Ryan Gonzalez
My Love For The Game
“ Basketball is not just a sport it's a lifestyle”. Out of all the basketball quotes I heard this was the best. Any person who loves the game of basketball can relate to this. Growing up I played several sports but none caught my interest as much as basketball did.
Once I was introduced to basketball I built this habit of trying to get better and played non stop. I remember right when I'd get home everyday after school as a kid I’d pick up my basketball go outside and dribble and shoot all day. Also when I was in school during recess and lunch I’d gather up a couple of my friends and we'd play games till the bell rang. From that young age I knew that basketball would be something I'd always love and something I’d play competitively.
When my parents first signed me up for NJB I was nervous to play in front of my family and plenty of other parents out there, but the urge of wanting to get out there on the court and play made it that much more exciting. I would practice continuously every day with my dad to make sure I was always getting better and it would pay off. In my first year of NJB as a 1st grader they had to move me up to play with 3rd graders. Having an older brother that played basketball as well made it that much easier for me. Although my brother is three years older than me I would join games with him and his friends. Despite them being much bigger and better than me playing against them helped me pick up moves and increased my level of play significantly.
As I grew older near junior high I would go on to play travel basketball. Travel basketball would be my first real challenge of competitive basketball. We would play teams from different cities all around California and some even out of state. Playing against much larger cities and players was never easy but it never stopped me from going out there and performing basketball to my best potential. As a result of being the much smaller team we would find ourselves as a team on the down side of the scoreboard. Even though some games didn't go our way sometimes coaches from other teams would come up to me and compliment me on how good I played. As I entered 7th grade I took everything I learned from travel and placed it into my game as I tried out for the school. My try outs went very well and as a result I made the 8th grade varsity team. My 8th grade year went well just like my 7th grade year. We went all the to play for the championship. Although we fell short that game it was still something to remember.
Last year in my junior year I had one goal and that was to make the high school varsity team. For the first time of me playing basketball I had a major setback. As my friends and teammates got to try out I was learning how to walk again coming of surgery from a broken foot and broken ankle. It was hard for me to watch everyone get to play while I just had to set out and watch, but I didn't let this stop me I pushed myself extremely hard to to recover as fast as I could and get back out there on the court. As I pushed myself to getting back on the court I was excited about it but with the pain my foot and ankle I felt I couldn't do it and I felt like I should just quit, but I always referred myself back to the quote “ It's okay if you try and fail but it's not okay if you fail to try”. With that being said I pushed myself through all the pain and hard work and earned a spot on the varsity team. I went on that year to being the only one from Lindsay High School to making the list of league MVP’s.
After high school I would like to play basketball at any college I decide to go to. If I decide not to go to college and pursue a job I'd like to play in city adult leagues and continue to play the game of basketball.
My Love For The Game
“ Basketball is not just a sport it's a lifestyle”. Out of all the basketball quotes I heard this was the best. Any person who loves the game of basketball can relate to this. Growing up I played several sports but none caught my interest as much as basketball did.
Once I was introduced to basketball I built this habit of trying to get better and played non stop. I remember right when I'd get home everyday after school as a kid I’d pick up my basketball go outside and dribble and shoot all day. Also when I was in school during recess and lunch I’d gather up a couple of my friends and we'd play games till the bell rang. From that young age I knew that basketball would be something I'd always love and something I’d play competitively.
When my parents first signed me up for NJB I was nervous to play in front of my family and plenty of other parents out there, but the urge of wanting to get out there on the court and play made it that much more exciting. I would practice continuously every day with my dad to make sure I was always getting better and it would pay off. In my first year of NJB as a 1st grader they had to move me up to play with 3rd graders. Having an older brother that played basketball as well made it that much easier for me. Although my brother is three years older than me I would join games with him and his friends. Despite them being much bigger and better than me playing against them helped me pick up moves and increased my level of play significantly.
As I grew older near junior high I would go on to play travel basketball. Travel basketball would be my first real challenge of competitive basketball. We would play teams from different cities all around California and some even out of state. Playing against much larger cities and players was never easy but it never stopped me from going out there and performing basketball to my best potential. As a result of being the much smaller team we would find ourselves as a team on the down side of the scoreboard. Even though some games didn't go our way sometimes coaches from other teams would come up to me and compliment me on how good I played. As I entered 7th grade I took everything I learned from travel and placed it into my game as I tried out for the school. My try outs went very well and as a result I made the 8th grade varsity team. My 8th grade year went well just like my 7th grade year. We went all the to play for the championship. Although we fell short that game it was still something to remember.
Last year in my junior year I had one goal and that was to make the high school varsity team. For the first time of me playing basketball I had a major setback. As my friends and teammates got to try out I was learning how to walk again coming of surgery from a broken foot and broken ankle. It was hard for me to watch everyone get to play while I just had to set out and watch, but I didn't let this stop me I pushed myself extremely hard to to recover as fast as I could and get back out there on the court. As I pushed myself to getting back on the court I was excited about it but with the pain my foot and ankle I felt I couldn't do it and I felt like I should just quit, but I always referred myself back to the quote “ It's okay if you try and fail but it's not okay if you fail to try”. With that being said I pushed myself through all the pain and hard work and earned a spot on the varsity team. I went on that year to being the only one from Lindsay High School to making the list of league MVP’s.
After high school I would like to play basketball at any college I decide to go to. If I decide not to go to college and pursue a job I'd like to play in city adult leagues and continue to play the game of basketball.