Basketball this year has been a huge adjustment for me. In high school, I started every game from my sophomore year onward, scored over 1100 points, and was our division MVP my senior year. I say that because the first scrimmage at CCC, I practiced for two hours and scored one basket. I was shocked at first, and I thought at first it was due to my shoulder still not being healed totally from surgery. After the second time when I only scored two or three times, I realized just how hard it is to play college sports. Not only is everyone older, but they're bigger, faster, more physical (my hardest adjustment), and tougher. Little things that worked in high school don't work here. There is no weak spot to exploit; everyone can ball.
So for the first time in nearly four years, I had to come to grips with sitting the bench. I can't lie and say it was easy. I was very frustrated for the first few games. It's hard to realize that you can't just blow by everyone anymore. It was a tough transition.
After the first few games however, I began to see how selfish my thinking was. I wasn't ready to start, and deep down I knew it. I was so used to playing every minute that I felt entitled. It was difficult, but I had to realize that I was putting myself before the team, and that never works out.
Now that I knew I needed to work on my game, basketball became enjoyable again. The guys on the CCC team are great, and practices were hard, but memorable. It's always amazing to work hard to win all year, then looking back and realizing that the best times were jokes in the locker room or hanging out on the bus during road trips. The season has been fun, even though I was only here for half of it. For the seniors who are graduating, best of luck wherever you go.
-Ryan
No comments:
Post a Comment