In high school, it’s common for students to pick up a sport, whether that’d be recreationally or competitively; there’s a program for everyone. Typically, high schools offer a variety of sports including basketball, baseball, soccer, football, volleyball, and more! Based on a student’s skills and interests, they can choose to try out for a sports team. Depending on the school’s size and athletic talent, tryouts can be extremely competitive since only the best players can make the roster. As a solution, each sport is divided into two teams of two different skill levels—varsity and junior varsity. The varsity team consists of players who the coaches deem most athletic and skilled, while the junior varsity team is typically not as athletic or skilled and much younger.
In my junior year of high school, I played varsity basketball for my high school. It’s been a goal of mine to play basketball at a higher, more competitive level since during my freshman year, I played junior varsity. Basketball has crafted some of my most memorable moments and taught me valuable lessons. However, reflecting on all my experiences watching and playing this sport, my most unforgettable memory by far was playing in the playoffs. The playoffs are a symbol of the hard work and dedication players and coaches commit into the sports season. Only the best teams in the conference are able to compete in the playoffs for a chance at the championship title.
The game is still vivid in my mind as if it happened yesterday. That morning I awoke feeling jittery, excited, and bursting with energy. The gleaming sun greeted me, marking the beginning of a gorgeous new day. Lying in bed, my thoughts bounced, twisted, and turned all around my head. I kept asking myself, “Do we have what it takes to win this game?” In the midst of the tense anticipation, an uneventful six hours of school passed by before I was able to direct all my attention and energy to the playoffs that lay only hours ahead. I wanted nothing more than a victory. In the locker room after school, I wore my jersey and was suddenly overcome with a sense of accomplishment and pride racing through my body. It was at that moment, I truly recognized the magnitude of this achievement. I was proud of my teammates and my coaches, who dedicated days and nights into propelling us to a playoff game.
When the game began, the referee tossed the ball up in the air at half-court. My teammate caught the ball and pounded it on the floor with every calculated step, racing up the court. With every highlight and mistake, the vast crowd hollered and screeched louder than ever. It felt as if the arena was rocking and the windows would shatter. I loved the energy. Fans’ celebrations and frustrations perfectly mimicked that of the players. Everyone was completely in sync with the game. Throughout all four quarters, my teammates and I crafted beautiful, skilled plays and made seemingly impossible shots. However, in the end, we came up short in a close battle in the last seconds of the game. Though it was exasperating to lose a highly anticipated and important playoffs game, reflecting back on it months later, I realized that I learned a valuable lesson. Ultimately, I’m thankful to have experienced a basketball game overflowing with such enthusiasm, excitement, and energy. Win or lose, this moment taught me to be grateful for what I had and what experiences I gained, so that in the future I could improve and become better than ever! Which is why next year I’m sure I’ll have Back to School Basketball Buckets!
Discussion Questions:
Do you play any sports?
Do you like to watch playoffs or championship games? Why or why not?
Have you ever learned a valuable lesson in a time of frustration?
Vocabulary:
Recreation: an activity that you do for pleasure or amusement
Competitive: determined or trying very hard to be more successful than other people
Tryout: a time when people who want to be in a sports team, activity etc. are tested, so that the best can be chosen
Coach: someone who trains a person or team in a sport
Deem: to think of something in a particular way or as having a particular quality
Roster: a list of the names of people on a sports team, in an organization etc.
Athletic: physically strong and good at sport
Junior year: third year (of high school)
Freshman year: first year (of high school)
Playoffs: a game, usually one of a series of games, played by the best teams or players in a competition in order to decide the final winner
Season: a period of time in a year during which a particular activity takes place, or during which something usually happens
Conference: a group of teams that play against each other to see who is the best
Championship: a competition to find which player, team etc. is the best in a particular sport
Vivid: memories, dreams, descriptions etc. are so clear that they seem real
Jittery: anxious or nervous
Gleam: to shine softly
Anticipate: to expect that something will happen and be ready for it
Victory: a situation in which you win a battle, game, election, or dispute
Jersey: a shirt made of soft material, worn by players of sports
Pride: feeling that you are proud of something that you or someone connected with you has achieved
Magnitude: the great size or importance of something
Propel: to move, drive, or push something forward
Referee: someone who makes sure that the rules of a sport are followed
Highlight: the most important, interesting, or enjoyable part of something such as a holiday, performance, or sports competition
Holler: to shout loudly
Rock: to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side, or to make something do this
Shatter: to break suddenly into very small pieces, or to make something break in this way
Mimic: to behave or operate in exactly the same way as something or someone else
Exasperate: irritate and frustrate (someone) intensely
