Personal Narrative: My First Basketball Player

The end of her junior year, she takes center stage inside of Pinnacle Bank Arena with a large dose of adrenaline as she takes the court for one of the biggest games in the state tournament. First round of the tournament they play the number one team in class A. Her former summer teammate, now known as the 2015-2016 Big Ten women's basketball player of the year takes the court against her. They both fight to stay on top to continue on to the semifinals. My sister Marisa fought until the last minute in the game after losing earlier in the season to the undefeated Fremont tigers. She beat the number one team in the state. As the final buzzer sounded, the Millard West fans went crazy. I saw tears running down faces and parents hugging all around. The players went crazy jumping on
top of each other as this was a huge victory. They ended up losing their next game and getting fourth place in the state, but I could not be anymore proud. For me, my sister Marisa is one of the most influential people in my life because of her drive to be the best person she can be on and off the court, her drive to overcome a season ending injury, and ability to go through major changes in her life. My sister Marisa is constantly putting one hundred and ten percent into everything she does. She excelled in high school as one of the best girls basketball players in the state and she received mostly straight A’s throughout high school. As I grew up, I watched her go to school, then basketball practice, and even after coming home late, she would still have energy to work on homework. I watched that routine week after week for years. She is athletically and academically driven to be the best she can be even after tiresome days. I think to myself after a long day of school and wonder how in the heck does she go to practice and still have motivation to do school work and get grades that rank her in the top twenty five percent of her class. In the summer into Marisa's senior year, she was on a select team that traveled all over to different states for basketball tournaments where players went to get recruited.
Her first game of her summer season she tore her ACL. This injury took her out of the game for at least six months. This summer was a crucial part in the process to get recruited. This was when most college coaches were going to look at her. That summer was one I will never forget. She was so in love with the game of basketball, that she was determined to recover as fast as possible. I saw her work extremely hard to get back in time for her last high school season and possibly last basketball game ever. She went to physical therapy at least twice a week and not to mention the take home exercises she did every single day she was not in therapy. After six long months of pain and suffering, doctor after doctor, she was cleared to play. She missed only a couple games of her high school season but the excitement I saw when she was back swishing in those three-pointers was priceless. The motivation and drive she had to fight back is something I admire about her. She will not take no for an answer if she does not like
it. At the end of the summer, the two very close people in her life, her best friend and boyfriend, who were both heading off to college. She spent most of her senior year focusing on basketball and her future. It was hard for her but she managed to get through her senior year. I do not know what I would do without my best friends at school. I look up to her for the fact that these things did not hold her back. She did not feel the need to try to fit into a new group of friends. At the same time she was going through recovering from her ACL tear and having her friends go off to college, the head Millard West basketball coach, our uncle, stepped down. The coaches she knew as family all split into rivalry schools. The head coach headed to become the principal at Millard South. One assistant coach headed off to become the head coach at Bellevue West and brought two other former Millard West coaches, including our cousin to help assist his new program. She went through her senior year adjusting with her ACL problems and the task of working with a new coach who came from Bellevue West that had new game plan. Also, not to mention adding two rival teams into the mix of the season. She finished her senior year with award after award and committed to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri on a full ride for basketball. I feel lucky enough to have a sister who I can also call my best friend. A lot of siblings at a young age can't even get along and stay in the same room with each other. She is a great athlete but also a very distinguished person. Her momentum to become the best, physical and mental ability to fight back against one of the worst injuries, and aptitude to change makes her such a positive influence on me. She aspires me to always keep going and shows me how I can always be better.