Oley Competition

I take the ball out and instantly we get a turnover. I couldn't believe it, the turnover felt like it was my fault. All of my teammates were confused which lead to more turnovers. Now the other team is coming back for the win. I remember the last two minutes of the game, it was like a clock ticking. Everyone on both teams just wanted to run the clock out. Finally I got a steal and went down the court for a layup, that put us up by two points. The other team comes down the court and waist time then, they take a three while were yelling out shot! The shot goes in. That makes them go up by one, our coach called a timeout. There are only 5 seconds left in the game and I have to take the ball out again. I didn't want to make another mistake so, I launched the ball down court to Chris Robinson. He didn't have the shot so he passed it to Cecil. Cecil also didn't have a shot so he passed it to Martell. As soon as Martelle got the ball there is one more second left and he shoots the ball. The ref calls a foul, and the ball goes in putting us back up by two points. We already knew that we were going to win all Martelle had to do was make this last free throw. He made the free throw and he is the reason that we won that game. Closest game I ever played

I used to practice every day when practice began, and I also put in effort outside campus on my own time when I could. Dribbling was the first technique that I wanted to better improve. I was a point guard, meaning that I was the backcourt player who directed my teams offense. I also practiced my shooting skills. I acquired knowledge this way, because I knew that dedication would get me to where I am now. Defense was a challenge for me, because I was much more smaller than my competition. I practiced for the games physically and mentally in order to

Ever since 8th grade, I have worked hard a lot more when I play volleyball. Right when the varsity coaches asked me to join their practice, I knew that I had to work hard and that it will pay off. Now, at every practice, I would play my heart out even if I was playing with a fractured finger or a rolled ankle.

Practice can be the key to improving. In every area of education, in every sport, with every musical activity, anything that requires a good performance, those who practice tend to understand the material more. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers states just how important this can be. Going off of the idea that “practice makes perfect”, his entire second chapter is dedicated to persuading his audience to believe 10,000 hours is what it takes to succeed. Examples Gladwell provides include how Mozart didn’t create his greatest works until later in his life after he had gained experience, how the Beatles performed in multiple practice concerts in Hamburg, Germany before becoming musical sensations, and how Bobby Fischer and chess grandmasters

Practicing for 10,000 hours only affects ability by 21%. For practicing for as long as 10,000 hour is, that’s not that much improvement. In an analysis done by Princeton on 88 studies of deliberate practice, practice accounted for just 12% of a difference on various types of crafts and skills. In one domain, professions, deliberate practice accounted for just 1% of improvement. This is because it’s not a stable area, meaning that it’s always changing so practice doesn’t necessarily do you much good.

My stomach twisted at the thought of losing when we pulled into the McDougal High School’s parking lot. I ran into the building where our coach taught us the new positions until it was time to play. The ref blew the whistle and threw the ball into the air. I jumped up with my feet dangling off the ground and slapped the ball out of its orbit and ran down the court. I could feel my heart beating, I lurched to a screaming halt at the three point line and pushed the ball towards the basket. I shut my eyes hoping it would make it. I heard the ball drop to the ground and the crowd that was erupting with cheers, I opened my eyes and saw my teammates smiling. “That’s a girl!” my coach hollered as I ran towards the sideline and sat down on the bench. We ended up winning by 2 points after two overtime periods.

I have experienced seeing how practicing affects my skills overall. Without a doubt, practicing is an important factor of success; you cannot get better at something without working to improve. That being said, you cannot just slap a number down as the “magic number” for how much practice you need to become the best you can. You must take into account the quality of the practice and the speed at which each individual picks up new material. For example, I went through a period of time where I would “practice” guitar for half an hour a day. In reality, I was not practicing as well as I should have been; I would practice songs other than what I was supposed to be learning and not use my time efficiently overall. As a result, I moved through the material at an excruciatingly slow rate. But, when I got my act together and starting genuinely practicing for thirty minutes every day, I began improving again and eventually got back to learning at the pace I had been at before. The issue at hand was not the length of my practice, it was the fact that I was not practicing the way I should have been. Even if I had gotten ten thousand hours of practicing in, it would not have much of a difference if I had been practicing

That day still feels like it was yesterday, that day was one of the greats, we were playing the undefeated team for the championship. Boy wasn't I excited, the park gym was packed to me it felt as if I was playing at Staples Center. Before tipoff I had all these thoughts and doubts running through my mind cause everybody in that gym was rooting for the other team. This game was close as we both fought for the title, there were many lead changes in the game who knew who was gonna come out on top. Clutch time, fourth quarter ten seconds left, tied game, the crowd is going wild as it felt like the building was about to collapse. My coach calls a timeout as I run towards the huddle I glance at the score tie game with ten seconds left we have a chance to prove everyone wrong. This was it, this is what he feels, this is why we practice, I knew I had to make this shot. As we set up in our positions that our coach had scribbled on his clipboard, the referee hands in the ball and we begin to run the play, as i struggle to get open I knew the clock was ticking I had no time to waste as soon as I catch that ball. Finally

When all the drills, techniques and mechanics become a part of your system, you'll be performing a lot more consistently compared to your performance if you don't practice often enough.

As I run down the court with the ball the remaining of 24 seconds left on the scoreboard I hear my teammates shouting and running towards the ball. We were down by 3 and my team always depend the shot on me because I usually score at least 15 - 20 points a game. My coach called a time-out so we could run a better play and hopefully come back. We were going into our 2 lose into the season so this game really meant something to us as much as all the other ones also. With that said it was 7 seconds left on the clock and the other team had the ball so we had to play a very tight defense on them so that we can have a chance to come back and win. So we had got the steal and Nyeisha was on for a fast break, as she runs down the court she misses the

They passed the ball with 0 seconds left. We won, my teammates jumped on me with joy. We shook there hands and said, “good game”. We only beat them by 5 points. My dad gave me a hug and said, “good game” to me. I felt like I could do anything in the world . I felt unstoppable. I ran to the bleachers screaming like a

The sport that I am participating in this season is soccer. I have practice twice a week with games on Saturday. Every training session we do mostly is strength building drills which is a mix of many exercises such as laps, pushups, pull up, suicides and my favorite scrimmages. A scrimmage is a mini soccer game that tests your skills and you get to have

According to MacIntyre “practice” refers to an activity in which one does to achieve a goal. The practice could be a done for reasons such as money, pleasure, requirement, education, etc., usually to obtain a “good”.

Unlike before, I need to practice every day, be it at school, home or elsewhere for the purpose of improving my

I looked up at the scoreboard and the time read 8 minutes left. As I looked at the scoreboard I felt a jolt of energy enter my body. I had felt as if a fire was lit under me. My eyes opened as if I had just seen a ghost. I remember thinking to myself, “how can we lose this game?” I made a promise to myself that I would win 4 state titles while being at Battlefield High School. This was my sophomore year of high school and I had already won one state title, how could I give up now and let my dreams be crushed, I worked too hard for that to happen. In that moment I knew there was only one result I was going to walk off the field with, and that was with a win and another State Championship. I took a deep breath and thought to myself, “My team needs energy. They need a leader.”