Basketball = LYFE

Throughout my entire life, basketball has been around me. At times I have tried to avoid it and kind of get away from it. Even though how hard I try, I would always find myself connecting to basketball. Some days I would not even want to think or see anything that has to do with a basketball, only because I was having a bad day. The only thing that would make me feel better was to play the sport and to think about it. It was and always will be a huge contradiction.

People always look at me weird and say things like "wow your really obsessed" and "is that all you think about?" At first I think things like pshhh, no thats not all I think about. Then I really think about it. It would be true. I can honestly say that I have never gone 1 hour in my life without thinking about basketball. It sounds unreal, but I am willing to defend it.

I was born with the game, the game was always next to me good or bad times. It would piss me off at times but at other times it would make me the happiest man on earth. It was always next to me when I was depressed and make me smile. It literally was the answer to every question or doubt I ever had.

I have recently started asking myself questions like "when will I move on and forget about basketball?" I would then ask myself "Jake, are you freakin out of your mind?" It would be exactly like me losing an arm. It would be a huge loss.

A lot of people don't know what the feeling is that I have been feeling. But A lot of people DO know what i'm talking about, but with other passions. It's a great feeling to have. It's always there for you weather you need it or not. I believe that this obsession and this feeling I have about basketball, will lead me to success one day. If I am this obsessed about a game, then it must be a career path or something as big for me some day. I now thank God for this gift he has blessed me with.

My family combined with basketball

The eleventh grade year had been the well anticipated year so far for high school. It wasn't only because of basketball, but also I was able to play in front of my family. This sounds weird, but I felt like I owed them something. When I was in the hospital, they were there next to me. When I had broken my foot in my basketball game, they were there to calm me down. My family was always there for me when I needed them the most. I felt like they made an investment and needed me to come through and pay them back for it. So this year I was excited to show what I was about and that I was a good investment.

This could very well be the year that I could finally have my father come and watch me play the sport we both loved. My father and mother got divorced when I was about five years old. Since that time, I had seen my dad only scarcely. I was lucky if he had shown up to any of my elementary games. Me and my father had been very distant and it was sad for me. Things started to change as my season started.

During our first home game I got a glance of my dad as he came through the door. I was so happy to see him that I then played like I had a championship on the line. After the game I quickly ran out of the locker room to greet him and ask him how my performance was and he had already left. I would see this pattern of my dad leaving early every game. It made me sad, but I got over it eventually.

Having my dad tell me how good I was at basketball would mean so much to me, but why?

Well my father was the one that had given me the genes to play basketball. He played high School basketball at St. Francis. He set about 90% of the records there, and as of now they are still there. I checked to see if this was true and it was. He then went on to play at a small college basketball team. His grades had failed him out of that college. After failing out, he transferred to CMU (Central Michigan University). He would then take a 1 year brake from basketball to party and have fun. He threw away his great chance of making it big with this sport to party.

I love my dad and know for a fact that I have the same passion he has for the sport. But after learning that he threw away something that I would dream to have, I would never make the same mistake he had made.

Having him come to my games to see me play and succeed in the same sport he succeeded in, is and will always be a blessing to me. My mother was at every single one of my games and was always there when I needed her the most. I thank her for that and really appreciate her. I don't know what I would do without her. As for my father, it always felt that I needed to prove something to him through basketball, and so it felt like I was more excited when he would see me instead of my mom.

Family is so important in my life. They influence me through good and bad examples. Without the examples of their mistakes and their greats, I wouldn't be who I am today. So thank you fam for being there for me and my life.

T.C. Christian...... Not A Good Start

The summer had been great. I had a blast as every summer was to me. Still business was business to me and I still had to work out to make the west basketball team the following season. I was very determined once again to get that jersey and represent my school. About a three weeks until school started my mother had told me that she was transferring me to Traverse City Christian High School. I was not very happy at all. I complained, whined, cried, and was upset all the time. Finally my mother had told me that they did not cut the players in their sports program. I had told her, "Oh of course you wait to tell me that!" This changed everything. I got excited and was more pumped than ever.

