Our (short-lived) basketball season, and why we love the game
We may have only played four matches altogether, but it was a rollercoaster ride nevertheless. We lost the first one and won the next two. We then entered the quarter-finals and lost the very last game.
Shooting the first hoop felt like fireworks in the sky, the cheering crowds lifting us higher.
Our first match was our first time competing on such a large court. Compared to our normal little school court, it was colossal. There were rows of seats and it felt like thousands of people were cheering. Walking onto the court was extremely stressful. Our eyes panned the length of the court, looking for where it ended. The hoops were hung high, making us feel smaller and smaller staring up at them. It truly felt like we didn’t belong. But then the blissful moment when the whistle blew and the game started and we knew what to do. Shooting the first hoop felt like fireworks in the sky, the cheering crowds lifting us higher.
Despite losing this match, it gave us the confidence we needed to go into the next two matches and win them. We were invincible, unstoppable. Until our final match, that is. We entered the court still on a high from our last two wins, our egos bloated from our success. The first half of the match was a tie. This meant that the second last quarter would decide our fate. We quenched our thirst and got back onto the court. We tried our best to defend our hoop but we just couldn’t defeat the opposition. Seeing the other team shoot so many hoops, we began losing faith by the second. At one point we could feel as a team that we had given up, not physically but in our hearts. The biggest thing was knowing that losing this match meant we weren’t going to get to enjoy our days going to matches anymore.
The air was thick with the gloom of defeat.
Leaving the building felt overwhelming as we came to terms with our loss. The bus ride back to school was grim. The air was thick with the gloom of defeat. After every other match, we had arrived back to school excited and ecstatic, but this time, you could cut the silence. But in the weeks since, we’ve realised that there was a lesson to be learned, to take nothing for granted in sport and not to allow victory to trick us into taking our eye off the ball.
Layla on Basketball:
For me basketball is the only sport that I really enjoy; other sports just can’t compete. I love how competitive it is and how bonding with your coach and teammates makes every match, even the ones we lost, worth it. While I’m on the court, all stress and worries go away all I’m concentrated on is making my coach proud. To me, basketball is so much more than just the sport itself. Personally, basketball is all about the experiences around those 10 minutes on the court. I love the initial anxiety and hyping your buddies up for the match, and afterwards, the rewarding feeling of victory. Although there is one thing I dislike about any sport and that’s losing. I am super competitive and even the thought of losing makes me mad, thinking about how cocky the other team must be and the feeling of how you must have let your whole team down. However, that’s something I’m willing to live with and truly there’s nothing that can keep me away from basketball.
Daria on Basketball
Basketball isn’t just a sport to me. It’s one of the hobbies I really enjoy. I could play basketball at all times of the day. I have been playing for around two years now but I have never competed before this year. When I was out on that court I felt like my love for this sport was revived. The sheer rush of adrenaline running from corner to corner, from basket to basket trying my best to protect the ball from falling into my team’s hoop. And then the sheer determination to keep playing, even after my legs started to ache and my breath started to slow from the tiredness. Then comes the feeling of relief when you hear the whistle blow and know it’s finally time to let your numb, aching legs have a break and proceed to drink a full litre of water to drown the burn in your throat. To me basketball isn’t only about playing to win, it’s about making connections with your teammates, coaches and opposition. Basketball to me is a comfort and one of the most enjoyable ways to spend my time.
A big thanks to our coaches Niamh, Conor, Rosie and Brian, and here’s to next season, to the wins and the losses, the friendships and camaraderie, and to keeping our eye on the ball!