Personal Narrative: AAU Basketball

I have had many opportunities to create relationships and memories that I would otherwise have not have had. The game of basketball has shaped me into a well-rounded and more productive member of my community. Many hours of practice and studying have allowed me to become successful and earn many honorable awards and recognitions from my teachers, coaches, and administrators.

The day was October 8th, 2014. I hardly played. One school day, my 5th teacher, Ms. Smit said, “flyers for the basketball team on the table” ordinarily I took one. Kids from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade came to try out for the team. After tryouts, a paper next to the nurse's office was hung up. The paper sheet named those who had made the team. Surprisingly, I made the team, most likely from my height. I felt like I shouldn’t have made the team. At the time, I barely started to play basketball. I went to the practices at school and tried to make myself a little bit better, since a tournament was about to begin in a few weeks.

When I was younger, basketball was all I wanted to play, it just looked like so much fun. In fifth grade I had my parents sign me up for CYB, then in sixth grade I tried out for middle school basketball and played all the way up until ninth grade. In middle school when I was in eighth grade I was awarded the captain position and that helped me build leadership and responsibility. All of the players especially the younger ones knew they could always come to me at any time if they needed anything or help with anything. High school basketball was a lot different than middle school. In middle school I was one of the star players so I played a lot but in high school that changed. I sat the bench a lot that taught me patience and understanding even

My entire life, I have lived and breathed basketball. When I was only three days old, I was being passed around in the stands of a basketball game while my parents coached my older sister. In first grade, I was begging my parents to let me play. I couldn’t, however, because in my town kids don’t start playing basketball until the third grade. They let me join an Upward basketball league that was near my area, but Upward wasn’t competitive enough for me. So the next year, I went a couple towns over to join their city league so I could play. From then on, basketball was my passion.

It is my junior year of high school and basketball season is right around the corner. I am on the verge of either making varsity or junior varsity this year depending upon my skills. Went through the tryouts and was able to make the junior varsity again for my second year with coach Maloney. I was all excited to play there again seeing I was one out of the three kids that made it back there again. From there it was Cam, Anthony, and I who thought would lead the team because we were the only ones who knew how to run Maloney’s offense and defense well that’s what I had thought was gonna be the case but in reality it wasn't. I thought I would be a starter for the team, but in reality I ended up being a bench player or how I thought of it as a

My family was born to play basketball, both of my brothers had the size and athleticism to play professionally, and my dad towered over others standing at 6’6”. At a young age I was expected to follow in their footsteps. However, I did not have the size that the rest of my family did, and struggled to compete due to my small stature. In the seventh grade I tried out for my middle school basketball team and was promptly told I wasn’t good enough to play. I came home crying feeling that I disappointed my family. The next year, during the eighth grade try-outs, the coach said the same thing and broke my heart for the second year in a row. Dissatisfied with these results, I promised that I would make a change before entering high school.

The next day I made all my shots and layups i even dunked. The coach was impressed and he said to me you”ve made my team. I was very excited But, the people that made the team didn’t seem and even made negative remark towards me said i am not a “basketball player”, “you cannot play”,I didn't listen to them and continued to play the game.My coach, fans, and students realize the conflict between me and the other teammates during games and practices. Within The week of me being on the team the coach held a personal meeting me with me and the other teammates. The coach lectured the other teammates saying it’s not right how you don’t accept me as a basketball player how would you feel if you was in his shoes.After the lecture from my coach The players started realizing i am worth something and welcomed me in open arms but i didn't received there welcoming.I didn't have chemistry with my teammates during the whole season but i was cordial with them i was there if they really needed me . The only person that i had chemistry with was my coach he never doubted me and he seen potential in me from tryouts to the end of the season which all that counts in my

If I never joined the basketball team I don't know if I would have ever been able to find friends to express myself with. You can learn a lot from friends at a young age, I found out we had more in common than just basketball. Joining the organized sport just opened doors to numerous possibilities for me. I decided to get more involved with other organized activites such as

