Your positive outlook is inspiring! I can really tell how much you love basketball and it shows a lot about you since you stuck with basketball even though you don't the most playing time. I think your mindset and drive will help you achieve whatever you want to do in the future.
This blogpost speaks a lot of truth. I've also experienced my fair share of bench frustrations (but probably not as much as others). Particularly in my sophomore year, I spent quite a lot of time on the bench for varsity, both in basketball and soccer. In basketball, I probably played in three games. In soccer, I actually started the season as a starter, but after an ankle injury and a few bad performances, I began coming off the bench. Although my replacement was a better player than me at the end of the season, it was quite frustrating not being able to play. Thankfully, I was able to have a lot more minutes this year, and if I can get my minutes, so can you Matthew.
That's the mindset you need to succeed. Improvement comes from hard work and passion, not talent, so you're definitely on the right track. At the end of the day though, basketball is still a game. As long as you are passionate and having fun playing, I'm sure you will have a great experience.
This made my heart smile. Your passion is the most important thing and I'm more than proud of you for sticking with it - nothing will ever give you straight joy through every moment and I know this personally from my never-ending, loving frustration with dance. But I know how it feels to love to do something, even if you're not the best at it. At the end of the day, it's what makes your heart happy that we have to hold onto for as long as you can. Before you know it, our days of playing our favorite sport or doing our favorite activity will be over (senior year omg) so it's so good that you've come to appreciate what you love.
That IS the right mindset. I had similar experiences sophomore year when I played JV basketball; my clap average was higher than yours but my water bottle passing stats were lacking. I remember one time, we drove out over one and a half hours to play on a weekend. MJ literally forgot to put me in. I felt that I had wasted an entire day, and I was too embarrassed to face my teammates after it happened. I think it was at that time that I decided to quit the team. I'm happy that you're passionate enough about basketball to stick through the tough times.
This is a fantastic post. Now that I've left the team and am taking on a pseudo-leadership position in something else, I really see the value in what you used to (and still) do. People always think great teams are created by a collection of great players. That is almost never the case. For every fantastic basketball player, you need two team-first guys who can positively impact the spirit of the team. It sounds really stupid, but sometimes a high-five or some encouragement can change the outcome of a game or a season. There have been many times during games where I've make a mistake and I've headed towards my seats and the coaches won't even look at me. It's the crappiest feeling in the world. Having a teammate there to give you some positive encouragement can actually change how the rest of the game goes for any player who makes a mistake. Even though your "high fives per game" count is spoken in jest, the effect of it is very real. Thank you for always being a team player.
Your positive outlook is inspiring! I can really tell how much you love basketball and it shows a lot about you since you stuck with basketball even though you don't the most playing time. I think your mindset and drive will help you achieve whatever you want to do in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis blogpost speaks a lot of truth. I've also experienced my fair share of bench frustrations (but probably not as much as others). Particularly in my sophomore year, I spent quite a lot of time on the bench for varsity, both in basketball and soccer. In basketball, I probably played in three games. In soccer, I actually started the season as a starter, but after an ankle injury and a few bad performances, I began coming off the bench. Although my replacement was a better player than me at the end of the season, it was quite frustrating not being able to play. Thankfully, I was able to have a lot more minutes this year, and if I can get my minutes, so can you Matthew.
ReplyDeleteThat's the mindset you need to succeed. Improvement comes from hard work and passion, not talent, so you're definitely on the right track. At the end of the day though, basketball is still a game. As long as you are passionate and having fun playing, I'm sure you will have a great experience.
ReplyDeleteThis made my heart smile. Your passion is the most important thing and I'm more than proud of you for sticking with it - nothing will ever give you straight joy through every moment and I know this personally from my never-ending, loving frustration with dance. But I know how it feels to love to do something, even if you're not the best at it. At the end of the day, it's what makes your heart happy that we have to hold onto for as long as you can. Before you know it, our days of playing our favorite sport or doing our favorite activity will be over (senior year omg) so it's so good that you've come to appreciate what you love.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat IS the right mindset. I had similar experiences sophomore year when I played JV basketball; my clap average was higher than yours but my water bottle passing stats were lacking. I remember one time, we drove out over one and a half hours to play on a weekend. MJ literally forgot to put me in. I felt that I had wasted an entire day, and I was too embarrassed to face my teammates after it happened. I think it was at that time that I decided to quit the team. I'm happy that you're passionate enough about basketball to stick through the tough times.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic post. Now that I've left the team and am taking on a pseudo-leadership position in something else, I really see the value in what you used to (and still) do. People always think great teams are created by a collection of great players. That is almost never the case. For every fantastic basketball player, you need two team-first guys who can positively impact the spirit of the team. It sounds really stupid, but sometimes a high-five or some encouragement can change the outcome of a game or a season. There have been many times during games where I've make a mistake and I've headed towards my seats and the coaches won't even look at me. It's the crappiest feeling in the world. Having a teammate there to give you some positive encouragement can actually change how the rest of the game goes for any player who makes a mistake. Even though your "high fives per game" count is spoken in jest, the effect of it is very real. Thank you for always being a team player.
ReplyDelete