Personal Narrative: My College Basketball Career Ending Injury

An all time favorite activities of me to do and to watch is basketball. Basketball is something I relish because it's exciting and really affecting, I started playing when I was in fourth grade. When I became attentive in basketball it was because I was trying out sports that year and I determine I admired it and really, enjoying it. Basketball is something my dad, and my brother plays, too. My brother and I try to practice, and learn from each other when we both have the time to practice.

As athletes, we always feel invincible. No matter what I had been told, I was convinced that a serious injury would never happen to me. The coaches and doctors had described the “popping” sound that accompanies an ACL injury, but for years I ignored them. One day, when I least expected it, it happened to me. I tore my right ACL in September of 2012, at the beginning of my eighth grade year. For me, it could not have happened at a more inopportune time for my future soccer career and, at the time, I thought my dreams were over. I was convinced I would never play soccer in college, let alone be able to play for my varsity high school team as a freshman.

I am very sorry you had to go through something like that. It really sucks to know exactly where your future is going and to be so ready and excited for it and then for it to be taken away in an instant. I think it is very admirable that you tried once again while attending CBU, I am sorry it didn't work out in the way you expected. Unfortunately I have a lot of friends from high school that have also been injured and have lost their ability to rejoin the sports community. Many of them have had the same ambitions, "For many injured athletes, a safe and successful return to sport following injury is the ultimate aim of injury recovery. Little consensus exists however, regarding the meaning of a 'successful' return to sport following injury recovery."

“Friday night games with huge crowds. That atmosphere is hard to beat.” Senior Hunter Martin is playing through his fourth and final year on the Varsity basketball team. For two years in a row, he has been the starting foward. “Basketball hasn’t always been easy but I’m really glad I stuck through it all four years,” Martin said. Looking back on his accomplishments, Martin said that his favorite memory was was win the team won districts his sophomore year. “Nothing can compare to that moment of celebrating with my team.”

How did Roger Banister break the 4 min mile? How did Dennis Kimetto run a marathon in 2:02:57?

It is time to speak about my injury that happened about two years ago. A lot of people nowadays ask me almost every day “Deshaun why don’t you play football for the M state Fergus Falls Spartans? “ and I tell them I didn’t get all of my football equipment in time, so the coach didn’t let me play, but in reality, I can’t play because I have a very bad back injury. So now for the people that are curious about what happened to my back here is my story from the beginning to the end.

The cool thing about humans, is no two are exactly the same, every one is different in their own way. We’re all defined in unique ways, some by their jobs, some by their livelihood, or interests such as basketball. This is one of my favorite things to do in life, there's just nothing better than setting foot on that court. When basketball season starts to roll around, memories from past years come flooding in. Being able to smell the freshly popped popcorn all throughout the gym. Looking up at the crowd and seeing everyone in the stands cheering us on, arguing with refs about a call, or not really paying attention to the game at all. The feeling I get when I’m on the court is second to nothing. This is where I go when I need need to just get away and think.

I was not actually planning to do this event, but I have to be honest, after 65 OCR’s in 2015 I am burned-out both physically and mentally and I just wanted to have an amazing weekend with both amazing people and amazing obstacles and both Canada and Dead End fit that need very well. I cannot say enough good things about my time in Canada this year and was very happy to be able to go and cover this event on short notice/request.

Making the decision to become a collegiate athlete was not one of ease. Having participated in sports my whole life, I was used to the commitment it took to play and could see myself continuing my career after high school. However, collegiate athletics is in no way similar to high school or travel club sports. No matter what division played, the sport is very intense and requires individuals to commit on an entirely new level.

A. I wish I never would've missed that buzzer beater in the game. My team really depended on me. And I let them down. I felt so sad that day that I wanted to quit basketball. I thought i wasn't good enough when I missed that shot.

I've been waiting for this moment for so long. I watched my brother play basketball on a real team, and now it was my turn. I was going to play in the Upward league, but my first step to playing Upward was an evaluation, where I could show my skills to the coaches. I finished the evaluations with my head held high and had done what I thought was a stellar job. Now, it was my turn to play on the court. I was more than ready.

Both my family and my basketball coach have served as catalysts in changing me for the better. My mother made me change my attitude into a more positive one. My basketball coach has been coaching me since I was 7, constantly stressing me to work hard to get better. My grandmother changed me into being little into a 13-year-old responsible boy, and the same goes for the rest of my family

My basketball team had just finished traveling Connecticut winning game after game to end up finally making it to the state championships, coming in second place by a small margin. I was energized and felt insurmountable. This attitude quickly changed however, as a result of undertaking a new sport in the fall season of my freshman year: cross country.

My basketball team and I were going head to head against Lamar Bruni Middle School for the second time that season. The parents loved to cheer us on and capture so many pictures of us, they were our cheerleaders all season long. We were 5-0 at the time and losing that game was not an option for any of my teammates nor the coaches. Unfortunately, I was not able to give it my all in that game due to me twisting my ankle in the third quarter.

One rainy night in November, I arrived to the church gym for my first basketball practice of the season. As I walked in the doors creaked and you could smell the gym floor. As I already heard the basketballs hitting the ground, bouncing up and down. My friends Brittany and Destiny walked in right behind me through the door. That was when we realized we were the only girls surrounded by all guys. As practice came to a start we began to run, it felt like we were never going to stop. Up and down the court as we ran suicides, you could hear the squeaking of shoes as we went from the next line back and then on to the next. Before we started scrimmaging, the two captains were boys. Brittany, Destiny, and I stood in amazement as we were the last three standing there. You could see by their expressions they didn’t want any of us on either team.