Narrative About Basketball

As the clock ticks down, everybody starts to hang their heads. The score is now thirty to twenty-seven and we know we are about to lose. Although basketball has many lows, it is a part of who I am. Everybody has a hobby that they love that makes them feel like they can escape from reality and be free. For some people this might be a fun activity that they really love doing. This for me happens to be basketball and I have happened to fallen in love with this sport. Every Friday night as I lace my shoes up knowing I have forty-eight minutes to play with my best friends, my heart fills with never ending joy. This is the time that I hold a twenty-two ounce ball in my palms, and put all my worries and problems in the world away. This is the time

It all began on November 3, 2015 during my first middle school basketball tournament. The grey brick walls of the gymnasium looking more like a prison than a school. The school’s “Lincoln Park Elementary School” sign had graffiti and missed a couple letters from the name. The court was terribly small, but we began by playing the superb team of Jam on It. We were blown out and I headed back up to my mom and dad in the parent filled stands. The game wasn’t even fun to play and we looked like third graders playing them. I looked up to my parents as sad as could be.

Basketball was a new experience to me a few years ago, but i never realized I was going to love it. When I was younger, I’ve always wanted to play the sport of basketball, and I got my opportunity to play when I was in fifth grade at Monte Vista Elementary.

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

We are going to do whatever it takes to win. My knee was aching something serious, but I wasn't going to tell the trainer because she'd keep me out of the game. We took our positions for the jump ball and I was our jumper of course. I jumped off my good leg, but I still landed with a sting in my right. Off we went like a herd of bulls running down the court. This game wasn't going to be easy by any means. Both my team and the opposing team was knocking down shots left and right. I wasn't concerned with my knee anymore because my adrenaline was pumping. We had got most of our points from fast breaks and turnovers. I was starting to become winded, my ribs felt like they were going to close in and my mouth was so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof of it. I signaled for my sub and waited for someone to come relieve me. I continued to cheer on my teammates from the bench and watched them fight

“Wake up……….. It’s game day” my dad says. “ It’s the day we've all been waiting for and it finally came, your sophomore year of high school and you're starting on varsity” my mom adds. I get up and go eat breakfast. My dad takes me up to the school to get ready for the big game today. State Championship basketball game, 13 seconds left in the 4th quarter, my team is down 73-70, we rebound the ball and they pass me the ball, rushing down the court as fast as we can to score before the clock runs out. I have the ball dribbling down the court as fast as I can. Sweat dripping hard like rain drops, my legs and arms are all bruised up, palms are sweaty, and I'm out of breath. I pass it to my teammate, Josh, and set a screen on his man, 9 seconds left. No one is open, so I roll back up to the top of the key and Josh passes the ball back to me. 7 seconds left, the guy that's guarding me is playing up close, so I hit a crossover on him to get past him. 5 seconds I move to the side 3 point line and hit a step-back move, the defender stumbles and the crowd goes ”oooooooooooooooooooo’’ 3 seconds left my heart is racing really fast, 2 seconds, I shoot the ball, 1 second, the ball goes around the rim, HORN BLOWS, it was so quiet and it felt like the world paused for a minute and it finally goes in and the crowd goes wild, the score is now 73-73. My teammates rush to me and pile on me. Everyone is happy and yelling, “ Tyler, Tyler, Tyler” We go to the bench listening to our coach talking

I love tuning into a game on a Tuesday night, in the middle of an incredible stretch of games, to see if a player or team can keep playing at that level. It makes the dog days of January so much better.

If there’s any lone reason I play basketball I would word it as, “One game of basketball can teach a young man lessons that will help him branch out into the world”. Each quarter of basketball teaches different skills.

