I Believe in Never Giving Up
I believe in never giving up and giving all you’ve got until you’ve got nothing else to
give. I believe you should try and try again. I believe practice makes perfect. I believe no one
can succeed in life or reach their goals if they mentally give up when they reach a point in their
life that may be tough. Many people just don’t know how to react to such situations, and their
natural reaction is to give up.
Playing basketball these past two years in high school has allowed me to learn how to
deal with different situations. My biggest obstacle has been with my coach. I live for sports, but
I’ve come so close to quitting and turning in my jersey during the middle of a game. Sometimes,
I feel like my coach is harder on me more than anyone else on the team. Last year, I warmed the
bench the entire season, but this year I had the priviledge to actually have some game time. What
upsets me the most isn’t that I didn’t play much, it’s the fact that I work harder then some of the
players that are out on the court. Knowing that I’m just as good as many of those players and
work harder kills me. Then, when I would play, I would get pulled off for almost every mistake I
made. People would tell me that I didn’t get to play as much because I was too hard on myself
and I would shut down when I made a mistake. I don’t agree, I think that knowing I would get
pulled out whenever I made a mistake would make me paranoid. All I could think about was,
“don’t make a mistake or you’ll lose your chance to play for this game.” If I could play without
having to think about not messing up, I’m sure I can play like I know I can.
This past season, I really made an effort to try harder and improve my skills. Of course,
my coach did not acknowledge any progress I may have made. As the season went on, I began to
doubt the love I had for basketball and any kind of talent or abilitiy I thought I had achieved up to
this point. After really thinking, I knew I loved basketball and I wasn’t going to let a bump in the
road scare me enough to pull over. I knew I was physically strong but I felt God was testing how
mentally strong I was.
I believe people need and should have a support system because there will be times when
you need help. Sometimes I feel so weak, I just feel like falling down. But I have to keep
reminding myself, I can’t let anything get in the way of something I really love. I realized I
wouldn’t be able to get through this on my own. Luckily, I had my dad who shares the same love
and passion for sports. He made me realize that no matter what happens I have to give 110%.
Even if I don’t get to play as much during a game, I still need to continue to practice because one
day I’ll have my time to shine.
I’m still working hard and trying to do everything I can to improve. I know I have a lot to
offer my team, I just hope my coach realizes that I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. This is
what I want, and nothing is going to stop me until I reach what I think is my best and earn a
position as a starter.