Kobe Blackwell

Feb 2,2015

Creative Writing Per.1

 

            It was the summer before school had started back I was going to be a freshmen. In my freshmen year I had a lot of gals such as playing basketball and getting good grades. Honestly I thought it was going to be an easy year I thought I would come here and be the man on the basketball team and in the whole school. When I got here it didn't go as planned I had to learn a lot about myself and other people. I remember when I met the basketball coach he was cool and he still is but I had to adjust to his coaching. He would have open gym for anybody that was trying out for the team and everybody would play and I didn't know anybody so when we would play I'd get nervous and not play well. I remember when we would condition we had to run 3 laps around the whole school in the hot sun I would finish last because I wasn't in good shape. Sometimes I thought I was going to fall out and just give up but I didn't I would just finish it out. When tryouts came up it was this one day called hell day were we would just run and do running drills for like 3 hours. It was tough on my body but after I had got through that day I felt I could do anything. The next day in tryouts we had skill day we would do dribbling drills and shooting drills. Last year I wasn't a good dribbler but I could shoot and play defense. When the coach said he liked to see good defense I knew I would make the team. After that day the jv coach told me I had made the team I was so proud of myself and I thought I was going to be a starter on the team. That didn't happen people on the team were better then me and could do way more stuff on the court better than I could. The jv coach didn't give until jersey until the first game which was on Dec 6,2013 and I got a old jersey I was mad and at that point I felt that I was weak and didn't deserve to play basketball. When we would have a game I never got a chance to play but I would still go to practice. I thought I was working hard and the coach felt that I wasn't so sometimes I wouldn't go to practice. Not playing in the games made me feel terrible every day and I would just be mad at myself. It was this one person that gave me hope that I could play basketball. That person was a guy name Omar we built a relationship to were when I'd came gym we would do basketball drills. We would do dribbling, shooting, and defensive drills he was the person that made me better. I started to see myself getting better and better each day and I just kept working on my game with him to get confidence. The first time I realized I was getting better was when there would open gym at the park I would do stuff that the people I usually play with never saw me do. They would say good things like "I see you" or "You been in here working on your game." I remember we had a spring league tournament at Kennedy and people on the team still thought I was weak I had one game where I hit 6 threes and the game winning three. Omar would always tell me to be confident and play your game he was the reason why I didn't quit the basketball team my freshman year. Also in the summer at the park I was going to they would have tournaments I hit 3 three point shots in a row and the other team started yelling "Who got Kobe." I just laughed and Omar said to me "When they start saying that it's funny because they not use to you doing that." Also Omar helped me with my basketball IQ by saying "The coaches at Kennedy call you a shooter." I said "Yes what wrong with that." He said "do you know when you missing you not going to be a factor in the game." I never thought about that so when we did the dribbling drills he would tell me to attack the rim hard and finish. He made me realize getting to the basket a couple time will make the defensive back up and let you shoot that mid range shot and the 3 point shot. When I got my dribbling up to where I could get to a certain spot on the court and to the rim it helped me out a lot. Omar always told me to play with confidence and I started doing that it helped me become a better basketball player than I ever thought I could be. Every time I played I felt I had to play with a chip on my shoulder and it helped me play well and prove all the doubters wrong. I felt like I finally had some body on my side that wanted to see me do good and that was rooting for me and it felt good. Coming into my sophomore year at Kennedy I wanted to start for the jv team that was the focus. Once I told Omar I was starting he said "I knew was going to start because I saw you getting better." I asked him "How many points should I score. He looked at me and said "15 or more if you continue to play the same way you playing now." This the highest I score in the game was 12 against Urban Prep but we lost I was upset. The next game we won so i felt my team bounced back and played well that game. Now Omar and I  still do basketball or we just sit in his office and talk about how basketball is at Kennedy. Sometimes we even talk about what I still need to work on and sports. I look at Omar as a mentor because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be playing basketball right now. After I accomplished starting on JV I felt that stopped playing with that chip on my shoulder I felt I need to get back to doing that. Once I did I started playing just how was before the season had started. Every time I come in the gym I to work hard and get better but people always tell me that I don't and they tell me I have attitude this and that. It just makes me laugh and I block it out at the end of the day. Also I want a higher GPA this year and I know I have to work really hard and do all my work. This year I started off kinda bad I got a D in geometry it made me mad but the next semester that is not going to happen. I really just want my sophomore year to be better then my freshman year and so far it hasn't to me but its still time to improve it. That what I'm working at now getting good grades and getting better at basketball. I also realized this year that i need to be to take criticism in order to get better at basketball. That those bad habits that I have need to stop because my freshman year it real made me realize that nothing is going to come easy that you have to work hard. Now I'm starting to work hard and not wish that things will come easy. I take everything I do now serious because I never know if  I'm going to get another chance to do it again.