Neil Armstrong Middle School Reflection Paper

We finished the season with one loss and we went into the tournament with our first game against Republic and we won pretty easy. We played against Bothwell in the final in Marquette. I was really nervous as I can remember and it was really hot in the gym. The game started and we were up by 4 at halftime. The second half started

“Are you really serious about basketball?” said my Dad “Yes Dad, I’m sure” I said “Then let’s call the coach” said Dad Then we called the coach and started going to practice. I made some friends and I had people on my team that I 've played against so it was kind of awkward at first but then we all became friends and a great team. The team consisted of me, Ali, Cole, Javion, Marquise,

Throughout the next eight months I improved in all types of areas. I got faster, stronger, and smarter. Football was right around the corner and I was ready to earn a varsity

That’s why it was hard at first is because I was used to the way my old teachers taught things and everything was so different for me. When I was little I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be. At first I wondered why I even tried out for the team because I had to be at the school for practice at six in the morning, Monday through Saturday. But I kept telling myself that change is good and that things might be hard but things will always work itself out no matter how hard it is. So to this day I’m so glad that I kept telling myself that

Now I knew almost all of the coaches except the freshmen. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew we were going to come out and work hard every practice. All I wanted to do was impress the coaches. I had an advantage over all my teammates, I kinda knew what they expected.

Luckily, one of my teammates from travel allowed me to play for his school's team, which I did for all of middle school. This was a really good

I was not supposed to be on varsity, but since I was at every summer workout and studied the sport for the upcoming season I earned a spot. When we went to start practice I was starting on both defense and offense and I felt unstoppable. Two weeks went by and we had our first scrimmage against the hale center. I

We all celebrate our exciting moment of victory, but months later the tryouts for the summer travel team would happen. The fun-filled first day was also nerve-wracking, but we all have each other like a family. Then, the next day of tryouts with starting sprints and stretching. Next, the contact portion - tackling with passing - came upon us faster than we thought. The first times through the drill went well, but it’s finally my turn after waiting in line.

We ended up playing in the championship game on Sunday. We played the Rising Stars. They were all just as talented as us so it all came down to whoever plays the hardest. We had a different starting lineup this game. Jack replaced Drew.

He found out about a team called Velocity that was based in Highland. After an intense four hour tryout, we got the call that day saying that they wanted me to play on their team. I was excited again; I thought maybe it would be like it was on Chi-Town. While these girls were friendlier, it turned out to be the same old politics. The same girls played while I was benched constantly.

After, the weekend of tryouts I went home from my dad’s house. That day I went to Walmart and bought a new basketball. I already had a basketball goal from my friend Dustin but he moved, and he lived across the street from me. Two weeks later, I went back to my dad’s house, and my dad and I went to the park to practice basketball.

Sitting in the stands on a frigid January night as an eighth grader, I could not wait until the next November when I would finally have the opportunity to make the varsity squad. Basketball had always been apart of my life and being the gym was like being at home, so when next November came rolling around, I was ready. Being part of a team and getting to play in front of packed stands was something I could not wait for. Four years later, my high school career was complete. Some would wonder if winning conference three out of four years would be my favorite memory or if it would be scoring over one-thousand points, but truly my high school career was so much more than that.

I started to practice at my house—it was the only hoop available for me at the time. Everyday, I would go outside and just shoot as many shots as I can so, I could make my form better. A few weeks of practicing, I started to see progress in my form—I made more shots than usual. Since I thought I was getting better, I decided to ask my parents if they could put me in a basketball team. My parents agreed without any hesitation.

I went through that try out thinking I had my spot secured. I did all the drills and kept up with everyone. When it was time to be called individually, I walked through a cut in the gym into a small room where Coach Joe, an older man who was the head coach for the freshman team, was with the assistant coach. I walked in with a smile on my face that only lasted about five seconds when all of a sudden I heard “we didn’t like you. Sorry.”

The hard part was to find one that would give me a tryout. I ended up making a team called the Spanish town football club they weren’t the best but they taught me a lot about the game I spent a year there. My next task was to get on my prep school team who were ranked #7 in the whole nation at the time. I remember the night before open tryouts because all I was thinking about was me not making it. I was an only child