Personal Narrative: Panama Girls Basketball Games

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.

Middle school is a time when kids attempt to figure out how they fit in, and that is exactly what I was looking to do when I started playing volleyball. I was in seventh grade when I decided to try out, and it was only because my best friend was playing. Little did I know just how organized and complex the game was; I just assumed volleyball was a more intense version of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground.” I never thought that I would become so passionate about this sport that it would have an impact on my character.

In life, you encounter many situations and people that aid in molding you into the person you are meant to be. When these instances in time occur, we may not realize it, but looking back they made a huge impact on our lives. For the past four years, I have been a member of the Navarro Runnin’ Lady Panthers Basketball Team, and while the sport itself taught me many lessons and skills I can use to be successful, there was one coach that managed to do the same.

Our 8th grade basketball team were putting on a show! Opponents would enter bobcat territory where our team would play a hard fight to take another win. Every game spectators are left in astonishment after witnessing determination, willingness, and our spirit until the clock expires down to its last second.

It was June 11th, 2015 and the softball team was headed to Radford for the state tournament. The nerves of everyone was running wild as we all sat on the bus listening to music in our headphones. While everyone sat in silence I could see the on everyone’s face that they were trying to strategize, including myself, on how we are going to win these last two games. The previous year the softball team won the state title. This created a high bar for this team to reach. As we sat on the bus we started talking to each other about how we can remain calm and drive ourselves to do the best that we possibly can. Coach Gaines reminded us, “play every play and at bat like it is the last time you will ever play softball”. As I hear these words echoing over

As a leader it is important to follow the motto service above self. My favorite activity / event of the 2016-2017 Rodriguez Prep school year was being on the school’s volleyball team. The experience of being on the school’s volleyball team impacted me personally.

I do believe that it is very important to be involved with not only your school but also

“You have to fight through some bad days, to earn the best days of your life”. My dad would continuously tell me this quote during the tough losses and challenges of my high school softball years. During my freshman year, I was part of my school's varsity softball team, the Lady Lions. Being the youngest player on a team of juniors and seniors, it was a profound accomplishment. A few practices into the season, it had been apparent that many of the players on the team had antipathy towards the coach. Having a great relationship with the coach and being the daughter of the assistant coach, consequently, I was stuck between supporting my coaches or becoming closer with my teammates. Ultimately, seven players decided to quit the team- in fact,

“Yes, we are all here.” answered my aunt. As we were all slowly driving to the Detroit Lions football field.

Hey this new year a has been going great. To start off we had some person come in and bid 11,000 over asking price for the house and lay down 100,000 in earnest money. So I signed the papers today and close March 16th. On the way back to the valley house I got a call at the y in the road and got offered the managers position for gateway to college and the running start program for Spokane. The house and a job in one day. I thought it could not get better but I went to the Dr's and he said I need some massage twice a week for 6 to 8 weeks.

On a saturday morning the philomath basketball team had a basketball game very early in the morning. I went in the gym and saw my team warming up and I remember looking up from tying my shoes and just see what I thought was a NBA team. When I was walking over to the lay up line I heard there shoes shaking the ground as they would walk and jump the ball not even touching the rim when they would shoot a three and the two post that were 6,2 I know that doesn’t sound talk but for us in 7 grade that was tall. We go back to are bench as we hudl up and I remember my Dad whispers in my ear just post up strong the first time and i promise you he will get scared and not want to play. I remember looking at are crowd and seeing my brother and all his friends laughing and not even looking at the game in front of them.

Yesterday we weren't champions, yesterday we were just a typical team. We weren't expected to be Minnesota State, Class A, Girls Basketball champions. We were going up against the number one team in the state, the team that beat every other team by at least 30 points. Everyone thought that we would have gotten beat by 30 points too, but it was yesterday when all of that changed.

Basketball has been the passion of my life since I was 4 years old. I've always had a competitiveness or desire to not lose. That's why my sophomore year of high school was the worst, but best year of my life. As a freshman I was on JV and had tremendous success. The next year I anticipated a starting varsity role. I couldn't wait, expecting a year even better than the last. All the success I had as a freshman didn't translate as smoothly.

High school athletics can form a bond that nothing else can. Throughout my high school career I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in multiple sports such as cross country, basketball, and track. These sports have shaped my character in a way that nothing else has. It has taught me to stay loyal to those who push me to be better, it has taught me to encourage others when they think they can go no farther as well as the other way around, and it has taught me that the people you play with in high school will have an effect on your life forever. They turned me into a person that is willing to go the extra mile for someone, and they have turned me into a person that will not give up in the sight of

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.