Playing high school basketball was more than just a sport; it was a life lesson in the making.

1. The Love of the Game.

Although I had been playing basketball since I was a little girl, I never fully understood the love of the game until I reached high school. In high school, my coaches had played basketball their entire lives. Hearing their glory day stories and seeing their faces light up every time they scrimmaged the team showed me the love of the game.

2. Commitment.

Being committed to something from start to finish is a huge life lesson in itself that playing basketball taught me. Things got tough. Practice contained a lot of running or I didn’t get as much playing time as I wanted but I never once thought about quitting. And that’s how it is in life. You can’t quit every time things get tough.

3. With Commitment Comes Responsibility.

Having to attend practices every day after school, be on time and work hard during those practices taught me a sense of responsibility that the classroom could not.

4. Friendship.

The girls I played basketball with were some of my best friends. Yes, spending three hours every day after school would force us to become friends. Yet the friendships were never forced. Being a part of a team allowed me to form those bonds that people outside of the team couldn't understand. I knew my teammates’ strengths and weaknesses and I also knew that no matter how frustrated we got with each other on the court, that frustration would never follow us into the locker room.

5. Pride

Playing basketball taught me to have a sense of pride in my school, in my small town and in myself. Knowing that when I put that blue and white jersey on and stepped onto the court, I was not only representing myself, I was representing my high school and my town.