I Am The Captain of My Soul

   I believe that sometime the hardest thing in life is to be an individual and not conform to what the majority of society wants you to be. Everyday people are born originals but somehow through mainstream media, political correctness, and social pressure they are influenced and told to be like others. To care more about what the majority of people think then themselves which is backwards thinking. 

   The great thing about basketball is that it's the "Ultimate Spectator Sport" no disrespect but this isn't football where the fans are hundreds of feet away from you. There is no helmet to hide behind, and you can't choose to only be good at one side of the ball offensively or defensively. In basketball the fans can literally touch you, they can see your every move out there. They can tell by your face if your scared on pressure free throws, or see the vein in your forehead popping out from the intensity of an "And One Dunk'.

    In the world of basketball "I" side with the people that believe basketball reveals the blue print of character that every person has, this starts from the very first moment you beginning to practice the sport. People can hide their weaknesses in other sports, or pretend to be something their not in life, but on that "Hollow Ground" out there on the court the truth always comes to light.

    Let me give some an example; there are a lot of players that "LOVE" only to take three pointers, shoot jump shots, never pass, and play zero defense. This player complains about others but never point the finger at themselves. Players like this play basketball not for the love of the game but for the fans, the attention, their chance to show off, or for the limelight. At sometime in their life someone didn't show them the basic life principals of hard work, sacrifice, teamwork, taking responsibility, and most of all pride. This player needs pride in who they are and how they represent their family, school, and their self.

    I travel high_school-to-high_school, college to college and I see this type of player where ever I go. The best thing that I’ve noticed is that in some of these good basketball programs these players that are selfish get benched if they don’t act in the best interest of the team. However, in the few great programs those players either buy in 100% or never play for that team. They know the culture of basketball there will not permit a players like them because it's all about the TEAM and not the INDIVIDUAL regardless of talent. 

   I love basketball because of the raw talents, the thrill of a comeback victory, the agony of defeat in a Cinderella story, the idea that five can act as one, the emotions of the coaches on the sidelines, the perseverance players go through physically and outside the court that transcends them to another level of play.     The mental toughness it take to go out there toe to toe, man to man, punch for punch and never back down. 

    The thing I love most about this game is the feeling you get when you walk into an arena no matter if it’s tens, hundreds, or thousands of people rooting against you, I get that quick shiver of goose bumps but then you hear the calm voice of your coach, the confident look in your teams eyes, and then you think to yourself I will not hide in this locker room or bury myself at the end of the bench. Since “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”(Ernest Henley)