What Basketball Has Given Me
By Christina Richson
Although having played competitive basketball for three quarters of my life, I have never fully appreciated the love I have for the sport out of fear of judgement from those who may not understand the impact of sports. Recently, I have been forced to reflect on what basketball has done for me as my junior season at Gettysburg College has been taken away from me due to Covid-19. Suddenly, I am all too aware that I only have one final season of collegiate and competitive basketball. After nearly fifteen years of high school, AAU, and college basketball I finally see the important things that the sport I love so much has given me. Here are just five of those things:
1. The ability to deal with loss
I have been playing basketball for about 15 years now. It’s inevitable that I would endure some loss during those years. Unfortunately, the impact of a lost game has not gotten any easier through the years. Losses like a playoff defeat senior year of high school or a last-second conference championship defeat last year stay with you. Nothing prepared me for the loss of an entire season though. It is something that I don’t think I will fully comprehend until I am watching Division 1 athletes play from my home instead of my dorm room. Although a defeat in a game cannot truly replicate any real life loss, I have learned that time continues and it’s more about how you respond.
2. My best friends
It’s simple, really. I have been incredibly lucky to have been on several teams that have shared an unbelievable bond, whether it was high school, AAU, or college. My best friends are more often than not people that I play basketball with or my former teammates. Playing a sport that everyone mutually appreciates and spending nearly all day with your team forces you to bond in an unmatched way. The friendships that I have made with teammates are the kind that I know are going to last a lifetime.
3. A constant
I think one of the most difficult parts about losing my junior season to Covid-19 this winter was the loss of the same constant that I have had for 15 years. I have never taken as long as a month off from basketball, much less a year and some. That seems to be the hardest part. For as long as I could remember, once the colder weather began to roll around it was basketball season. This year I am home, forced to create my own motivation and keep myself in shape for when I finally get the opportunity to play again. I think that people underestimate the power of a constant in your life and the change it creates when it is unexpectedly ripped away.
4. Stress
It would be naive to say that all basketball has been good to me. There were several times where I wanted to quit or where I regretted leaving swimming to focus on basketball. The most difficult and stressful part about basketball growing up was going through the recruitment process. I found it very difficult to focus on having fun while playing as I was being watched by the coaches who held the power of deciding whether or not I was fit to play in college. I had countless breakdowns questioning if I would ever find the right school or if I was choosing the right one. The only overnight I ever went on was to Gettysburg College, where I ultimately ended up. I laid in bed the night before I would meet with the coaches and cried. I thought I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life by committing to this school before even considering the others I was talking to. I think one of the best things I learned from the recruitment process though is that I have to trust my gut. There was something in my mind that just knew that Gettysburg was the perfect choice for me, even though I was terrified to make that decision.
5. Confidence
Like many people, life can cause me to get very anxious at times and I tend to care too much about what others think of me. Those feelings don’t all magically float away when I step on a basketball court but I have been working to apply the confidence I have on the court to other situations. Confidence in basketball to me is taking the game winning shot with no hesitation even if you’re 0 for 12, or having no fear on defense when you’re guarding the other team's best player. Additionally, basketball has allowed me to become a leader. In most aspects of my life I am a follower due to fear of not being worthy of situations that I’m placed in. Through taking a bigger leadership role in basketball I am once again trying to bring that confidence to my everyday life.
Being a strong believer in “everything happens for a reason”, I find comfort in all that Covid-19 has done to my life. While I would love to be competing in a conference championship or the NCAA tournament this winter, I now have more motivation for my senior year. The cancellation of this season has taken a year of basketball from me but at the same time shown me what the sport has given me in the last fifteen years of my life.