Ever since I was a little kid, I loved basketball. I was hooked from the very first time my dad took me to my first NBA game. I wanted to be just like all of those basketball stars on the court, with cool shoes, a fresh-looking uniform, and having the crowds chanting and cheering my name. The only problem was I was a skinny, short white kid, so my chances of becoming a professional basketball player were slim to none. Nonetheless, I dedicated all my free time to the sport, hoping to squeeze out a small scholarship for college.
Once I hit middle school, my prospects of obtaining said scholarship seemed less and less. As discouraged as I was, I didn't give up hope, and I kept putting everything I had into every practice. The trouble was, I never got much better than JV status. That was fine for me then, seeing I was only in middle school and had time to catch up in speed, size, and…talent. However, I was still in the same place once high school hit.
This is what began what I call my gut check period. Did I really have what it took to become a collegiate player? Was I wasting my time day in and day out during the season trying to get better? I had a lot of questions I needed to answer, and I was about ready to give up when one of my teammates suggested basketball camp. Of course, I had heard of basketball camp before; I had never looked into it. But he had told me that it made the night and day difference in his game, and since he had just made varsity, he had my full attention.
That very night, I went home and researched what types of basketball camps were near me. The following month, there would be the opportunity to enroll in one only 30 minutes away from my house. I got permission from my parents and was signed up that very evening. A month later, I was rolling up to camp.
This was when everything changed for me. The amount of attention in coaching I received at camp jump-started me into a whole other level of basketball. During the two weeks that I was enrolled, I spent every single day on the court running dozens of drills, shooting hundreds of shots, watching hours of game tape, bonding with my other teammates, and being taught valuable lessons by my coaches.
Not to mention, my coaches had played both collegiately and professionally. They had already lived the dream that I had had since I was a kid. They could show me where I was going wrong and how to correct it. The time I spent at basketball camp was the most valuable time I had ever spent on a court. I knew I had left a better ballplayer than when I had come, and I was ready for the next basketball season.
Fast forward to the Fall when basketball tryouts were beginning. Up until that point, I had put into practice everything that my coaches at camp had taught me. When I stepped onto the court to try out, I let them be the only voice in my head. The end result was that I finally had graduated from JV to varsity. For the first time since I started my basketball journey, I knew I had a real shot at achieving my dream of a college scholarship, thanks to basketball camp.
