By Kelly Werther
Lakehill Preparatory School, Class of 2015
In the words of Lil’ Bow Wow, “Now basketball is my favorite sport, I like the way they dribble up and down the court.” Though Bow Wow and I might agree that basketball is our favorite sport, I can think of a myriad of reasons why I love to play other than dribbling up and down the court. Perhaps Bow Wow gets butterflies in his stomach when he produces music or feels adrenaline coursing through him as he works the stage in front of thousands of people, but has he ever stepped in front of an opponent, let the hardwood catch him, and seen the referee excitedly call an offensive foul? Has he ever felt the rush of going up for a layup through contact, drawing the foul, and sinking the free throw? If he has then he knows why basketball is my favorite sport to play. If he has then he knows the hard work, exercise, and discipline of the game pay off in those heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping moments.
While a certain amount of athleticism is necessary in any sport, basketball requires the most. A fast-paced, contact sport, basketball requires speed, endurance, strength, and toughness. Although I usually despise running, there is something about being on a basketball court while sprinting to get back on defense that makes running more bearable. There is something about bearing the full force of another player while taking a charge that makes dripping in sweat and gasping for air worth the exhaustion. There is something about driving to the basket and sinking the layup through contact that takes the pain away from receiving a hard foul. Basketball is grueling, sweaty, and difficult; it is a physical contest from which the players often return battered and bruised, but the reward for hard work and suffering during contest is self-satisfaction in moments of agony. Taking the charge, drawing the foul, blocking the shot, sinking the three. Those moments make the sweat taste sweet.
Every little thing in practice can be executed in a game, and when you execute a play like a textbook example, execute driving through contact, execute planting your feet to take a charge, those moments are so intense, so exciting, that you can feel the power of it all through the reverberations of the hardwood. Taking a charge in a basketball game is one of the most exciting and satisfying moments of the game because getting a charge called is difficult and rare. Two years ago, Lakehill’s Lady Warriors played at Desoto Canterbury, a talented team with a long winning streak against the Warriors. We had nothing to lose and everything to prove in their gym full of rudely obnoxious fans and overly-confident athletes. For the first time in many years, we kept up with the Canterbury Cougars. Toward the end of the second half we were just a few points behind. The Lakehill fans watched wide-eyed and nervous as the Cougars brought the ball down the court, and we quickly set up in a zone defense. As a post player, I sat at the bottom of the paint on the block, focused on the ball, ready to jump into help defense. Canterbury’s rising star point guard, Jaida Lemmons was small, quick, and confident. She had talent and athleticism and she knew it. Jaida received a pass from guard Claire Metoyer, and she drove into the lane. As soon as I saw her coming, I took one step to plant myself directly between Jaida and the basket, crossed my arms over my chest, and bore the full brunt of Jaida’s powerful little body at full speed. Next, the trusty hardwood caught my butt first, then my elbows, and I immediately felt the pain of the fall; but as I looked up from where I lay beneath the basket, my desperate, pained eyes found the referee pumping his fist through the air toward the other end of the court, signaling an offensive foul. The gym erupted with shouts from elated Warrior fans and exacerbated Cougar fans. As the roar of the crowd filled my ears, the pain of my fall went numb, and I rolled over, slammed my fist into the floor and yelled, “Let’s go!” The satisfaction of executing that charge thrilled me, the praise from our fans swelled my pride, and the pure excitement of the play made my blood pump. Moments like that are why I am happiest when standing on a shiny basketball court with a basketball in my hands and sweat crawling down my cheek.
One of the biggest differences about basketball compared to many other sports is that it is almost constant, non-stop, fast-paced play. In many sports, such as football and volleyball, there is down time between each play or point, and there is not much running back and forth on the field or court. Initially, this may seem like a downside to the sport because it is exhaustive work. However, the speed of the game is one of the things I love most. Though I am not particularly fast, and I generally despise running, basketball makes running back and forth, up and down the court for eight minutes straight fun. When you steal the ball on defense and chunk it down the court to a teammate for a fast break, the excitement helps you forget that your knotted calves are searing. When you draw a shooting foul and swish both of your free throws, the satisfaction distracts you from the heat radiating from your face and the sweat dripping into your eyes. When you go on a scoring streak because the opposing team cannot handle your full court press, the glee of success keeps you from realizing that you can hardly breathe. When you draw the offensive foul by planting both feet and falling back as an opponent drops her shoulder and charges into you, the rush of adrenaline numbs fresh bruises from the hardwood. Every aspect of basketball, no matter how difficult or arduous, creates excitement and fun.
