If I pass you the ball , you should be ready to pass , take the shot , or do whatever is needed to keep the ball moving . In the final moments , I was terrified to take the shot , but fear shouldn ’ t stop us . Fear can paralyze you in ways that are completely illogical .
Everyone is important to the team and has a role to play . We can ’ t just depend on certain players , churches , or leaders to win the game . We all must be ready to take the shot . As I said before , when it came down to the final moments , when a shot needed to be taken , my father looked up and down that bench and my response was to start hyperventilating . In my nine- year- old mind this game was everything . And the risk of missing — of letting my team down , letting myself down , letting the fans rooting for us down , and worst of all letting my father down — was too much to bear . Not only did I not want to do it , but my body physically did not want to do it .
I had spent so much time practicing and playing the game that taking the shot in the big moment was not new to me , but the stakes were so much higher . I really did not want to take the chance . Isn ’ t it crazy that it was so much easier for me to believe that I would fail at something I had worked hard at than to believe that I would be successful ? Fear can do that to you . Fear can paralyze you in ways that are completely illogical . That was not my first time on the court . I had taken that shot hundreds of times , but fear made me feel like I had never played at all .
I remember my dad coaching us the Saturday before that game . He was telling the team everybody can take the shot . Everyone had to realize their importance and value to the team in order to be able to take the shot .
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