It takes three things to be a special player: talent, hard work and competitive fire. Sometimes you don’t know how special something is until you pour all your heart into it.

Basketball isn’t just a sport, it’s more than that to me. It’s intense, fun, and part of my life.
I have played basketball for a few years now. I have learned a lot about the game and life through the process.

I have found out that losing is part of the game. If you never lose, you are never truly tested, and never forced to grow. We have also learned that to be great you have to push yourself. You have to have dedication, determination, and discipline. Now we try to grow in the game every day, even when we don’t feel like practicing. To be great you have to push yourself; essentially, you have to be married to the game. Michael Jordan once said, “Some people want it to happen; some wish it would happen; others make it happen.”

“Hey mom, can I play basketball?” I asked.

“Yes, but you never played before so your going to be a few years behind. This will be something totally different for you it’s not like cheerleading! Are you sure you want to play?” my mother asked with a concerned voice.

“Yes I want to play! I know it’s going to be different, but can I still play?” I asked.

“We will see let me ask your father about it.” My mother spoke back. My thoughts just consumed me in those moments. I never thought that I was actually going to play because I was a cheerleader for the longest time but something switched in me that day and I decided I wanted to play basketball.

I remember the way I felt when my very first game happened. My heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest and I was extremely nervous. Then when I got out on the court, all my nerves were gone. Tweet, the ref blows the whistle and the ball goes flying in the air. As I’m running down the court, sweat dripping down my face, the ball gets passed to me. I’m wide open and ready to shoot. All I can hear is people shouting “shoot the ball.” My heart starts racing again as I go up for the shot. The ball bounces off the corner of the backboard and swirls around and around until finally it falls in.

While the clock is ticking toward the last seconds, my team is winning by two points. My coach pulls the team in a huddle and says “Ok we can’t let them score and no one can foul.” The ref blows the whistle warning us to come back onto the court. The other team has the ball and brings it down the court. Their jerseys are flashing red and white while they run down the court. The ball flies through the air going left then right getting passed player to player. The time is ticking down. Everyone in the stands is yelling “10… 9… 8…7…6…5…” My team is pacing back and forth trying to prevent anyone from scoring. Then all of a sudden, the opposing team gets the ball to their wing with two seconds left. They throw the ball up. The clock is loud going off. The ball is cutting through the air twirling and spinning. Everyone is waiting to see what happens. It hits the backboard and rolls around the rim but pops out of the basket. We won! Everyone is up and cheering. This was my very first experience with basketball. Ever since, I have been playing for about six years now. Practicing every day and pushing myself to my limits. I never thought that all of these years of basketball would get me to what I have become now!