f you were to see how I play you’d probably think “she got a game”. But when I tell you how many years I've been committed to the sport you’d be surprised. It’ll be three years as of February 2021. I remember it like it was yesterday, the summer into my freshman year in high school. Three years have passed since I've discovered my coping method (basketball).
In high school, my coach did not film for junior varsity (JV). What I can say is that my defense made up for everything. Since I missed most of my layups after a steal, I started to pass the rock more so my teammates could finish. Most of the time, after stealing the ball and going to the rack to finish off with a layup, I would miss and get fouled. Steal after a steal, free-throw line after free throw line. The problem? I wasn't an offensive player. In the beginning stages, my shot was so high that the arc was above the backboard. I made almost half of my free throws. The fact that I was an upcoming defense machine, was the main reason for my playing time. On JV, there’s a bunch of weak mentalities. I understood this. So what did I do?
Locked up the best player to lower the entire team's confidence.
I
I can still feel myself rushing to take a knee at the table, waiting for the REF to call the subs to come in.
How did I know I had a successful first & Second year?
I got the most improved player award
T
hen, it all started to come together, I moved up to varsity, started making layups, passing more efficiently, draining more free throws, my defense was becoming a threat, my shot no longer touched the ceiling, calfs got stronger, I became faster, and most importantly...my IQ was 5x better. The downside? Coach’s car got broken into, and his camera which filmed all the varsity games on… is gone. It was heartbreaking to hear this because all I wanted was, for at end of the season to watch my film. Me not being able to visually track my progress accounted for me being hard on myself. After I’d see someone else who has more years on me, doing everything perfectly, I’d be down on myself. Even though I got an award for Most Improved Player again, It wasn't until around a couple of months after the end of my sophomore season that I realize what "trust the proccess" really meant
Along with myself and billions of other athletes, the COVID-19 Pandemic put my high school career on an entirely different route. I’ve still been working on my skills, but the fact that I have yet to play in an official game is heartbreaking. Outside of basketball, sophomore year was quite depressing. The only thing I was focused on was my AAU season. Some have been playing AAU for years, some starting as young as the age of 7. I've been playing since I was 13, so 2020 would have been only my third year in the program. Every athlete knows, nothing can match the long days, late-night memories, and early mornings with the team. The absence of my 2020 AAU season was a downer because I had been looking forward to reuniting with my team since our last game in 2019. I love my new group from the moon and back, but I still miss my folks every day.
RONNIQUE
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