Personal Statement: Balling With A Purpose

No other sport will mean so much to me as basketball will. Every time I step on the court, I lose myself and become a whole other person. When I hear my name yelled in the crowd, I get an adrenaline rush to my brain, causing me to swiftly move quicker and focus on the game. Deep down I know that I am not here to win the game, but to enjoy myself. Each basket I make are like my worries trapped into the ball, and then expelled when it goes into the basket. This game is where my mind gets lost in the sounds of the dribbles. When the game is over, I look back to my team and give them warming hugs knowing that the game is over, and we will not stop playing the sport because there is always time to get better. Although I frantically wash my jerseys the nights before games, and leave my stinky shoes in my car all season, I would not trade pulling a jersey over my head every Friday night, dancing to blaring music in the locker room, and lacing up my shoe for the world. It means a lot more to me knowing that it is more than just a game. While I know I am having fun with my best friends and some of the greatest mentors that I have, I know that I am learning true values of life, which will make me become a better

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.

Initially, basketball was an outlet for me. It was an activity in which I did not have to think about the daily complications in my life, even if it was just for a moment. However, as I grew older, it converted into more than a temporary respite. It became my route to a free college education. That was the objective I worked towards every practice, training session, and game. The best way to achieve this goal was through AAU basketball.

“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.

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.

As an individual I love staying active, socializing with others, being dependable, and keeping busy. Playing Basketball for Flour Bluff ISD, since the seventh grade, has granted me the opportunity to achieve all of these goals. For some peculiar reason I have consistently felt that I lacked experience of which my peers had, and that I would never be able to acquire it. Soon after I started playing I became intimidated of my fellow teammates and worried about the time I felt I lost, due to beginning so late in my childhood. Without fail, I always feel a sense of accomplishment after making it through tryouts every year and as I approach my final season, it has become clear just how much of my life was devoted to Basketball, that I truly love it and how I am thankful to be a part of something much more than just a team.

I was 12 year old when I started playing basketball. My dream was to be similar to Michael Jordan. However, my GBL team has lost every game since I’ve started playing basketball. I was also playing with my older brother Jeremiah for the first time, but we were always fighting about whose better. I knew this season would bring us together. With a lot of hard work we finally won. It took me and my brother to work together to win.

I tried to play basketball, and i was really bad at playing because i had played softball all of my life i have never played anything else other than softball. My Dad tried to help me practise basketball but he didn’t know how to play either because he only played baseball. I was not any good at it, and i hated it because it was so hard to play and every time my coach would yell at me i didn’t know why because he never explained to me what i was doing wrong. I did want to give up because i hated it and i could not play at all and our team never won a game. I will try knew things out in the future and i hope that i will succeed in what i want to do because i am a person who sets their mind to things and gets them done even if it takes me my

The basketball was a little gift from the team after our run at the state tournament, but to me this ball means the world to me. From the blood, sweat, tears that come from a team building practices, to the roast sessions the bus rides, I will never take my time on the court or with the team for granted. My life has

Basketball has always been something I loved ever since I was a little girl. I remember when I was younger, we had a basketball hoop in my driveway and my brothers and I would always go out and play one on one or horse. I also remember losing, a lot. Although it wasn’t about winning or losing for me, I just loved the game. In fourth grade, I started playing competitive basketball and loved the sport even more. Maybe it was scoring points or getting an assist, I’m not really sure the reason, I just knew I loved the game. As I got older my love for the game only grew; until high school hit.

As I walk onto the court my heart is pumping faster than I can count, because my team is playing the final game in the state tournament for the 1A-D11 championship title. I'm so excited I get to experience what i've been waiting for my whole life. My coach tells me I’m starting, and I’m nervous that we will lose the championship that we’ve worked eight years for. The career I would most like to pursue is playing in the NBA, because this dream career influences me to get good grades, spend time in the gym, and stay out of trouble. I have always dreamed about playing in the NBA since the first time I ever picked up a basketball. I don’t like school very much, but I need to do well to make it in the big leagues.

Fifteen years were spent with nothing but rubber and concrete as I would practice in my front yard with a nine foot hoop. This never fully prepared me for the actual sport. I never focused on any other attributes to the sport of basketball except for shooting. Not to mention it was only with my right hand. I have wanted to play on a team since seventh grade, but injuries limited my ability to do so, including a broken leg and a sprained knee. Therefore, I had to wait until my freshman year to participate. By the time freshman year had came, I was still oblivious to everything I did not know.

Stephen Curry, point guard for the Golden State Warriors, said about basketball, “What I tell people is to be the best version of yourself in anything that you do. You don’t need to live someone else’s story. It doesn’t matter where you come from – what you have, or don’t have, what you lack, what you have too much of – but all you need to have is faith in God, an undying passion for what you do, or what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to.” Growing up I have always played basketball. It is like a haven for me considering whatever I am feeling, whether it is angry, somber, excited, etc. I can always play and depend on basketball. It makes me feel exceptional.

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.

Basketball is not just a sport, to me it is a lifestyle; there is something about shooting the orange sphere through the net and hearing that “swoosh” sound that can force any problem to instantly go away. Nothing can compare to the satisfaction that is felt when stepping onto the court or feeling the padded outer-layer of the ball clash with the tips of my fingers after bouncing up from the ground. The court is a second home to me. I have been playing basketball since I was eight years old. It seemed to come as second nature. Once I reached middle school, I competed for a spot on the seventh grade girls basketball team and earned myself a spot. Those girls meant everything to me. I can recall practices when we got off task and goofed around for a bit, but we always got back to work.