The school year had started and it was so different than the huge public school. I got comfortable with my surroundings and was soon happy with the decision my mom had made. Although everything was going great, my grades were slipping. This was a bad thing for my mom because this was my freshman year in high school and grades mattered. I didn't care about that, basketball started in a week.

There I was, shooting hoops outside my house getting ready for the first day of practice which was tomorrow. I did some quick moves and was practicing intensely when I stepped on the pavement wrong. I heard a snap and thought nothing of it. I continued to practice until it started to hurt. I called it good and went into my house. The pain started to get worse and worse. I had finally told my mom that we needed to go get it checked out. She finally agreed.

"Mr Eikey, you seem to have a fracture in your foot." It felt like he was talking in slow motion as I envisioned my basketball season soar by once again. I jumped up and yelled at him "no no no no no!" as if it was his fault. "How long until it heals?" "We are going to have to cast you up, so I would say around a good month and a half." The doctor had explained. There was still that chance that I would play after it heals.

For a month and a half, I sat there and once again observing my friends participate in my love and passion while I sat with a suit and tie imagining playing. It was that day again where I had a doctors appointment to remove my cast. I had gotten the O.K. to go and play ball. I had my mind on nothing else but to play basketball.

There I was, on the court, all dressed to play basketball. I had waited patiently for three years for this. Waiting was all worth it at this point. The sweat ran down my face, the smiles from fans, and the adrenaline was all there, just as I dreamed.

I had just recorded anther rebound and on my way down the court when I felt a quick snap in that same area. I tried to ignore it, but the pain was unbearable and I motioned the coach to sub me out. I had broken my foot again.

After breaking my foot for the second time, I was casted once again for the remainder of the season. I fell greatly depressed and had no motivation to do anything. School became pointless and socializing was not part of my happiness at this point. I did not want anything to do with God at this point because he had let me down so many times. All I wanted to do was to play basketball. The last hope of God in my life at this time was when I got my cast taken off again. Two days later I was back at the hospital for a broken foot. I did not want anything to do with God. He was not real to me. I ended my first year at the Christian high school with a G.P.A. of 1.4 weighing 268 lbs, great depression, and not any fun at all.

My sophomore year started by changing my life forever. The rap/hip hop artest Kanye West, had just released a single called "Stronger." I listened to it over and over again. It seemed like the months of counseling and help I had gotten were not needed. All I needed was this song. This Song had givin me the inspiration I needed to continue and push through in my life. This was exactly what I needed to get through school that year. My relationship with God had improved dramatically because I had finally figured out what he was doing with me. I learned that God communicated with me through basketball. He gave me this passion and it was for a reason. I ended my sophomore season very well and played the season without any injury. It was a great start for me and basketball.

Stay strong even if your feeling weak. This is what I had learned through my dramatic tenth grade experience. I had been at the lowest point in my life ever and I never gave up. I wanted to, but for me, it's harder to give up than to push harder. The word strong is in my vocabulary almost with everything. By pushing yourself and staying strong through hard situations, anything can be achieved. God had helped me through push through because he knew I needed that push. I thank God for everything he did. I thank him for putting me on that low level in my life. Without going through that, I would have never been as strong as I am today and God would probably not exist in my life at this point. Stay strong and keep pushing.

On To Junior High

Going to junior high was a blast. It was a new beginning for sports and classes. I remember not being excited about the classes, but more excited at how big the basketball court was. That's all I could think about.

I was working hard to try and make the west boys basketball team. The training was terrible for me. I knew that i would have to run a lot because I was pretty husky, in other words I was fat. Even though I knew that I was chubby I also knew that I had the best shot in the whole school. I was and still am very prideful about my shot. I was a big kid with a long range shot. And in my eyes, nobody could stop me.

