As I stepped foot, on the hardwood gym floor I felt it. I felt that euphoric feeling that I longed to feel. I have been preparing myself for this moment my entire life. This thrilling feeling that passes through my entire body before my basketball game. That is a feeling I will never get tired of. I can never get used to that feeling. I have played in many basketball games my entire life and I never seem to get used to the excitement and overload of emotions that occur the day before a game. Or even a few seconds before the game. I always make sure to savour that feeling because it might be the last time experiencing that feeling. But that is not the only feeling that I feel, apart from the excitement and thrill before a game, comes pressure, nervousness, and anxiety. What if we lose this game? What if I am the reason we lose this game? What if I, or one of my teammates gets hurt? What if this is the last game I ever get to play? The questions running through my head never seem to be enough.  I know the importance of a single basketball game. If we lose this game, it could ruin our entire season. Eventually all those feelings start to make me feel nervous and I don’t feel as confident and relaxed as I felt before walking into this gymnasium.

 The bright lights, the enormous crowd, the opposing team, the cheers of everyone that came here to support me, to support us. All of a sudden I start to feel dizzy, I get lightheaded. Will I be able to play in this game if I continue like this? “Focus, don’t get discouraged or distracted, Keep your head in the game, we have prepared for this, there is nothing to be afraid of or to worry about” my coach said. Oh how thankful I am for my coach. That is all I needed, just a simple, “relax” is all I needed to know that everything was going to be fine, but my coach said more than a “relax” and that was more than enough to help me feel better, to help me feel assured. Knowing that my teammates are probably feeling the same way and thinking the same way as I am makes me feel good. It makes me feel good, because it helps me know that I am not alone and that everyone feels nervous before a game, no matter how good you are, if you are the best basketball player ever, or even the worst. Knowing that I am not alone just makes me feel all that better. I suddenly felt like I could win.

Comparing the feeling I am feeling now to the first time I felt this makes me nostalgic. I remember the feeling I felt when I first stepped foot onto the gymnasium floor. I felt like I could take over the entire world. But when I actually walked inside the gymnasium and saw everyone and everything I felt like nothing more than a mere ant. I felt like there was no point in me even being there. “Why did I sign up for this?” “Why did I think this would be a good idea?” “I already know, I am going to make my team lose.” Those are questions that I swore I would never ask myself before a game or just ask myself in general. 

After clearing my mind, and some reassurance from my teammates and coach, I feel like I can win this. I start to focus on the game, or like my coach says “keep my head in the game” I start visualizing the game. I read all of my opponents moves. I study them and their way of playing. I start to plan and strategize in my head. Strategizing and studying your opponent is very important and crucial in a match, or game. It can help you figure out how you can use things to your advantage and how to play against the opposing team. Then when the game finally starts I lose touch of reality and my head is one hundred percent in the game. Whatever people are saying in the stands, and benches doesn’t matter. All that matters to me is winning, winning this game. At last the game is finally over. Sweats, insults, cheers, everything is finally over. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, what matters is that I gave it my all. I left everything on the court. I played to the best of my abilities. All that’s left is to go home and rest after a very tiring and stressful day, and wait for my next game to come.