Short Story

I walked off the floor with sweat dripping from my hair. So many thoughts flew through my head that I couldn’t focus on anything. My junior year of basketball felt like it ended as quickly as a blink. It was as if in seconds we went from the stars of the state tournament to the embarrassments of it. I tried to forget the disappointment of it but it still will not leave. My desire and love to win games comes from the more apparent hatred of losing them. Junior year we had a chance to win a state championship, but we lost that chance. That was when I realized that I had one chance left to win. Senior year our basketball success would only be as rewarding as we would make it. The pressure placed on ourselves was substantial, and we faced trials on the road to success. In the end, we stood alone, crowned as the champions, not letting our chance slip away.

We walked together to the field, the spikes on the bottom of my cleats clicking with each step on the parking lot pavement. A huge field with onlookers filling the bleachers on the far side came into view, lit up by the soft evening light. I spotted the girls on my team and my tired looking grey-haired coach. Me and my dad split up, me going to warm up with my team and my dad going to sit with the team parents. As I was passing with my teammates I watched the opposing team carefully. I observed how neat their drills were and how accurate their shots and passes were. They all looked so athletic and that really made me doubt myself. How was I supposed to prove to everyone that I was a good player if I had to play against a team this good? What if I mess up and the other team completely destroys my team? The loud buzzer that ended the warm ups sounded and both teams went to their side of the field. My coach called today’s starters out, and luckily he didn’t choose me. Relieved, I went to go sit on one of the hard metal chairs they provided for the teams on the sidelines. The chairs were uncomfortable but that didn’t bother me. I had other things on my mind. I sat shivering watching the events of the game

She said, “I’ll be the best player in the team". She began to play basketball every day. In a six month she was in the team. Two years later she became the best player in the University. Tania always learn from her mistakes.

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.

Finally, my hard work had been rewarded, we made It to the semi-final, the best position that my school has made. I’m very happy to have an impact on our team success. At that time, we had even dreamed of making it through the final and win the cup. Because of that, we approached the game with fully confidential. I still remember that day, one of the most memorable days of my life. As it was the highest position that our school achieved, many students went to the stadium to cheer with us. The vibe in the stadium is something that I couldn’t describe. The cheering from the crowd, the smell of grasses on the field, everything combined to make the astonishing experience. However, thing did not go as we expected. The opponent scored in the early of the game, which made our confident disappeared and came along with nervous.

I knew making it all the way to the final was hard, but I hope my team and I would get there. That wasn't going to be easy at all, but I just needed to go out in the field and show what I could do and

I was more than happy, for being able to compete against the whole country. Even knowing I was the one chosen to represent team Oregon, made me more than honored. Yet, Afterwards I go to the stands at sit waiting to see my final results. My coach was beyond pleased, with my performance. You could see her beaming with

I approached the gym, nervously changing into my soccer gear, and facing some very skilled players. I felt that because I had practiced so much, my abilities had definitely improved. Not only this, but because I had already experienced two nerve wracking years trying out, I knew exactly what Mr. McBurney would throw our way. My past would

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 woke up to my mom entering my room screaming, “ ITS GAME DAY!” Instead of waking up to my usual routine, sluggish and begging for more sleep, today was completely different. It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday in December. I still was in shock my school finally made it to the championship game. It felt like a dream as if my mother never woke me up by her yelling. I knew this was a huge game and something I would remember forever. Considering the high circumstances of this game I knew I had to be one hundred percent ready to play my best. My head coach, Coach Sphire wanted all of us players to report to the film room by noon that day. As time past by my team I had discussed many offensive and defensive plays, watched film, and prepared ourselves

Devastated, I made my way to the back doors of the gym where my mom had came to pick me up. When I saw her I started balling when I saw her. In Spite of my low ranking, I knew I tried my

They all waited for an answer and I was reluctant to give them one. They wouldn’t like my response. “I don’t think I’m good enough.” I answered honestly. “You shouldn’t think like that.” It was Noah, this time. I was surprised by his input. So were my parents because they encouraged him to go on. Noah was never one to give me advice or motivating words. So I understood how awkward he felt to continue, but knew that if he wanted to get off the dinner table he would have to go on. “I mean, I’ve seen you play before and you’re really actually pretty great.” He continued, his voice shaking. I looked down to play with the leftovers on my plate. I wasn’t used to hearing him talk about me with so much emotion in his voice. We barely say anything nice to each other. So hearing what he had to say made the awkward tension like a thick glass in the air just waiting to fall. The more he talked, the heavier that glass got. “I think you should try out for the team. They’ll be lucky to have someone as passionate about the sport as you are.” He finished, trying to smile and make it less

“Yea,but I think I would just need to go outside and shoot on our goal more.” “After all I haven 't actually played on a basketball team before,”I said.

Albert Einstein,"If you've never failed you have never tried."This year my sister decided to join the volleyball team. Well, she thought that she would be the bom.com, she also thought that she was good at everything.Today is the day of her first game. My sister was very excited to meet her teammates. My mom even forced to me to go. Surprisingly, my sister got put in first. The other team served the ball straight to her but then she jumped out of the way and the other team scored a point. It kept happening over and over again. Her lips start quivering her body started shaking.

One rainy night in November, I arrived to the church gym for my first basketball practice of the season. As I walked in the doors creaked and you could smell the gym floor. As I already heard the basketballs hitting the ground, bouncing up and down. My friends Brittany and Destiny walked in right behind me through the door. That was when we realized we were the only girls surrounded by all guys. As practice came to a start we began to run, it felt like we were never going to stop. Up and down the court as we ran suicides, you could hear the squeaking of shoes as we went from the next line back and then on to the next. Before we started scrimmaging, the two captains were boys. Brittany, Destiny, and I stood in amazement as we were the last three standing there. You could see by their expressions they didn’t want any of us on either team.