Who died and put you in charge??

 

As an 18 year old male that is able to vote, able to fight in a war, and able to make important decisions on your own and then being told what to do how to do something or when to do something, kind of creates a lingering heart sunk feeling in your chest that no matter what won’t go away. This feeling is called pride. I don’t know why this develops this way nor why it has to happen in the first place but I think it’s a mental and physical road block on my way through life. Should I be told what to do by my peers?

CRITICISM VS.  COACHING

No, but while working with others is necessary to be productive, especially in a sport where the only friends you’re going to have will be the four others that surround you on the court. My overall success will result in listening to the right people, preforming my role to the best of my ablility, and most importantly my self.

 

With all the teams I’ve been involved with I still have trouble with dealing with others attitudes. Bad attitudes can deflect and sabotage a team’s goal on why they’re there in the first place from wanting to win to an individualized popularity contest among the players and coaches. Why does this happen? Well from my experience the causes are mostly players trying to be coaches, playing time, or maybe being the best of the best at losing.  Playing time or suffering the fate of the charlotte bobcats (who went 7-59 in the 2012 NBA season) isn’t something you can just directly impact because it is based on what the coach thinks of your playing and simply, if your team plays better than the other. You have to ask yourself when working with others; Am I a good teammate? Do I play my role? Do my teammates trust me?  Do I have the right to dish out criticism and receive it?  After you ask yourself these questions you might come to the conclusion that peers that are trying to direct you that aren’t doing their job to their full potential , usually aren’t trust worthy, and it creates problems. This is where my problem lies with my current situation. All these directing voices trying to guide me to where they want, what they want me to do, or how they want me to play disturbs me. Why should I listen to others in the same boat as I? Who died and put them in charge of uncertain variables and my body? Why do people what me to be perfect in an imperfect game, an imperfect world? I want to be coached, not by someone who has one more year of experience, or two or three. I trust my coaches with a life time’s worth of experience in the game and myself that I can be a good ball player. I feel I am my own person and the way I am to be successful on the court as in life would be to ignore what isn’t important, keep calm and play ball.

What does KEEP CALM AND PLAY BALL mean?



KEEP CALM

Coming to a new place, not knowing anyone, being over 2,000 miles from home and all I can do is wonder how I ended up here. Coming from a place you thought was your whole world to only find out that you can't even find your home on a map. Coming from a place with flat land and with horizon all around but basketball courts, football fields and trees to only find out you'd be leaving it behind for greater endeavors. Coming from a place I thought the end of the street was where the world ended and the house I lived in, the begining of my life each day had started, to a place where I couldn't tell you where my mail box is. Coming from a place where I had seen the storms that I thought would kill me only made me stronger to a place with weaker storms but diasaters still in sight. Coming from a place where I walked the fine line between love and hate each day, to a place where the line could become even thinner. Coming from a place where playing ball was everything to a place where playing ball is more than everything. Coming from a place where my I would push myself and tell myself to take risks to a place where I can only tell myself is to KEEP calm.

AND PLAY BALL

The grooves and bumps on the ball lay softly upon my finger tips as I get ready to release it. I feel the power come from the ground up, coming from the movement of my muscles. It shoots through the soles of my feet to the middle of my stomach to the flick of my elbows and wrists and the ball is released. Its tragectory is off it bounces off the back rim on the right side and flings off the goal to only bounce back to me. But I keep shooting. I do this two more times before it finally goes in and I can only feel slight progress as I knock down the next two and then three and then four in a row. Each day knives cutt into my knees and soon stinging ice is there to sooth the pain but I keep jumping. Before I even decided to play I was told I was to stupid to play this game, so I keep learning. I made a promise to master this game before I die and promised a dying man that I would complete such a task, so I keep living. I don't know where I'm going to end up with my new journey, so I keep traveling. I don't know what new probblems may present themselves so I think of the repetitive saying, and so I say to myself, Keep calm and play ball.