One night, my mom got a call from Tim Kirkland, the 7th grade basketball coach. I didn’t think anything of it until my mom started saying my name and talking about me. Who on earth could she be talking to? About me?! I instantly stopped doing my homework and sat there impatiently wondering what it was about. About 5 minutes had gone by and I started anxiously rolling on the carpet in the family room where my mom was babbling. Twirling my hair, drawing pictures in the carpet, and annoying my dog. Finally, my mom gets off the phone and says she needs to talk to me. She told me that Coach Kirkland has invited me to play on the 7th grade team for that upcoming in-house basketball season. At first, I was surprised and silent. She continued to tell me it would be more intense and tougher than I’m used to but she thought it would be a good experience. I pondered on it for a moment and remembered that I’m indecisive and have no idea what to do. I had two options: stay on my old team or advance onto the 7th grade team. Since my I trust my mom and don’t know what to do for myself, I decided to take risk and play for Coach

In the past I used to play many different sports which I all enjoyed (besides tennis, the one my parents forced me to try) and recently I have made the tough decision to focus on improving my basketball skills and cut some of these sports. An explanation for why I chose basketball is that I love the game, I am good at the game (which always helps you enjoy it more), and I have won two state championships in basketball. Having rarely lost a basketball game over the last few years, I have enjoyed the game a lot more because it is never fun to lose. Currently, I am playing basketball at Xaverian Brothers High School on the Freshman A team. I put a lot of effort into getting better at every practice and I feel that my coach can help me improve, as he as already started to make me an even better

Comin In HighSchool I really wanted to play for the basketball team. I would go to Xsport Fitness everyday and practice until I could not walk. I loved everything about playing basketball. I really liked the fans who would come and support my team. Basketball would help from all the trouble around my area. At the beginning of year I went to Coach Kelly and told him “I'm going to play for your basketball team”. He looked straight at me it felt like he was looking straight into my soul. He nodded and said “ok” I then left. I been doing good in school the first 2 months of my freshman year. I was getting good grade until tryouts. I was focusing so much on to making the team my grades stared to slip.

My dad and I pulled up to the basketball court. It was time to play. I had never played a real basketball game until this day. It was my first game and I was so excited. I was nervous too. I honestly didn’t know all the plays and moves that you have to do. We did not have enough practices for me to know what to do. But, I was ready.

Since I was a child, I loved watching basketball games. I remember when I was around six years old, there was a game on the t.v taking place at OAKA in Greece, and my favorite team AEK was playing against PANATHINAIKOS. The game was going to start at ten o'clock and my dad didn't want me to stay awake to watch it. I started crying as always- when I wanted something I was doing that -and my dad couldn't see me crying so he agreed and said that we were going to watch the game together. I was so happy about that, and I said thanks to my father. All my favorite players were playing and the game was unbelievable. I knew from that night, that I wanted to be a basketball player when I grew up.

I never had really thought of playing basketball. I thought it was a cool sport and looked fun, but i never considered playing it outside of school. That is until my friends Alex, Ryan, and Freddy brought it up the idea. It sounded like a good plan to all of us because none us had really played basketball aside from school gym class and it gave us something to do (because what else is there to do in the winter?) so we all said “why not?” and gave it a shot.

It was not until about third grade that I began playing competitive basketball. I vividly remember the feeling of nervousness and fear I had not knowing where I was going or what to expect. My dad and I were in the car driving to the first practice with my new team, and I was terrified. When we arrived at the gym high school girls were practicing, and of course I misunderstood the situation and thought I was supposed to be practicing with them. Afraid, I burst out into tears, thinking “I don’t belong here. I am not good enough!” Eventually, the other girls my age and slightly older began showing up. I was more comfortable, granted, but I still felt out of place. Regardless, I went out and played. The head coach of this program was unlike anyone I had met before and I still believe that to this day. He was constantly cursing and yelling at the young girls at practice, all while spitting tobacco out of his mouth into a dirty cup. He yelled at me countless of times and once even told me I took like “poop”; nevertheless, I took the insult and my parents and I stayed loyal to the program. He eventually stopped yelling at me because he had grown accustomed to having me around and because I was one of the better players in the program. In fact, he probably had a lot of love for me. He would not yell at me but rather joke because he knew that I was a hard worker who would always try my best. At the time, I liked getting his recognition and in a way it justified his foul language,