Tapasya
West Woods Elementary, Farmington CT
It was the last game of the season, and I still hadn’t made a shot in the game.
I made some in practice, but my goal was to get at least ONE! This was my last chance. I was in the gym for the warm up.
Dribble, dribble. The balls went, and into the basket.
I could make those shots in games. Could I? I could. But I needed practice.
“You need to practice. Practice is the key to success.” My dad would say.
BEEP! The warm up was over. I got on first, along with four others. One of my teammates named Jalysse had shot almost every time. She could shoot from far off! That was so cool! I wished I could do that!
Just then, the game started. I went on, with a nervous look on my face. My legs started shaking. I asked for the ball, tried to steal the ball, but nothing worked.
Fast forward to the THIRD QUARTER…
I was worried. I was going to give up. I started fidgeting my hands and my legs were shaking. Don’t give up, don’t give up. A voice spoke in my head. Maybe I’ll be able to shoot. I should try. There was no point in giving up. No, you can do it. You just have to set your mind to it.
Meanwhile, I watched my teammates play. Their shooting and passing techniques inspired me to try and play better. I had the feeling. “I can do it,” I whispered to myself.
“You need practice. Practice is the key to success.”
Fast forward to the LAST QUARTER…
This was my last chance. I knew I could do it. BEEP! I got into the game. I first tried to steal the ball from my opponent, but she was stronger than I thought. WHOOSH! She shot it, and my teammate rebounded it.
“PASS!” I shouted to my teammate. She gave a high pass to me as I took it up the court. I zoomed past my opponent, and found the best space I could find, the middle. I s-l-o-w-l-y closed my eyes, and thought,
“This is my last chance. If I want my family to see me shine, then I will shoot this.”
WHOOSH! I threw the ball into the air. It went high up, then I heard a familiar sound. Did I shoot it? I asked myself.
Suddenly, everyone in my team cheered. I opened my eyes and saw that I shot the ball into the hoop!
“How did you do that?” I heard my teammate say.
“Uh….” I stammered.
I felt as if I were famous. I couldn’t help having that feeling. That was my first-ever basket in the game. After that, we had some munchkins to celebrate the last game of the season.
I took a chocolate one. It gave me that feeling of victory, my own reward for that shot.
I learned from then onwards that nothing would work without practice and patience. This would help me through a long run in my life.
As me and Dad walked to the car, I whispered to myself:
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