As I would train for my team I would take out the negatives and the bad things about me and replace those bad thoughts with the good thoughts of "nobody has a better shot than me" and " I have the most heart for the game". these things would push me to run an extra two minutes before I had to stop for a breather.

The time had come for tryouts. I did not know what to expect since everyone made the team in elementary school. I was lined up with two hundred fifty other kids with numbers on the back. As I looked around I started the elimination game with everybody. I would say things in my head like," yea I could beat him one on one" and "I have a better shot than him". After I did that, there were probably one hundred more kids I questioned. I was feeling pretty good until I heard coach say "there is only room for twenty four players on the team." My eyes became huge and the feeling of doubt overpowered my feeling of success. Then our basic drills of running and shooting started and it would continue for about three days until the first set of cuts went through. I had the biggest butterflies in my stomach and the biggest apple in my throat. He finally called out my name. "Eikey get on the other side and get ready to do some wind sprints!" This was how he said congratulations, you made the first cut. But I was ok with running for a reward. I was thrilled that one hundred kids had been eliminated and I was Still In The Running. Then the last day of the tryouts came and there I was, standing in line with the fifty kids left for the twenty four spots. This time was different. I didn't hear "Eikey" in his vocabulary. I was confused so I asked him if my name had been called. He replied with "no I did not call your name." I immediately had the urge to cry, but held it back for I was a man and men don't cry. I walked back to the locker room as the real feeling of failure ran through my head. I had never really felt this before. It really sucked. All the hard work and mental preparation for the season had come to a sudden halt. I didn't know what to say to my mom when I would get the car ride home, but at least I knew that she would say something along the lines of "awwwww it's ok honey", or "you gave it your all, and that's all that counts." It was good to hear that but it was such a mom answer.

Unfortunately, the same thing would happen the next year in eighth grade. The worst feeling was to watch my friends play and for me to cheer on the sidelines not being able to play along side with them.

I did not know what this would teach me in my life until I got older, but it would be a great lesson in taking failure and turning it around to create success. This early failure in my dreams showed me that failing also means succeeding. And how to succeed through failure, you had to learn how to not fail from experience. I had received the right amount of experience where I would be able to use it for my future. And it all started that following summer...................

Elementary Ballin'

The time had finally come. It was my fifth grade year. The wait for organized basketball was finally over. To me, there was only one reason for school. And this was to play sports. I had been waiting and waiting to finally play my game in front of screaming fans and to see my dad's face light up when I would sink a three pointer. I was so excited for the first day of practice that i didn't even sleep that night. after the first week of practicing for the Long Lake Panthers, a new excitement had arose in my heart. What number jersey would I get? To me, the jersey number was very important and it meant more than just a number. It would represent who i was. The next day i was thrown the jersey number 52. I responded to it in disappointment as I was looking for the number four. Of course in elementary school they give you the bigger numbers for the bigger kids. And i knew I was a big kid. After a couple of hard thinking nights, I had finally decided to wear number 52 with pride. I would make this number a number to be reckoned with. After the quick decision with this, i would have a successful season and it would be exactly as i dreamed it would be. Basketball was my life. In the sixth grade, same emotions flowed. i was ready. i got the same number and everything and of course i loved it. We never won a whole championship, but I was satisfied with trying the very best that i could do. I then was on to the next mission. Junior High Basketball. I knew it would be tough, but i would train. Anxiety was flowing through my body as the sixth grade season came to an end. Junior High basketball...... Here I Come!

Entering the world of basketball

Do you remember having that stuffed animal when you were born? Everyone got a stuffed animal except for me. All i got was a little stuffed fluffy basketball. As i got older, my dad would pick me up and put that little ball in my hands and make me dunk into a little Nerf hoop. I really never got the opportunity to decide wheather or not i wanted to like the sport. The decision to accept the sport was already at hand. But I soon grew to LOVE the sport I was blessed to know. I LOVE BASKETBALL!