I am comfortable with a basketball in my hands. I am content in the middle of the third quarter when we are trailing by six points but are on the brink of a comeback. The court, the ball, the team, each exciting moment that makes up the entire exciting event, constitute all the reasons I love to play basketball. I live for the fist pump of the referee calling an offensive foul, for the sweet, sweaty taste of hustle, and for the swish of perfect free throws. Each exciting moment in a game represents each exciting game in a season, and each exciting season in a career. Basketball is an accumulation of satisfying, exciting moments which make the blood, sweat, and tears seem irrelevant in comparison.
The best thing about playing basketball is that you can win without winning. Everyone loves to win. I hate losing more than I love winning. However, unlike most sports, the way you play matters most in basketball. Despite what the scoreboard reads, the quality of the performance determines whether you win or lose. Sometimes after a win, I walk off the court hanging my head as though we lost because throughout the entire game my team did not play the best basketball it is capable of. The feeling after a well-played, high quality basketball game is the reason I love to play basketball. Adrenaline pumps through my veins, my heart races, and my ears buzz with the sound of the final seconds of the game. The hard-fought battle on the court is fresh in my memory and evident on my ruddy face, but the euphoria of deserved success dulls the ache in my muscles, wipes the sweat from my brow, and breathes life into my spent lungs. After battling it out, no matter what the scoreboard says, the contender who works the hardest, who fights the longest, who plays through pain and never gives up wins self-satisfaction, reassurance, and pride. From a perfect test score in Biology to a home run in softball, no other activity gives me the thrill I get during a basketball game or the self-satisfaction I get after a well-played basketball game. That satisfaction stems from hard work and discipline in practice.
Basketball requires some skill, but the key to becoming a great player is to have determination, to be disciplined, and to put in the work. Some people are just born with athletic talent. What I love about basketball is that inherent athleticism will not take you all the way, hard work will. The phrase, “Practice makes perfect,” has been repeated to athletes innumerable times, but not many have heard the more accurate statement, “Practice makes permanent.” If you practice layups with the wrong footwork, muscle memory will ensure you continue to do layups wrong. However, if you practice the correct way, muscle memory will ensure your layups will have impeccable footwork. Without practice, no basketball player ever succeeded. To be great, basketball players must apply themselves in practice, as well as spend time improving their game outside of practice. I love that hard work and determination, sweat and pain, can overcome inherent ability and raw talent in basketball because it evens the playing field. It takes a “No pain, no gain” mindset for anyone to succeed in basketball, so natural athleticism does not provide an advantage. Everyone with a desire to be great has the equal opportunity to do so if they are willing to put in the work. Those people who are willing make the best leaders on the court, and those leaders create the best teams.
Although individual work is requisite, basketball is a team sport, and teamwork is key. Every team has a leader or captain, and every team creates chemistry. One thing I love about playing basketball is that the players tend to fall into roles, and when each player falls into their respective role smoothly and without protest, the whole team clicks into place. All for one and one for all describes basketball well. The team is a group of individuals, but on the court in motion, the team should be one, a unit. Basketball is a team sport, it cannot be played by one person. Each individual relies on their teammates, and their teammates rely on them. I have a weakness causing me to hesitate to rely on others; I prefer to accomplish things on my own to ensure they get done to my likings. Playing basketball teaches me to be more confident in my peers and to rely more on others. Without my team, I am just a kid with a ball. With my team, we are a force to be reckoned with.
Kelly Werther is a senior at Lakehill Preparatory School in East Dallas. Follow her journey to college on her blog, The Journey, at http://thejourneykwerther.blogspot.com/.
