I fell in love with the sport of basketball at such a young age. I grew up around the sport and personally it was the only thing that kept me going some days. I remember the countless nights I spent in my backyard shooting hoops just by myself or going to the rec to put shots up. I remember all the different practices I sat through hoping that someday I would become the player I could see myself being.

Growing up, basketball was just many of the sports that I played, but it was the one I was truly passionate about. It was the sport I saw myself playing for a long time. Around the second grade is when I got involved in basketball. That year I was coached by one of my many coaches that I played for throughout the years. All of my coaches pushed me and told me everything that I needed to focus on to improve my game, and I appreciated that. I would work hard during practice and try to perfect everything about my game.

Not every coach is a good coach. There are those coaches were they focus on just their “favorites” or the last name of a player. I had a coach that no matter how hard I worked, or how much my game really did improve I still was not good enough. It got to the point where parents of other players asked what was going on, and why I wasn’t seeing as much playing time as I should be and all I could simply reply with was an “I don’t know.”

I had a coach that killed my passion for basketball, and that is still not okay with me to this day.

The day I realized my passion was gone for the game, I should of escaped. I shouldn’t have put myself through the rest of the season. I remember those days after game days where everyone was talking about the previous game, but I had nothing to talk about because I didn’t quite have the opportunity to show what I was capable on the court.

Looking back now I wish I hadn’t wasted my time, or I wish I would have attended school somewhere else to play basketball. I still remember the countless nights I would come home after practice or a game with tears in my eyes. I look back at it all and just want to say: thank you, coach.

Thank you for making me realize that sometimes hard work never really pays off. Telling me over and over that I would get my opportunity if I just improved. Making me feel terrible about my style of play, and about myself didn’t make me want to play for you. It just made me want to prove myself for me and to my family. The way you made me feel about not only myself but about my ability to play was terrible. I remember going to practice everyday with a fake smile on my face so you didn’t see the pain I was going through. Most importantly thank you for making me want to work harder to achieve greater and better things in my life someday. Personally for you, I hope someday you realize it just isn’t all about having a winning record, but it's also about every individual on the team.