Afterschool practice
It was a beautiful day in the spring of 2024. The school had just ended. Me and my friends stayed for the basketball club. The day was the day we are going to be awarded our jerseys. We headed toward the playground of Churchill Road Elementary School. Our coach Mr. Steven was waiting there with a package of our new jerseys. He had a list of names and called us one by one. After a few names, I heard my name called, and received jersey, No. 38.
It wasn’t just the day for jerseys. In two days, we would be competing against our rival team, Oakton Elementary School. I knew that I would be on the starting lineup, along with two other friends. There was no room for mistake, as we had heard our rival was prepared and had practiced as much as we had.
I wasn’t the best at shooting back then, but my passing and dribbling skills were enough to keep the ball moving toward our opponent’s hoop.
Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.
KOBE BRYANT
The day of the game
I just arrived. My teammates were relieved that I had because our rival team had twice as many players as we had. We huddled up around our coach, where he announced the situation. The starting lineup that I was in had to be on the court three times in total, while other lineups only had to be on the court twice. The game was a tough one. But I found my defense skills were good enough to stop their players from reaching the basket.
After the first quarter, me and my lineup got swapped off to give all other players a chance to play. It was hard to watch but with our lineup being swapped off, our rival started to gain an edge. But thankfully, our coach noticed this and immediately sent us back to the court. This was a huge change, and the other team wasn’t looking that excited. When I made a layup and multiple other points with the assistance of my friends, we pulled ahead with a solid lead enough for us to be swapped off again, in order for the other Churchill kids to have a chance at playing.
Just as the third quarter was ending, our last chance at playing came up. Me and our first lineup finished the game with a solid 20 points lead. This victory was celebrated by the cheerleaders and parents on the Churchill side. This has also been one of my best experiences at Churchill and the last basketball game at Churchill, as I would soon graduate and start middle school at Cooper.
