Have you ever had a goal that you were afraid to acheive?It was about to be just my third game on varsity for my school's basketball team,and I came off the bench for my varsity team. But only a select few freshmen had played varsity in my school's history ,and I had become one of them, along with another freshman accomplice of mine,Tyler. I was more ecstatic than a steroid infused bodybuilder getting ready to deadlift. As our game bus grew closer,my confidence grew immeasurable.But, before I could put one toe on one of the bus's steps, one of my coaches called,"Hey Erkel", which I had been nicknamed."Yeah, what's good",I responded."Erkel, the game is on you tonight. I'm not allowing the other 2 (Juniors)point guards to play since they missed practice.So,you have to start the game and play the entire 32 minutes",he explained. So, I just nodded in disbelief.

I took my seat on the bus. WWWWwwww...Boom,was the sound of my confidence, which had been eradicated. The sound of my eradicated confidence rang more loudly in my ears than any pair of "Beats by Dre" headphones.My stomach was doing gymnastics and my palms were moist.It was winter and it was freezing ,but I knew that wasn't the reason I was trembling ,because I felt as if my coach had given me a cocktail composed of both bewilderment and apprehension.
I knew that this was about to be longest 32 minutes of my entire life.

When I got off the bus, I informed my friend Tyler about my latest acquisition."Bro, you got this.Remember, we are just FRESHMAN.We've got 3 more years of this, so we bout to go out here and get buckets",he cried. "Remember in 8th grade, I told the whole school I would be playing varsity freshman year and they didn't believe me..Haha",I laughed in reminiscence. As I comprehended what had just come out my mouth,I got an instant injection of determination. I thought back to the long hours in the gym and the fatigue of my muscles that the summer wooed ,and it confirmed that I was ready.

"Number 22,5-foot-11,Freshmen guard...Maarrrrion Moooore", they announced on the microphone.When the game tips off, the other team gets the ball.They make a pass that gets deflected by my teammate and I pick it up and blow right past a defender to get a bucket wide open. After, I get my first basket,the game becomes more fun and easy. My incredible playing translated over to Tyler. I got him open for a few shots and he hits 4-3 pointers.I finished the game with 7 points 9 assists and 3 steals and assisted in helping Tyler get his (Varsity season high in scoring) 14 points.

As the final buzzer sounded, and we shook hands with the opposing team, I gained signs and words of respect from the opposing team's upperclassmen and coaches.Even though we didn't win,atleast I had the satisfaction of the look my coach gave me,which I translated as ,"You did good freshaman, we'll get 'em next time". So I nodded back,smiling in exhaustion. I was just proud of myself for achieving one of my most nerve racking milestones yet.
Reply Forward

Marion Moore <[email protected]>
Feb 21

to sgaeding



Have you ever had a goal that you were afraid to achieve? It was about to be just my third game on varsity for my school's basketball team,and I came off the bench for my varsity team. But only a select few freshmen had played varsity in my school's history ,and I had become one of them, along with another freshman accomplice of mine,Tyler. I was more ecstatic than a steroid infused bodybuilder getting ready to deadlift. As our game bus grew closer,my confidence grew immeasurable.But, before I could put one toe on one of the bus's steps, one of my coaches called,"Hey Erkel," which I had been nicknamed."Yeah, what's good," I responded."Erkel, the game is on you tonight. I'm not allowing the other 2 (Juniors)point guards to play since they missed practice.So,you have to start the game and play the entire 32 minutes,"he explained. So, I just nodded in disbelief.

I took my seat on the bus. WWWWwwww...Boom,was the sound of my confidence, which had been eradicated. The sound of my eradicated confidence rang more loudly in my ears than any pair of "Beats by Dre" headphones ,but the silence of the bus was even more deafening. It was like I was more worried than my coaches,experienced upperclassmen teammates, and even my freshmen teammate Tyler. My stomach was doing gymnastics and my palms were moist. It was winter and it was freezing ,but I knew that wasn't the reason I was trembling ,because I felt as if my coach had given me a cocktail composed of both bewilderment and apprehension. I knew that this was about to be longest 32 minutes of my entire life.

When I got off the bus, I informed my friend Tyler about my latest acquisition."Bro, you got this.Remember, we are just FRESHMEN! We've got 3 more years of this, so we bout to go out here and get buckets",he cried. "Remember in 8th grade, I told the whole school I would be playing varsity freshman year and they didn't believe me..Haha," I laughed in reminiscence. As I comprehended what had just come out my mouth,I got an instant injection of determination. I thought back to the long hours in the gym and the fatigue of my muscles that the summer wooed ,and it confirmed that I was ready.

"Number 22,5-foot-11,Freshmen guard...Maarrrrion Moooore," they announced on the microphone. When the game tips off, the other team gets the ball. They make a pass that gets deflected by my teammate and I pick it up and blow right past a defender to get a bucket wide open. After I get my first basket,the game becomes more fun and easy. My incredible playing translated over to Tyler. I got him open for a few shots and he hits 4-3 pointers.I finished the game with 7 points 9 assists and 3 steals and assisted in helping Tyler get his (Varsity season high in scoring) 14 points.

As the final buzzer sounded, and we shook hands with the opposing team, I gained signs and words of respect

Even though we didn't win,atleast I had the satisfaction of the look my coach gave me,which I took as ,"You did good Erkel. We'll get 'em next time." So I nodded back.