Bouncing back
🕐 3 minute read
There are times in all basketball players’ lives where their resolve will be tested. A time when a decision must be made as to whether they “really” love the game, or if they are going to let adversity get the best of them. Maybe they missed the game winning shot. Perhaps their coach made them ride the bench when all their friends came to see the big game. Or worse.
Maybe they tried out for the team, and got “cut”.
To youth athletes, not making the team may seem like a nightmare. They may feel angry, embarrassed or even disappointed in themselves. While these emotions are all very valid, one thing they should never feel is lonely. Not because it isn’t a lonely feeling (in fact we could argue the opposite). Because the list of great people who were “cut” at one time will always be longer than the list of those who always made “the team”.
How to respond
In the basketball category alone, there are several names you may recognize that were looked over at one point or another. The following is a list of players who were cut from an important team in their careers. Charles Barkley, Carmelo Anthony, Michael Jordan, and last (and certainly least in this group) myself.
In 7th grade I was cut from my middle school basketball team.
Up to that point I had never been so upset and frustrated in my life. Not making the team was never even a thought in my mind. I knew how much I loved the game. I knew how hard I consistently worked in the sport. The day I was cut I learned a valuable lesson in what “love” meant and what “trying hard” really was.
Not making my team taught me how to practice effectively, push through fatigue, and how to truly focus on accomplishing a goal. Not only did I want to make the team next season, in my mind I had to.
