Perseverance… What is it? Where does it come from? Each person’s perseverance comes from something different. My perseverance had to be brought out and this is my perseverance story.
In middle school I was never part of a “clique,” so when I got to high school, I didn’t have a group to be a part of. On the first day of school I had gym, we had gotten our spots for role and with a little time left before the bell rang the coaches threw out some basketballs for us to use. I played basketball in the cul-de-sac with my neighbors and had tried out in middle school because why not. I never made the team but I didn’t take it that serious. While we were shooting around one of the guys asked me if I was going to try out for the team that year. I hadn’t thought much of it but I said “maybe.”
I was an undersized kid, barely over five feet tall and weighed maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. I ended up trying out for JV freshman year but got cut because the coach said I was too small to play. For some reason this sparked something inside of me, I started working out, eating more, and doing anything I could to gain weight. I got lucky hitting a massive growth spurt, ending the year at over six feet tall and about thirty pounds heavier. I had fixed that problem so surely, I would make the team next year.
Sophomore year came and tryouts for JV rolled around once again. It was time for first cuts, so I went to look at the list of names that made it, mine wasn’t there. This time the coach said I lacked the skills to play at the high school level, the spark turned into a flame. I spent the next year training, doing drills outside my house, waking up at 4:30 and going to the YMCA with my dad before school to shoot hundreds of shots, a guy I met while playing would train me after school before I played hours of pick-up games with people older and better than me. Over summer I never missed a team workout and continued to train constantly. I had increased my skill level ten-fold and was determined to see my name on that list.
Juniors aren’t allowed to play JV at my high school, and frankly I didn’t want to, so varsity it was. This time first cuts came around and my name was on the list, I made it to the second round. I was playing my heart out, more than holding my own and feeling good about my chances. When final cuts came, I went with a hopeful heart to check the list, and once again my name wasn’t there. This time the coach told me I didn’t have enough experience to play varsity. Now I was furious, the flame became a fire, but at the same time I was ready to quit.
Was it even worth my time? Why does it even matter? I don’t have any future playing basketball, it wasn’t like I was going to play in college or something. My dad saw what was happening, sat me down, and told me; “Son, I know you want this, and there are going to be other things you will want in the future. Those things won’t come easy either, quit now and what is going to stop you from quitting then? Not your coach, not the guys making the team, yourself… and only yourself.” With that from my dad I knew what I wanted and I knew quitting was not an option.
"Can't never could do anything." -My Mother
So that year I joined a travel team, I worked my way to a starting position and I played in every game of every tournament. I never missed a team work out for the school and I continued to be at the YMCA in the mornings. I went to a place call accelerate, the same place that players like Stephen Curry and other NBA players from the area trained. I pushed myself to an even higher level of rigor and focused my energy on achieving the goal. After all, this was my last chance.
It was senior year and it was time for varsity tryouts. I let every bit of my frustration and anger flow through my play. Everything I had learned, all the drills, all the training, it came together in tryouts. First cuts came and I was one of seven players fighting for two spots on the team. I played as hard as I could and left it all on the floor. It was time for final cuts, the moment of truth. I went to check the list and there my name was, I finally made the team.
That year I didn’t start a single game and I scored a whopping two points the whole season. Occasionally at home games the student section would chant “We want Trevor,” and my face would turn red on the bench. All that work had paid off, even if it was for a seat on the bench and hours of practice and games every week, I had persevered and I had succeeded.
Some of you might think it’s crazy. Four years of my life for two points and some people chanting my name? but it’s so much more than that. It all comes back to what my dad told me, if I had given up on that what would have stopped me from giving up on college classes? I would have been telling myself that if it wasn’t easy then oh well, it wasn’t meant to be. But no, I found my perseverance, I felt what it was like to have my time and effort pay off, and it was amazing. Whether it’s the high school basketball team, a degree, or a full-time job, life doesn’t come easy. Perseverance is one of the virtues that I am proud to have found in myself and shows itself in everything I do. If you really want something, go get it, persevere, the only one who can say what you are capable of, is yourself.
"Don't call it impossible, if you really want that."
-Chancellor Bennett (Chance The Rapper)
