. After reading and annotating the articles about a determined Kyle Maynard, motivational Blake Leeper, and a resourceful Lakeisha Tuggle one could make the choice be successful in life and give up. But to do these things, you have to have a good attitude and “cut out” things that aren't a necessity.

“I've failed over and over and over again in my life… and that is why I succeed.” –Michael Jordan. A quote that says it all about Michael Jordan’s life and basketball career. During his career, he had always played the game of basketball above the rim, bigger than life he was thought to be and the image of athletic perfection. Michael Jordan had changed the game of basketball and changed history while at it.

To start, even Michael Jordan fails: he tried at for the varsity basketball team for his high school and was cut; but this didn’t stop him from competing in basketball. If anything it motivated him. His dad established two basketball hoops in his backyard and he practiced so much that the grass turned into dirt. Then boom he became varsity material; he earned a spot on the varsity team the following

“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” –Lou Holtz. While this quote is directed towards sports, it also speaks to those who are not athletes. As in football, if something great is happening after a past of struggle, one should not become lazy and let this amazing thing slip away. Also, if a situation seems hopeless, how one reacts to it represents who he or she is as a person. A person can give up and give himself no chance despite what the outcome may be in the end.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.” - Michael Jordan Winners are not people who never fail, they are people who never quit. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are wrong.

The major parts of the story is that people need to work hard for what they get, practice to get better at it, and you should never stop trying just because someone or something got in your way just make it a challenge that you can beat in life The article is called what it takes to be great wrote by Geoff Colvin published on October 30, 2006. One person that did that was Michael Jordan because got cut from the basketball team in highschool but he never gave up and know he has his own shoes and went to the NBA. Michel also went to the MLB because he thought that he could play it good like basketball. But he wasn’t so he practice and got better and better but then he liked NBA better than MLB so he went back to the NBA. The second person that

For the last 4 years my school's basketball team has been on top of its game, season 1 we went undefeated, season two & three we made it to the playoffs, and now season 4 we're on our way to the top by being 3rd in our division. These years have taught me how to be a great winner but an even better loser, you need to learn how to lose before you can win. Losing taught my teammates and me how to push ourselves even more so we wouldn't have to

Sports is one popular example of learning from your mistakes from the past and improving yourself afterwards. Muhammad Ali once said,” I hated every minute of training, but I said,’ Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” These were the exact words from a former heavyweight champion boxer and also one of the greatest sporting figures of the 20th century. This legendary hall of famer had fifty-six wins, five losses, and thirty-seven knockouts. Another all-time great sports figure that showed great success off of fixing their mistakes from the past was Michael Jordan. Now, although he’s achieved so many goals

This is the 2013 world championships quarterfinals between Nguyen representing Vietnam and Jorgensen representing Denmark. (Men’s single match)