Sports was one of the biggest obstacles in my life when i was a kid. It was a big struggle for me because it was like a new word for me and i didn't know what it was until i had P.E in 1st grade. Whenever our teacher made us play certain sports i would always be the one that would make my team lose. Me not knowing sports was the cause of many of my friends putting me down. From then on i was the kid that was always picked last whenever we had to pick teams in P.E or whenever we had recess. It took me until 4th grade to finally get the hang of things when it came to P.E. I was pretty decent at it and my P.E teacher was really proud of how much i improved. After 4 years of not knowing what sports was and doing so many of them i chose my favorite sport which was basketball.
Basketball then was my only focus and goal that i wanted to achieve in life. I would always practice everyday on that one sport trying to get my shots down, to be able to dribble on each hand, and to work on my weaknesses. When I was finally felt confident enough to use the techniques i learned, I begged my parents to put me in a basketball team or basketball camp. But my fear of getting picked on really interfered with my decision in being in any basketball team. It was until my parents forced me into going to a 3 day basketball camp that's held almost every summer by my church.I was still very scared and nervous until I met the coaches and they said that I would be alright and i should be fine.
Ever since the sign ups i have been practicing and practicing trying to make sure that i get better so i won't get picked as much. When it came to the first day of basketball camp i was already nervous. There were so many kids my age playing like the pros. I felt very intimidated and somehow reminded at what happen before as a kid. When it came to making teams for the next two days i was really nervous. I wanted to be in the championships and i wanted to win.
When they called my name they put me in with these players who was very eager to win. When our coach called for a team meeting I was very scared at what my coach was gonna do. Instead of making plays and doing all that "coach" work, we bonded. We talked about what struggles we had in life or why we wanted to come to this camp. From that team bonding i left the camp with a happy face and made a lot of new friends. On the next day, it was the playoffs where the coaches will see who goes to the championships. I was very excited and eager to play the games. On our first game our team did not really start as well in the first half. We couldn't pass the ball to well and our shots didn't go in. But when it was the second half of the game we were able to make a comeback and win the game. As the games went on our team was really doing well. We were able to make it to the championships! I was very proud of our team on how we were able to work together. But I was actually proud of myself because i was able to score a lot of the points and no one bothered to say a bad word to me. Instead my friends were very amazed and happy to have me on their team.
It was the last day of camp and i was very sad. I wanted to get to know my teammates a little bit more and most of all i wanted to play the games more too. When i found out our division was up first i was very excited and ready to play. I was ready to finally show those friends that put me down and show them that i am no longer that person who was always junk at sports. So when it was time to play i was in the starting lineup. It was our possession and i was shooting guard. I got the ball and i was able to dribble past my defender and make layup. Me making that lay up made me confident throughout the game. It was the last quarter and we were down by 3. It was our possession and my teammate had the ball. For the last two possessions he was able to make layups which shrank their lead to 1. We only had 10 seconds left and i was getting really nervous.So my teammate had the ball and was really trying to make another layup. When i was open he passed it and it was already at 5 seconds. So i rushed to the three point line and shot it. The buzzer sounded and i made it! It was a day to remember for me. I was now free of these constant put downs that would always stop me from playing the sport i loved. I thanked God that day because he was the reason i made that shot. The good thing from my story was not the championship but the will and practice i had to get to where i am now. I finally learned how to step out of my box show people that i am a good player. Today, i still have some people that put me down all the time but because of that day i learned that if i just went out there and step out of my comfort zone, I know i can do it. That is my coming of age.
Ever since the sign ups i have been practicing and practicing trying to make sure that i get better so i won't get picked as much. When it came to the first day of basketball camp i was already nervous. There were so many kids my age playing like the pros. I felt very intimidated and somehow reminded at what happen before as a kid. When it came to making teams for the next two days i was really nervous. I wanted to be in the championships and i wanted to win.
When they called my name they put me in with these players who was very eager to win. When our coach called for a team meeting I was very scared at what my coach was gonna do. Instead of making plays and doing all that "coach" work, we bonded. We talked about what struggles we had in life or why we wanted to come to this camp. From that team bonding i left the camp with a happy face and made a lot of new friends. On the next day, it was the playoffs where the coaches will see who goes to the championships. I was very excited and eager to play the games. On our first game our team did not really start as well in the first half. We couldn't pass the ball to well and our shots didn't go in. But when it was the second half of the game we were able to make a comeback and win the game. As the games went on our team was really doing well. We were able to make it to the championships! I was very proud of our team on how we were able to work together. But I was actually proud of myself because i was able to score a lot of the points and no one bothered to say a bad word to me. Instead my friends were very amazed and happy to have me on their team.
It was the last day of camp and i was very sad. I wanted to get to know my teammates a little bit more and most of all i wanted to play the games more too. When i found out our division was up first i was very excited and ready to play. I was ready to finally show those friends that put me down and show them that i am no longer that person who was always junk at sports. So when it was time to play i was in the starting lineup. It was our possession and i was shooting guard. I got the ball and i was able to dribble past my defender and make layup. Me making that lay up made me confident throughout the game. It was the last quarter and we were down by 3. It was our possession and my teammate had the ball. For the last two possessions he was able to make layups which shrank their lead to 1. We only had 10 seconds left and i was getting really nervous.So my teammate had the ball and was really trying to make another layup. When i was open he passed it and it was already at 5 seconds. So i rushed to the three point line and shot it. The buzzer sounded and i made it! It was a day to remember for me. I was now free of these constant put downs that would always stop me from playing the sport i loved. I thanked God that day because he was the reason i made that shot. The good thing from my story was not the championship but the will and practice i had to get to where i am now. I finally learned how to step out of my box show people that i am a good player. Today, i still have some people that put me down all the time but because of that day i learned that if i just went out there and step out of my comfort zone, I know i can do it. That is my coming of age.
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