Personal Narrative: My Basketball Experience

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.

“Are you interested in this?” , my dad asks multiple times about multiple sports. I as a four year old just learning about sports, and watching them with my family decide that basketball is for me. So I go on to rec league… I learn how to dribble, pass, and shoot. Time passes and by middle school I can shoot left-handed layups, cross-over behind my back and in between my legs. High school is here.. and I become even more advanced not just with fundamentals, but mentally, and even more aggressively, and physical. I have a purpose, I love the game, and I want to play it as long as I can.

Basketball time. Halfway through the season. It was game night. I was nervous. I always got nervous for basketball games. So after school I’m getting all my stuff ready and I’m putting on my basketball uniform. I had to get fired up. So I listened to some Kanye West. Ok. I was ready. My mom drove me to my game. I put my bag in the locker room. I go out on the court and warm up with the other girls. I’m getting even more nervous. BUUZZZ. That’s the buzzer. Time to go bring it in. Our coach talks to us and tells us the play to run first. I wasn’t a starter or anything. So I sat on the bench waiting to go in. The jump ball had started. Our team got the ball. During half of the first quarter, Coach told me to go in. I went in. I did my part and I played ok.

An all time favorite activities of me to do and to watch is basketball. Basketball is something I relish because it's exciting and really affecting, I started playing when I was in fourth grade. When I became attentive in basketball it was because I was trying out sports that year and I determine I admired it and really, enjoying it. Basketball is something my dad, and my brother plays, too. My brother and I try to practice, and learn from each other when we both have the time to practice.

She had just gotten off of work a few minutes before she got there to pick us up. Once my mom dropped my brother and I off we swapped cars. The drive to Chicago was very long it was an hour and 11 minutes from LaPorte. We were half an hour away from where we were going to. my brother flipped out and handed me a paper and started recording me. I told him “what do I read?” and he said “start from the top and read down.” I kept reading the paper and reading I didn't know it what it was for. all of a sudden it hit me my heart was pounding and of course I screamed what is all the paper and read it I saw where I was going to and it was not out to eat or to a carnival it was to a stadium. I was going to Soldier Field to a soccer game which read Argentina vs. Panama. from the minute I read the ticket I was so excited I was going to get to see you my favorite soccer player live. My favorite soccer player is Lionel Messi he plays for Barcelona and Argentina he is the top player of his teams. My brother and his girlfriend new that I would find out where I was going if I saw all the people outside walking down the streets with soccer

My basketball career was one to remember, I had a lot of coaches I liked and a handful I didn’t like. But one coach in particular, stuck with me because of one terrible game I had. I remember the day like it was yesterday, we were playing West aka the rich snobs of Billings. I didn’t play much in the first half but when I did play, it wasn’t up to his standards I guess. After making a great read on the defence I ended up turning the ball over. Imagine this, I had the ball at the top of the key, the defence in a 2-3 zone, I had a teammate on each side of me, spread out to perfection, and one man in front of me at the free throw line. I passfaked to my right and the defence jumped at it trying to steal the pass as this was happening, I tried to make a no look pass to the guy at the free throw line

After school on Friday I went to Emily's house. We just watched tv and hung out in her basement until it was time to go to South Milwaukee for her sisters basketball game. Before we went to the game Emily's mom took us to Subway. When we got to South Milwaukee we found are seats and waited for her sisters game to start. It was South Milwaukee vs. Ronald Reagan. Since I don't really know that much about basketball, I'm not gonna explain the game because it would be really confusing The ending score was 42-29. South Milwaukee won. After the game there was a 20 minute warm up for the varsity team. During that time we talked to a girl named Jasmine that was there. When the game started Emily and I went to go sit by her sisters team. South

Basketball my 6th grade year was rough. It was my very first year ever playing sports. Since I went to a small elementary school everyone made the team and I was the only 6th grade student that joined I was so nervous the first practice my hands were shaking way faster than I could run. The rest of the girls were eighth graders that had a ball thrown at them the second the exited the womb; let me just tell you that season sucked.

I was just swinging my bat, over and over again, with no thoughts in my head. The methodical movement of my bat and the sound of the breeze it makes, was calming to me. My mind was blank as I was just going through my on deck routine. But like always, a few thoughts slipped in. You are going to strike out again, for the third time, my mind told me, You are going to let the whole team down, and lose the game. The championship game. I battled the little devil me on my left shoulder, who was feeding my brain these awful thoughts, by repeating an encouraging phrase. You got this Ashley, you got this Ashley. Feeling better about stepping up to the plate, I look up, only to feel my entire body fill with dread. The catcher was just standing up a little

It was a typical day in the McClain household. Everybody was woken up at exactly 7.00 am. Mom said the prayer and then everybody went to school. Little did they know, a massacre was going to occur that night.

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.

was 9 years old and 4th grade had just started which meant that my first official year of basketball was around the corner and everything had to be perfect. I would wake up in the mornings before school and I would go shoot come home after school and shoot again, it was the most practice I had ever done, in one thing, in my entire life. The first practice started in October and I was so overly excited I grabbed a ball and started my routine 5 lay-ups and 10 free throws. I knew my coach better than anyone, He was my father, so when he blew the whistle, I ran to the line and prepared for up and down sprints. We only ran for about 15 minutes, but it felt like days the way he ran us giving us only a few water breaks The entire team was wheezing and we were barely a quarter way through practice. I hear my Dad yell lay-up lines and I get excited because this is something if practiced so hard

That one move ended my basketball career but i’m thankful. I’m still here because what the world do without that makes people laugh.Why couldn't I just let the other team get the ball it’s all my fault that I tried to be a showoff. I’m thankful that didn't have to wear a cast for the rest of my life.

Our first three games as a team were bad, scores of 48- 05 and other scores like that, but we got better. By the end of the season, I was so much better than I was last year. As point guard, I felt more like a leader. As a team, we progressed and progressed, some wins, a lot of losses, but the last were the roughest (except for that 48-05 loss). We lost to a lot of good teams and got really mad, but we also won three or four out of the eight games. It was a hard season, but we got through it, persevering, through every loss then coming back and winning against next team.

The most spontaneous thing that I have done is just playing basketball. Basketball is spontaneous to me because I just wanted to start playing the game. Therefore, my 8th grade year I played basketball for my school team and I wasn't really feeling basketball. Summer of freshman year I played summer league for L.H.S and I felt a burst of energy for the sport. After, a couple of games one of my teammates wanted me to go to their house. Little did I know I was going to get extra practice for the sport.