My Road of Basketball

              3…2…1 the buzzer sounds after another grueling loss. After losing the game because my teammate couldn’t make a layup we go and huddle up in the corner of the gym to talk about why we lost the game from an overall standpoint, in other words the coach cures at us even if we did do something good that game. How I got to this point in my basketball journey started on November 6, 2002 around 4:00pm, the day I was born. Once I hit the age of six my parents let me try different sports. At the time, basketball was one sport I was very key on playing even though I was as bad as a bad dream. Then, one day my parents went out and got me a small Georgia Tech baby goal to play on when we lived in Texas, that was probably the best thing someone has ever got me. The day I got back from school that’s all I did for the rest of the day till dinner came. A month and some change went by and in my mind, I thought “Man when I get to school I’m going to beat the basketball people and prove I was good.” I got to Wolford Elementary and they were all better than me even after I practiced so then I was made fun of and I went to go play tag with the test of the kids at the playground, after almost crying right then and there. That day I was the kid who sucks at basketball, then the move happened.

              We decided to move to Georgia to become closer to family. I was always ecstatic to meet new people, but when I got to my new Elementary, Creek View, I was picked on when I wanted to play basketball, and it was even worse because the white kids there called me racial names. Today, I realized it’s not their fault because their parents set bad example for them. Then, I moved to a better Elementary School which was a good fit for me because the kids there would include me in basketball. We then got located to Webb Bridge Middle School which is where all the Creek view kids go to. I then got bullied ,but now they could curse so it was even worse than before. One day everything changed when I got sick and tired of being bad at basketball after getting picked on in P.E class. I went to join a recreational basketball league to get my confidence up, after carrying them to all our wins. The summer going into seventh grade I trained so hard that I went from being the last player on the bench to being the best on my team. That same year I got relocated to Taylor Road Middle School which was a way better school.                        

              After carrying my team to the playoffs and losing, I decided to play AAU basketball (travel basketball) which I ended up having to score almost all the points and still losing most games. Then eighth grade came around, and I had to carry my team to some wins. During that same season I played middle school basketball and that was the only team that I have ever been on where winning was a common thing to do. The head coach for Chattahoochee invited me to train with the varsity boys and during these workouts, I realized the pace of the game was played at a much higher speed. Going into the ninth grade I train so hard so when I got high school I could worry more about grades because I already prepared for the season. The coaches saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. Not only did I skip the ninth-grade team I played for my JV team and started. The day I realized I started I was scared because I wasn’t sure if I could produce at that level.

 This was a team that had players better than me, but I was mentally better than them. A couple games into the season I lost the game to a buzzer beater, finishing the season with another losing record we head to next season. I played summer basketball for varsity instead of JV, the reason I made the team was because I have amazing defense. Now I’m playing varsity basketball trying to find my place on the team hoping to find it soon. As a sophomore I’m just happy to be on a varsity team after overcoming so many obstacles.