A couple weeks ago I tried out for a basketball team for the first time. I made the B-team, I felt really relieved when I found out I made the team. About 95% of everyone that tried out have been on a basketball team but I never have. We have been practicing for only three days and we’re already having our first game, and its at Portage Central.

When I see the other team that we were playing almost all of my hope of winning is gone, “The kids on the other team are twice the size of our team,” I think to my self, we didn't have any tall kids on our team. After warming up for about twenty-five minutes we go to the sidelines where our coaches were so they could tell us who was going to play first, but I wasn't one of them. A few minutes in the game coach tells me to go in. We were already losing six to nothing. The other team shoots and misses and we get the rebound, our team is running down the court with the ball and one of my team-mates shoots the ball. He misses but I box-out and we get the rebound. My coach yells to me “good job Mann.” “I’m actually doing good,” I say in my mind. But I wasn’t doing good enough, neither was the rest of our team. Portage has the ball again and they pass it to the guy I'm supposed to be covering and he shoots and scores. A little while after I let my guy score my coach takes me out of the game. It’s now halftime and were getting killed 10 to nothing. I start the second half but I don't play for long my guy scores again! I was getting very mad at myself.

While I'm on the bench watching the game we finally score, and the points don't stop coming. In a few minutes we have seven points and they still have ten. Now that I think about it we actually have a real chance of winning. Our team is running down the court at full speed and they pass it in close to the hoop, there’s no open shot so they pass it back to Casey who is wide open for the three and he shoots. Time seems to stop, everyone is staring at the ball as its gracefully flying through the air, the smell of sweat was in the air, and it hits the back of the rim! If Casey would of made we would be tied. The fourth quarter has just begun and we score a quick 4 points to take the lead, 11-10. After the long rally that we had a short kid on Portage jogs down the court and pops a three, we all know if he makes it than the chances are we’ll lose, everyone is staring in awe, and he makes it. They have the lead again. Were missing all our shots and can’t score at all. They make a layup taking a four point lead with only about thirty seconds left. Were looking at the scoreboard with disappointment as time is ticking down with the score, “Home: 15 Away: 11. We know we lost the game.