I Never Would have Thought

Basketball is by far my favorite sport.

That moment in your stomach. Playing basketball for my high school. Not only is playing for a team a great experience, it made me the person I am today. A person who knows the game. I have been to camps and clinics for my entire life, and for what? Looking back at choosing not to play basketball, the long nights of decision making, the constant questioning by all my peers and parents, I still don’t know how I came to a decision. Any time I did my homework, all I could think about was if I should no longer go on. Every day at the community center, I worked harder and harder to become stronger for basketball season. Now that I was having second thoughts, working out was able to distract me from what was really going on. I couldn’t think straight and my grades were affected by it. Every time I went to a meeting or something for basketball, I couldn’t focus on what was being said. Have you ever had a terrible distraction that kept you from focusing on what is really at task? You have a math test, and on number seven you stop for a second to take a breath, and now all of a sudden, you’re thinking about your science test next period. That was what it was like for me every time someone brought up basketball to me. Junior year is stressful enough as it is and now I was adding on the most brought up question I have ever been asked. Every day I was asked if I was going to play or not. It’s like being bit by a mosquito every day until you by bug spray.
It’s extremely frustrating.
After school, I walk into the community center every day, I say hello to the guys at the front desk, I then go upstairs and get a solid workout in with all my buddies, if no one is talking while I am up there, I pull out my headphones and listen to some tunes and before I know it, I have been through a couple dozen songs and it is time to go, but before I go I always like to play a few games of basketball downstairs in the gym, not only do I play a few games, I make sure I win those games, and just like that, my workout is all done and I’m off to get home.
After school, I walk into the locker room every day, I say hey to all my teammates and even some guys on the other side of the locker room, I get dressed and walk into the gym, and before I know it, we are already getting into our first drill, it could be an up and down the court drill or it could be a simple shooting drill, no matter what drill it was our coaches always made sure to prepare us as well as they possibly can for our next game, and to do so I would have to watch the film of my previous game and tweak up anything that needed to be fixed so I didn’t mess it up again in the next game, making sure that I could get the most playing time that I could, but only coach knew how much I was going to play.
Which scenario would you choose if it was your choice?
Those two scenarios are what I was facing depending on which one I picked. I wanted to do both, but there just isn’t enough time in the day. Imagine waking up, going to school, leaving school, playing basketball, working out, eating dinner, doing homework, and then finally sleeping. It would be a busy day, that’s for sure. As good as some people are at two different sports, professional athletes have to narrow their options to the one because nobody has the time to do everything they want. In my case, it was between playing a sport and working out. I picked working out.
Working out is a great way to get rid of the stress that gets created throughout the day. Junior year has stress written all over it, and having to make a decision that will alter the year makes a huge impact on my decision making. Before I made the final decision, after thinking about it for over 4 months, I was mentally exhausted. I was a lot more stressed out and nervous then I usually am. I was stuck in a corner and I had no idea how to get out of it. I knew whatever decision I made, I was going to regret it in some way. In life, there is always going to be other people who say what they think is right for you, but in the end, only you know what is right for you. So when all came to a final decision, and the tryout was the next day, I knew in my mind that I wanted to continue working out with my friends at the gym, and give up on my hopes of playing basketball for a competitive team like Maine South. I couldn’t let my parents or friends influence my decision on what I am going to do. This also serves as a future lesson, for the next time you tell someone what you think they should do in a tough situation. Remember that only they know what is best for them, and you will know what I am talking about the next time something is bugging you or you need to make a difficult decision, but until then, you will just have to trust my past experiences. If I decided to be a part of the basketball team, I would have been a part of a winning team, a fun season, and an exciting winter. I knew what I was going to miss out on, and I don’t regret my decision anymore at all. Until I really told anyone about it, like you, I never realized how much this decision has impacted my junior year.
And I enjoyed every second of it.