The Basketball Team

25 The Basketball Team I was always tall for my age. When I started Grade 7, I was taller than everyone in the school including all the boys and most of the teachers. But I was never very athletic. Other kids could do things in sports that I just couldn't do, like hit or throw a baseball. I was the world’s worst thrower. The ball would fall out of my hand onto the ground about ten feet away. I was terrible. In Grade 8, we got a new teacher at our school. He took one look at me and said, “ This school needs a basketball team, and you are going to be the star! " I laughed, and my friends laughed even more. “ Darlene doesn't even know what a basketball is! " joked one of my friends. The new coach said, “ Don't worry. I'll show you what she can do. "

Every day after school, I worked with the new coach. He told me that because I was so tall, my job would be to play centre. A centre is a player who stands under the net and puts rebounds into the net. Centres are always the tallest on the team. I did push-ups and sit-ups. Most of all, I practised shooting. When I first started, I got zero of ten shots I took. But after a few weeks, I had about five of ten shots landing in the basket. I still wasn't very good. But I was so tall that if someone took a shot I was usually the first one to reach the ball after it came down from the net. I became pretty good at putting the ball into the net from close range. The season came and went. We didn't do very well, but I learned something about myself that season. I'm in Grade 9 now and not good enough yet to make it to the high school team. But I think I will be next year. It's exciting to discover something about yourself and to realize that you are what you make of yourself.