This Basketball is much more than a toy to me, it does more than bounce, and fly through the air spinning backwards toward a metal hoop. Growing up in Decatur Georgia, sports were a very embedded part of our existences as young men, and they are still that way today. Everyone went to school, and everyone played a sport, things like band, chorus, or any other extracurriculars were treated as just that, extra. But the sport you played? Well that was more attached to you than even your own arms and legs. When you introduce a friend to someone, you put the sport they played within their description somehow. ”This is my bro, Johnathan, we used to play little league baseball and football together.” And that is legitimately how the two of you met and became friends. It leaves me to wonder just how many friends I’ve made through school, and basketball respectively. Of those two groups, it is undoubtable that of the friends with whom I’m still close, the closer and more endearing relationships are with those who I ran suicides with, or did dribbling drills until my arms were numb along side. To me, it is almost like going through battle together, win, lose, or draw (Though a draw is unlikely in basketball), that’s your brother, and in his moments of grief, you pick him up, and he does the same in return. When you play to win, there’s an intensity that bonds you to a teammate, you are allowed to blow up at them, you are allowed to criticize and receive criticism, ultimately pointing you all towards one goal. Mentally, the game teaches you patience, trust, being precise, being able to maintain efficiency, and resilience above all other things, and these are all skills that i’ve taken with me into academic settings. And the thing that basketball has taught me, which is more applicable to life than any of those other virtues, is that you only succeed for as long as you continue to better yourself and those around you.
I had a very similar experience. I grew up in a small city school in Social Circle Georgia. 80% of the students there played at least one sport, and 55% played multiple sports. My baseball team was like a second family to me. I could confide with any of my teammates and know that I could trust them. Like any families. We had our ups and downs, but at the end of the day, there was no one I would have rather went to battle with than my teammates.
Love your post. Sportsmanship in the way you described can and should be applicable in all walks of life. It’s supporting each other through the tough times, even pushing when you know they can achieve more is what really counts. Theres a phrase that goes with what you said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
I can really relate to your post as an athlete myself in high school.
I can really relate to your post as an athlete myself in high school. Playing soccer for my whole four years in school also taught me what family is even though I had a huge family back home. We won, lose or draw as a unit. One thing I picked up the most from your post was “trust,” which I still hold to date just because of the bond I formed 4 years ago.
Hello,
Although I was born somewhere else, I can relate my culture to yours. In my country Colombia, the most popular sport is soccer. However, basketball is number two. I grew up in an environment of sports competition inside and outside of school tournaments. In my teenage years, I loved to play basketball, and I felt that my discipline in the game was displayed in all aspects of my life as you mentioned above. Every time I come back to my home country, all my friends remember how much I used to play basketball, and I like that they think of me that way because it was a big passion for me.
Growing up in Decatur I can definitely relate! I ran track for years and the competitiveness in Dekalb county was always serious!. It was fun and this is also how I met my best friends which whom are still in my life today! I never really thought about how the sport developed our relationship but reading your post made me realize a lot. Together we’ve also learned trust, patience, and diligence. It wasn’t easy but we knew we had to reply on each other as a team…which soon advanced our friendship. Awesome post, stay connected to your sport!
This posts shows us how playing a sport can lead to meaningful relationships and that is a part of their culture. What sport you played determined the type of people you were hanging out and spending time with. This shows us that sports play a central part in the people that we meet and the cultures that we are introduced to. In India, you meet a lot of your friends through academics as that is more stressed in the household. Families don’t put the same amount of importance on sports as they do academia. This needs to change, as sports are an integral part of life and culture. I really like that you can share a sport with someone and develop a real friendship with them and learn more about their culture. Once you become friends with someone through a sport, they will naturally spend time with you and you will learn more about them and their customs.
I love this post! I love how sports can do this for us because they can! Sports, coaches, teammates, the family are all incorporated into this and this is the very foundations of what makes us who we are. I love how academia has also aligned itself with sports, helping us to be better successes and achieve greater things than what we think we are capable of. Great job!
This is great! This reminds of my track days in high school. I felt so attached to track because it was more than a sport for me. Track opened up many doors for me, like meeting new friends, traveling, and accomplishing goals that I set for myself. I believe that being involved in a sport can really team you many things in life.
Wonderfully written! You’ve literally brought basketball to life and I can identify with your statements about describing someone by way of the sport or activity they are involved in. I played soccer and I miss those times on the filed playing with friends. We understand that sports are great ways to build character and learn camaraderie traits but the way you’ve depicted basketball allows others to see it as not just a way of life but also learning about yourself and striving to be successful.