Trip to Showcases
This experience was truly important to me and I place a lot of value on the experiences and moments that I cherished traveling and playing the game I love. As I write about these experiences and special moments that I will cherish, I just want to give thanks to God, my parents for there support and love, and my coach for believing in me throughout this whole process.
"DREAM"
As a child I was in the process of developing my own character and learning new things. I grew up with the impression that ''you can do anything you want if you put your all and mind into it". I mean isn't they the American way of living?? The land of Dreams and opportunities that you can fulfill?? There is nothing stopping me from living my dream in playing basketball at the college level, with a full scholarship. I know that if I work hard throughout these tournaments, practice and work hard and believe in myself, that I can succeed in achieving my dream. I mean what's the point of dreaming and believing if you don't do it big??!!
Scouts Everywhere!!
Throughout the tournaments, everywhere you looked and turned you saw scouts, and if you were lucky you would see the head coach of a major division 1 head coach...like the ones that you see on t.v. yelling to there players. Many players believe that you have to impress the scouts to show them your ability to play ball, which is true, but you can't go over board and try to impress them where you put unnecessary pressure upon yourself. That can cause you to lose focus on your game and make you play against yourself rather than against your opponents who want that same full scholarship like you do. When your playing in front of a large crowed of scouts or even just a few I have learned that you have to imagine that there not even there. Have fun while your playing basketball. I have learned especially being a shooter, that you have to let the game come to you. Throughout these tournaments I have learned to let loose and have fun to not stress, because your already nervous walking into the gym because you already that someone can be watching you.
"The GAME"
The game of basketball has come along way, especially since I was a little kid. Basketball has grown to be a very popularized sport that many have grown accustomed to be great at. Today young players like me look up to legends such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and well mine is Rey Allen. Basketball is fun but it's also challenging. There are a lot of girls chasing the dream of becoming the best female basketball player.It seems like every girl either wants to go to the WNBA or overseas to play ball. I never knew that so many young girls are chasing the same dream I'm chasing until I came upon these showcase tournaments. I never realized how many girls actually played the game. There are so many talented players out there. I enjoy he rush of the game and natural high I get whether it's scoring the ball, making a sweet pass, getting that steal, or making my "money making" three ball during clutch!
Competition
All the teams we faced throughout the course of our tournaments were good. I can honestly that there wasn't any team that never gave us trouble. As a matter of fact all the games we faced were intense, going back and forth with the lead. Sometimes we would finish on top, then others we just fell short. The girls that I saw especially when we were not playing were girls that were highly ranked in the NATION!!! These were girls that I will eventually see on t.v. playing with a top division 1 and girls that I will see in the near future playing in the WNBA or overseas. I especially enjoyed the game when we were in Tennessee watching Tennessee Flight against team Exodus from New York. I saw top recruited players like Bria Hartley and Jennifer O'Neill. That game was a battle from start to finish. There was never a boring moment. Seeing the different types of players made me realize as an athlete and ballplayer what skills I needed to improve on, so I don't have to be just a one-dimensional player. There is no doubt in my mind that these tournaments were the best I have ever been too!!..well Competition and coach wise!
