The smell of popcorn and concessions hit me as I walked into the building with my headphones in preparing to play one of the biggest games of my career. Swoosh! Was the sound I heard when I walked into the gym for my first AAU basketball tournament. I was very nervous as this is a very high level of basketball, and I was not used to it yet. The second thing I saw was a huge kid dunk the basketball in eighth grade. Playing in the winter season of normal A team traveling basketball no big deal, as I had played at this level for my whole life. This was a huge improvement. I then saw my teammates, and my coaches, who I have known since 7th grade and my fears calmed a little bit. However, I was not prepared for the mental change I needed to make, and that shock was about to hit me fast.

We had been practicing for a couple of weeks now, and we were shaping up to be a very good team. The team we were about to face was also one of the top teams in the state. When I was warming up, I took a couple looks over my shoulder, as I usually do to check out the opponent. I then became very nervous again, as they were dunking as well. I proceeded to warm up, then the clock hit zero and it was game time. When I got into the game I was very nervous, and are team was down by 2, I played fine, (making no major mistakes), and then was taken out of the game. The game went back and forth and eventually went into triple overtime, and we lost in the end. This is how my team started the season, and our morale went down after that heartbreaking loss. Our coach told us not to worry, as we will have many more tournaments to come. At this point I realized I had to get bigger, and stronger, and more aggressive offensively and defensively. I realized at this point that I needed to grow up.

Flash forward to the middle of the season. My team has become amazing, winning tournaments left and right. This is due to the fact that we got an amazing player from the first team that we played. As a person, my confidence has gone up a whole nother level, although I was still shying away from some shots that I can make. We had just played a game against the first team we ever played, and it was very heated since we took one of there players. So, the next game we played was the best game I have ever played. Our team was starting out slow, and we were losing by 8 in the second half with about 9 minutes left. I checked into the game, and right when I got in, they ran a play for me to shoot a three (which is my speciality). I made it, the next play we got a stop on defense and I hit a three once again, then we got another stop, and I made another three. The other team called timeout, and all of my teammates came out to congratulate me. We proceeded to play the game, and eventually we won! Unfortunately, my parents were not able to be at this game, so this makes me continue to have more games like this one. This pushes me to be my best every day, which is also part of growing up.

Look ahead to a month after that, we were headed for Las Vegas. This was the highlight of our season, we traveled to a lot of places but this is the biggest stage of the year. This is one of the biggest tournaments in the U.S. called the Adidas Super 64. Many of the top recruits go to this tournament. This happened to be our last tournament as well. I had never been to Vegas, and I was shocked at what I saw. It was very impressive and showy, but this was a business trip, we came here to win games and that is what we did. I played really well, and so was the team. Our team had bonded with the many trips we had made together, and with the ups and downs with the season as well. We were on our way to possibly be our last game if we lost, and if we won we would have played the next day. The game went back and forth and in the end we lost in overtime by one point. At the end of it all, we had the longest talk from my two coaches, who I have known since 7th grade and are like second dad’s to me. They talked about how much they liked us as a group, and how we should always stick together. I did not just gain a new sense of growing up I gained 10 brothers as well.

After they talked to the group, they talked to each person individually, and here is what they had to say to me.

My coach Jon said with great sincerity, “J.R., I think that you have grown as a person and that this experience will take you far, and you have improved as a basketball player.”

I replied, “I agree, and I am determined to come back as a better player next year.”

Then he said, “I need you to work hard during the winter season, and continue to improve.”

I replied very sincerely, “I will, and I will do everything I can.”

I took this experience to heart. This process of knowing that I need to grow up and get better was a great one, and with this lesson, I can transfer it to all of the things I can do. I gained many great friendships and memories, and I will never forget what happened during this season. With the new friends I gained, I also grew older because, it was a more diverse experience than I have ever been exposed too. I have grown as a person through this experience. Playing basketball may not be the emotional story of growing up, but on the court is where I learned how to man up, and get better every day.