Personal Narrative: My Senior Year Of Basketball

In 2016, more than ever, the team was committed to and had one goal of winning. One of our biggest rivals was St. John’s College High School (SJCHS). My doubles partner and I played the last match of the WCAC championships against SJCHS. During the season, SJCHS was one of the hardest competitors we faced but walking onto the court on the final day of championships, my partner and I knew we would fight and win. After 45 minutes, I hit an ace and we won the match that put us in the lead to win the championships. October 30, 2016 was the single most exciting and overwhelming day for the team all season. Everyone’s hard work paid off.

The morning was exciting, because when I saw my teammates who have been there with me from the beginning for the past three years, I felt pride and confidence of us. After eating, we were on our way to the Ramstein Softball fields to make history. Before every championship game, it has to be narrowed to the final two. In our pool, it was Aviano versus Sigonella. It was not going to be an easy game. We struggled a bit, but the team made it through and won with a score of 13-7. Coach Cadena and Knight had that proud smile, but they knew who we were facing next. They talked to us to set our minds focusing on the next game. We

Our team went undefeated for our first 16 games, and then our 17th game we had our first tie. We were used to killed the team we tied to, but that proves if you don’t come ready not everything is going to go your way. Some of the kids kind of took it the wrong way. We won 14 more games after that and kept playing strong. Then we had our final playoff game to see who was going to state or not.

Throughout the season we had some big defeats from the tougher schools, however I was able to maintain our team’s morale throughout our wins and losses. And Fundraising. Oh boy those were tough. This year was very different from the previous with the new restrictions. However this brought out our teams creativity. These new obstacles brought pushed our team to think out of the box and work together in effort to raise money for the team.

From then on, the team finished strong every week – so strong it ended the fall ranked seventh in the country. It won its last three tournaments in a row.

Ever high school baseball player has to remember there very first high school baseball game. I remember playing two inning in state playoffs for baseball. I only got to play those two inning because one of are teammates had to stop playing. It was the best two inning in my whole life it was so much fun but also so nerve wracking at the same time because I didn’t want to mess up anything or let my team down.

We won we are going to state! In May 2015 my high school baseball team finally beat St. Thomas Moore in the regional championship to go play in the state tournament in Sioux Falls, that was something that the Winner/Colome baseball team has not done since 2009. So on May 30th 2015 we headed to the State tournament in Sioux Falls, and in the first game we played Dell Rapids. We ended up having to play 13 innings in about 95 degree weather we ended up winning to go to the championship where we would play West Central the team that was favored to win the championship. I am going to tell you a little about the plans, the expectations and what really happened to our baseball team last spring.

more ease than others, but here we are waiting to play the game that could win it all. It was just a little tournament to some people, but to us it was redeeming ourselves. Every year prior to that day we have gotten third in the tournament, being beaten by the same team each year. We knew it was our year, but watching the other teams play some of us weren’t so sure anymore.

It was the day we all were waiting for. The big game of the season. We were to play our biggest rival, Plymouth. This would be my junior year, which just so happened to be my first year on varsity. I had been practicing very hard in the off season and at practice for this very day and I was hoping it would finally pay off. Salem was always known as the bad team for lacrosse around the park. We were seen as the pushover. However this year, we all wanted this to change. The game day came and they did not see us as a threat. They expected an easy victory.

When I was younger, basketball was all I wanted to play, it just looked like so much fun. In fifth grade I had my parents sign me up for CYB, then in sixth grade I tried out for middle school basketball and played all the way up until ninth grade. In middle school when I was in eighth grade I was awarded the captain position and that helped me build leadership and responsibility. All of the players especially the younger ones knew they could always come to me at any time if they needed anything or help with anything. High school basketball was a lot different than middle school. In middle school I was one of the star players so I played a lot but in high school that changed. I sat the bench a lot that taught me patience and understanding even

With the Christmas tournament aside, we entered the post-season without a loss. We had a plan for each playoff game from districts to regional. We never deviated from the plan, keeping our eye on the target –

After that game we waited for results to see where we were placed on the brackets.We were ranked fourth in the golden division. Without even having to guess… Marshal was ranked first. We then played Harper Creek (the team my friend was on) and beat them again. Which meant that we would play Marshall again but this time in bracket play. This means if we lose then we go home. I didn’t want to go home at all, and I think that my team would definitely agree with me.

Our team practice everyday for 2 hours and our record was 23-1. We were the first team ever to win in our age division to ever win for St.Mary’s. We had a hard time in the beginning of the season. One of our best players injured her knee. She was running towards the loose ball and her knee twisted. She was out for the rest of the season. Looking back on it made me better because I learned how hard you to to practice or try to achieve your goal.

2013 was the best year for my high school basketball team. A small high school in my hometown Pula achieved the biggest achievement in its history. That same small high school has the biggest heart in whole country. Everyone breathes for that school: students, professors, school staff. No matter what they were always for us and supported us like we were a big family. My school was crazy about sports especially about basketball; it was more than a game for the school. It was my senior year there, and we had a great basketball team. My brother Franco and I were the two best players in school, of course everybody else was good but still we were the leaders. We set the goal in the begining of the season, to goal make national tournament. Only the six teams from the whole country could go on to the national tournament, and it wasn 't going to be an easy job for any of schools.

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.