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writing-art/memior
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However, most of the time I was asked if I played basketball and I would think to myself, why do people always ask me this, I don't like this sport, or any sports. Being asked if I played basketball didn't seem like a compliment to me. It was a sport, I saw only boys play and the thought that girls who played were tomboyish. At that time in my life, I did not know women played sports; all I wanted to do was be a singer or an actress and play with my dolls. Getting rough and sweaty was not what I wanted to do. When my cousin Latoya, got to high school she played on the basketball team and she had a favorite NBA player named Anfernee Hardaway, who played for the Orlando Magic. She bought his jersey, sneakers, t-shirts, and even had a big poster of him. She was really a fanatic. I thought she was really weird. When I used to play outside with my friends everyday, the boys would get a milk crate, cut out the bottom of it, tie it to a pole with rope and play basketball. I hated this because they would take up a lot of space on the sidewalk. Some days my two cousins would play with them but I did not like it when they would try to get me to play. It seemed like I could not get away from other people's passion for the sport. When I was in the seventh grade they started a girls basketball team in my school. I was happy they were going to start a sport for us because they only had a basketball team for the boys. Basketball was the only sport my old school had and I felt that it was not fair that the boys had all the fun. I tryed out for and made the team. I went to all the practices before the first game, but the coach for the team was very uninspiring so when the day of the first game came I did not go. Even when I did play really did not have a passion for playing. I was not ready for having practice and getting home late, my schoolwork was my first priority, so I quit. The team lost all of their games that year and they did not have a team the following year. I did not have any desire to play but I liked to watch basketball on T.V., especially when the N.Y. Knicks played. When I got to high school I still had no thought of playing sports. All I wanted to do was try-out for cheerleading and I did for two years. During my freshman year, in 1999,the Knicks made it to the Finals. When I asked my dad to buy me tickets to seethe Knicks, they were all sold out and he brought home tickets to a New York Libertys game instead. I did not want to go at first but when my dad said he would give them to someone else, I decided to go. I thought the game would be boring but it was just exciting as seeing the men, but better. The fans loved the players and the players loved the fans. The Liberty won that game and after that I wanted to go to more games. I ended up going to seven games that year and more games each year since.I think that if I didnt go to that game, I would not be playing basketabll now. After that I was totally hooked onto the WNBA and basketball. I mean when I couldn't make a WNBA game, I would make sure to watch it on T.V. I didnt only watch the Liberty but all of the WNBA. After I went to a few games I wanted to play myself, because that year I was very inspired by a shot that Teresa Weatherspoon had made from behind the half court line during the 1999 WNBA Finals. It was a very exciting and unexpected moment in the history of the sport. I knew I just had to play!!!!! During my sophomore year, I went to the library to get books on basketball and I bought my own basketball to teach myself how to play. I wanted to play on the school team but I was scared. I did cheerleading for one more year, and then I quit.. I went to the YMCA with my cousins to play, I taught myself to play in the hallway of my building. Sometimes my cousin would even take me to the games at her college. During a time my team was going through a losing streak, I finally talked with my coach about how I would like to get better and how I wish I could help the team, but I couldnt because I was an inexperienced player. She gave me tips and individual practice and by the end of that season, I was a better player. I started scoring points and getting rebounds. I went from hitting almost no free throws to making all of them. I never gave up, even though I was frustrated. I kept trying because I new one day I would get better; it was just all in a matter of practice and prayer. My highest scoring game that year was five points, which is not a lot for many people, but for me it was a confidence booster. Before the season I had set goals to be one of the best players on the team. I did not accomplish my whole goal but I did get the award for Most Improved Player of the year. That was really a good moment for me because I felt like I had accomplished something. It was also a special award because Tari Phillips one of my favorite players for the New York Liberty won the same award that year. Now I feel more comfortable playing. I made the team my senior year and increased my playing time. I did not get any special awards, but I am very proud of myself for getting better on my game. The things that I always used to practice on like a crossover dribble and the up and under move became natural to me. Now I am getting ready to go to Iona College in the fall and I really want to make the team. I have a lot of work to do, to get myself physically and mentally ready. College ball is a lot harder, time consuming, and a lot more competition than in high school, but I am ready for the challenge. I used to be a little girly girl when I was younger, now Im a tall, beautiful, athletic girl that goes to every Liberty game of the season. All the things that I thought were weird and boring to do, are exciting and great now. I used to think of my cousin as a crazy fanatic, now she thinks of me as the crazy fan. I used to think that basketball was only a sport for boys, but the WNBA has really shown me that you can still be feminine and play ball. Writing this has really made me realize that I have come a long way from not liking the game to loving it. My passion for the game is so strong that some day I hope to make the WNBA and be able to inspire little girls and boys to never give up on their dreams. |
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While
I was growing up, I was always tall for my age. I was a girly girl,
into dresses and looking pretty all the time. I was sometimes told that
I should go into modeling, because of my height. I loved when people
asked me if I modeled, because it seemed like they were complimenting
me. I always felt that if you were a model, you must be beautiful and
therefore, could make a lot of money. Modeling was always something
I wanted to do.
When
junior year came, I really wanted to play. I was really inspired by
the Liberty because they made it to the finals both years I started
going to WNBA games and I even got to meet most of the players on the
team and got autographs. When it was time for the preseason practices
of my high school team, I went to almost all of them and I got a little
better on my game. When the day of tryouts came I was scared but I made
the team. I think the preseason practices really paid off and determined
whether I would be on the team or not. I did not play a whole lot my
first season because I really didntt have a good understanding of how
the game was played and I was scared of making mistakes. Thats just
a part of the learning process for a beginner.