We reminded each other that we needed to just have fun and relax on the court. The nerves kicked in for me once we arrived at McCormick Place. My stomach was twisting and my legs went weak. Tall escalators carried us up to the level that the courts were on. We were welcomed by a sign that said, “Welcome to the 2017 Nike Tournament of Champions.” I was shocked walking through the large doors that led to the courts. All I could see were courts upon courts. It felt like we walked forever to get to our court. As I was lacing up my shoes, all I could think about was all of the hard and long practices that had led up to this. I didn’t work hard for nothing. I realized that I was only a freshman and still had a long ways to go. Most of the nerves came out after the first game. We played three games that day with college coaches watching all of them. The lumps were in my throat and it felt like my heart sank to my stomach. I have never had college coaches watching games that I was playing in. After each game I reflected back on how I played and told myself what I needed to work on and do better at. I have never played against girls that were so good at basketball. Some of the teams had tall girls that hovered over all of us. Not all of the games went as we had planned, but we played well as a team.

Wenyen enrolled in Manchester elementary schools when he was 5, and then enrolled in …. middle school when he was 11, and in his first week of school, is when he first picked up a basketball. After school one day, Wenyen was walking in the hallways of his new school, when he heard a lot of commotion coming from the gym. He decided to see what was going on because he had nothing better to do. When He opened the door, he noticed a bunch of kids fighting about how the teams wasn’t fair for the next pickup basketball game. One of the captains spotted Wenyen standing near the door, and was excited to see that he was a little taller than all of the kids that was playing, so the captain figured that it wouldn’t matter if his team is awful, if he had this tall African on his team. The captain screamed to Wenyen, “ Do you wanna play?”, and before Wenyen had a chances to say no, the captain follow up with, “ Hurry up, you are

When I lace up my shoes and step foot onto the court -- all of life’s problems and struggles just vanish, never coming to mind while playing on the hardwood. Nothing can stop me; because I am in my territory, my sanctuary. The game and the court; they are my canvas, and I am Picasso, the game is an art and every time I step into the gym are efforts to create a masterpiece. I feel as if I am in complete control, like a maestro conducting his symphony and everything I do is nothing but sweet music with the perfect melody and flow. Every move I make, every decision I make, every shot I take is vital to the performance of my team -- with nothing less than a hundred percent effort in mind. I feel as free as bird, soaring through the open air, flying for the first time in the clouds, free. The game and the sound of the ball dribbling take away all the negativity I may be experiencing and immediately replace it with optimism, leaving me in a state of complete serenity. Whenever I feel down I just pick up a ball and head to the gym and my attitude is shifted to a sense of relief and joy. Having the blessed opportunity to play basketball has truly impacted the individual who I am

Basketball seems to get into your blood. It is said by those who play, "You eat, you sleep and you play basketball." When I was a little girl all I wanted to be was a professional basketball player. I couldn't count how many times I pounded that dumb ball in our driveway until it was too dark to see, then I would play for hours more by the porch light. Now I realize that was only childish insanity. Back then they didn’t even have a girls’ profession basketball league in the states. However, that didn't stop me from walking away empty handed. One thing I learned was how to prepare oneself for life. Well, at least, how to prepare oneself for a game.

Winter had come, it was starting to be frozen outside every morning, basketball season was upon us. Was the greatest moment of the year, and was time to lay it all out on the line. The starting position was up in the air, between me and a sophomore. Since I had such a passion for the game, every day was like paradise. Practices were basic, you had your typical start of practice drills here and there and then to the more complex details: the plays, the sets, then after that you went full court 5 on 5 for some live scrimmaging. There were times where it was brutal, but then there was also joking times where we could run through the motions. But through all of the struggling and fighting throughout the season, it all payed off.

It was cold, winter had come, basketball season was upon us. It was time to lay it all out on the line. The starting position was up in the air, between me and a sophomore. Every day was like paradise. Practices were practices, you had your typical start of practice drills here and there and then to the more complex details: the plays, the sets, then after that you went full court 5 on 5 for some live scrimmaging. It was brutal at times, but then there was also joking times where we could run through the motions.

Many people say, “it's just a sport,” but to me basketball is much more than that. I started playing at 5 years old. My father played college basketball, so, naturally, he pushed me to play. He says I have a natural talent for the game. At times I didn't believe him, but now I do. I am very grateful he pushed me to play because basketball has taught me an extremely valuable lesson.