Personal Narrative: My Growth As A Basketball Team

One extremely important activity outside of the classroom that has helped me grow as an individual is Church League basketball at my local YMCA. From the outside looking in this league seems to be a form of glorified pick-up basketball with referees and a scoreboard but there is so much more to it. Almost half way through my junior year my father convinced me to try out for the varsity basketball team at school in November to which I hesitated at first but later gave in and tried out only to be cut. At first I was upset because I had never been cut from a team and I was unsure of how to handle it and what to do with my free time. This prompted me to reach out to God and ask him for a sense of direction and purpose in this time of my life to which He responded with a friend inviting me to Church League basketball. Once I experienced a few scrimmages and practices I decided to commit to playing Church League and coming to all of the
games that were scheduled twice a week. This being my junior year I took the opportunity to learn from the seniors on our team who combined their faith and a sport they loved into one activity where they could exercise and socialize with others. As the season progressed I began to realize that this was exactly what I was looking for. The basketball was serious enough to be competitive but casual enough to lack almost any pressure creating a perfect playing environment.
All of these things combined together are key roles in what helped me grow and gain confidence throughout the remainder of my junior year. Unfortunately my team lost that year in the championship game but now about ten months later Church League season is back. Since this is the last year I am able to play I decided to set some goals to not only motivate the team and myself but to try and recreate the growth I found spiritually and as a leader in the past season. Some of these goals include getting everyone on the team involved (especially new guys), being vocal on and off the court, get to know each player on my team individually, leading a few prayers before games, and last but not least winning the championship at the end of the season. With all of the success the team previously had the bar is set high for us to do just as well and my own individual bar is set high to make the most out of this
season. All of the important lessons Church League has taught me are all qualities I am proud to have and would be proud to bring to Tennessee where I expect to continue to grow and shape into the best person I can be while overall for this season I hope to see myself grow into a better person, player, and leader through basketball and Christ all while playing in a league that I never expected to impact my life so heavily. Church League is my single most important experience outside of the classroom that has developed me to this day.