Basketball: End of Season 2016-2017

February 15, 2017

This season was enabled me to exercise both mentally and physically. From playing games, some easier than others, I learned to push harder with every game. Whenever I found myself jogging back on offense, I reminded myself that I needed to work harder and do better. Every time I received the ball, I hope either the pass or shot was better than the last one--or the same if the last move was good. There were plenty of moments when I felt helpless, even with these efforts. For instance, at our second game against Frank Sinatra, we went into overtime. However, our two bigs (forward and center) were in foul trouble, and ultimately fouled out at the last quarter. It was mainly left between Makeila and me. When Makeila played tight defense against a player, the referee called a foul on her for backing the other girl into backcourt-- she fouled out. It felt like we definitely had no chance of winning at this point. I had to take lead. And while I tried to move the ball, we were forced to put in players who lacked experience in the game and thus resulted in a lack of ball movement. I was frustrated because I didn't know what to do. And in the end, we lost, but I reminded myself that at that point there was not much one player could simply do. It was a learning experience for us as a team, and I reminded myself that the next game would be better.

My involvement with sports has also a lot more fit- running back and forth on court, dribbling, shooting and working out my arms, I feel refreshed. This also forces me to stay hydrated and remember how to breathe correctly in a game. Though in the moment I am breathing heavily and sweat is dripping down my forehead, in the end I know that I've been maintaining a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, sports has enabled me to better manage my time. Since playing in games in addition to travel time tires me, it is extremely difficult to complete my work at home. However, there is not much time left to do work if I want to get enough sleep once I get home. Knowing this, I become extremely focused, though admittedly there have been nights when I was unable to do so and ultimately lost a lot of sleep. However, overall I am able to better maintain a healthy lifestyle through basketball.

Playing on the basketball team has also enabled me to grow socially. When there are days that I am feeling down, shooting around at practice becomes an escape. My world on the court with my teammates is much different from that at school and at home. The sound of the basketball dribbling against the shiny floor, swishing through the net, hitting fingertips and so much more takes me away from everything else in the world. Furthermore, I got to know and guide many of the underclassmen both in fundamentals and as a player. I've also had my fair share of humorous moments, like when Coach Rabinowitz chucked the ball while spinning his body from half court and making a swish or when he told me to foul and I gave the girl a big hug.

Team photo:

With all of these moments I appreciate and have learned from, I look forward to the following season continuing to be co-captain as a senior.