Ever since birth I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t playing sports. Whether it was a game of horse with my dad, or a pickup game with my brothers. Soccer or basketball, hot or cold, day or night, I was always playing or even thinking about playing. Sports have always been a part of my life and have molded me into the person I am today. More recently I remember my 8th grade year middle school basketball team. Not expecting to have a dominant season, but rather to have fun with the sport

From the first day of tryouts to the last game I remember that team always laughing, smiling, and having a good time. I was elected a captain and chosen to help lead out our team to each game. This has remained one of the most memorable experiences of me playing sports. My family, always there to cheer me on and experience these moments with me. Most memorable to me was one of our earliest games against Emma Jewel. Our team with little height but a lot of talent, going up against a team full of 6 foot tall athletes wanting to win. 

Warmups were quiet that evening, everybody intimidated in every aspect. Before I could think about it the ref was calling the starting five out for tip-off. Tweet, the whistle blares the start of the game, an easy win for them. I remember the first play of the game we had a jaw dropping stop on defense, setting the bar for the game. We made some good shots and went up 17-14 at the half. Not much action in the first half, nothing compared to the second.

We start the second half with the ball and a lot of spirit. I remember what our coach told us “ It's not about the size of the dog in the fight, it's about the size of the fight in the dog”. We all took that into the half ready for what was about to come. The game starts again, me with the ball in hand, I run down the court and get fouled while doing a lay up. I look up at the ref from the ground, an and one! I step up to the free throw line, swish I made the basket. Our team now has a comfortable lead against a tough opponent. Time seems to slow down. We are smooth with the ball, passing from one another, making the defensive plays that will win us the game. Bang, another three from me, our team was on fire. Coach said that night we entered the flow state, not thinking just pure basketball. Ref blows for the final quarter.

Tweet, the last quarter begins. They score 2 buckets back to back, a reminder that the game is not over. We take control with a dominant performance. We had them on locks, no more shots, just clean defense. We were able to put up 8 more points in the last quarter bringing the final score to 52 - 46. We shake hands and celebrate with our team. I can remember going over to my family. The only emotion was joy and pride in our team. We had accomplished the impossible.