Hanging Up the Sneakers

Basketball has always been a huge part of my life, ever since my dad first took me out to the backyard for me to struggle to throw the ball all the way up to the rim.  Yes, without basketball, my middle school interactions with people other than my family would be minimal.  As sad and homeschooled that sounds, it's true.

It started when I was super little and my dad instilled a firm belief in me that basketball was the greatest sport in the world and all other sports were sadly inferior.  He then got me hooked on a lifestyle of me shooting hoops on the patio in the back yard whenever I got a little bit of spare time and the pavement was dry.

I turned into a basketball fanatic, constantly challenging people who came over to a game of 1-on-1 or H-O-R-S-E, and running my mouth about how I was about to lay a smack down on them.  Basketball was my identity, and I became a good shooter, with my dad constantly urging me to develop a jump-shot so that I wouldn't be able to be blocked by the long, lanky players who always seemed to get into the way.

I got on a team in the boys and girls club of Bellevue.  My 5th grade team was phenomenal, winning every game with the exception of the loss to The Rockets in the championship by 1 point.  Everyone was so happy that we did so well, that a loss did nothing to diminish the joy and pride of the after party pizza session.  With ten little fifth graders who were convinced that they were going to play on the same NBA team together, nothing was impossible. 

My hoop dreams soon turned to my first select basketball team.  Making this team and getting consistent playing time was amazing.  I played as well as I could, and was constantly clowning with the coach, Coach Bones. 

By this time, my dad had gotten me signed up for an Emerald City Basketball League in the summer.  If you don't know, Emerald City is definitely "the hood" for those kids who grew up in the suburbs.  Now we were playing basketball, and getting street cred.  We knew we were legit when we played basketball on Saturdays, and then went to Dick's burgers, win or loss, to give out the player of the game awards and have fun together.

 Last season, my team was awful, losing every single game in every single tournament and regular season match up except against our hated rivals, Interlake, in which we won both games.  I showed flashes of being ok at basketball, with a 25 point game, and a 19 point game, but the season was overall mediocre, and I was mainly used for my defense. 

Our coach was, for lack of a better term, a tyrant, continually setting us on the sideline to do a set of 17s with us confused about what we did to earn this horrible fate.  Basketball practice became something that I dreaded everyday, and to do basketball, I had to stay at my school for a 12 hour work day, leaving me to go home tired and needing to do homework.  It was about then that I realized that I wasn't such a fan of basketball, even in the games when I did well.

So this is all to say, my passions for basketball have faded.  My passion for music has strengthened.  Even though basketball has given me all these memories and stories, I've decided that it's not worth the time and energy.  So here goes a new concept for me: Specialization.  It's time for me to become good at a few things rather than a jack of all trades. 

And in case you just read all of this and you're wondering: "What the heck is the point of this note when you could've just said 'I'm quitting basketball?'"  You're right, there was no point to this note.  Except to specialize and increase my skill at writing.  Cuz I'm still a baller.