Basketball season has begun! It seems fall and winter are very busy times for my family because we have football season and then basketball season right after, and my brothers play both sports! My family also has season tickets to the BYU men's basketball games, so I go to a lot of those and enjoy watching them. 

Basketball is my favorite sport for many reasons. I love watching it, and it's good to be inside instead of out in the cold. I really enjoy the sense of unity and teamwork that is shown and taught through the sport. The ball is passed around multiple times before it gets into the basket. I love that basketball is seemingly easy to understand as you're watching it, but when you're playing, it can become very complicated. I've learned that it can be very frustrating and hard from having brothers who play, and a dad who coaches. I also love how fast-paced the game is. Since it is so fast-paced, you can always stay interested. 

I have been the ball girl for the Utah Valley University Women's Basketball team for several years now. I love Coach Nixon and that great team of girls! In my responsibilities I help my co-ball girl, Anissa, to give the players water bottles and towels.  And of course, cheer them on.  It's fun to sit behind their bench and have an up-close view of what's happening.  

A few months ago, I was told by a fan that I looked like a basketball player, he then asked me if I played. I replied that I did not.

I would love to play basketball on a team, but don't for a few reasons. Most of them relate to me having a disability.

1. Because of my disability, I tend to be worried about the other players on my team passing the ball too hard and then I might get hurt. A few years ago I went to a basketball camp run by a college team. Every time we did a passing drill I would do it with one of the players because we could go at our own pace. One time the player wasn't available at the moment, so I had to pass with one of the campers. It was fine until she passed it too hard and I got a bloody nose!

2. I am also worried about not being able move as quickly as the other players. When my brother was playing Jr. Jazz, one of the players on his team got a bloody nose. Her dad has always loved to tease me and said that I should go in for his daughter because they needed another player. My dad didn't think it was a bad idea. Since he was the coach, he went over to the ref and explained the situation. Even though I was older than the boys, they had all played basketball before and I hadn't. The ref said I could go in until the other teammate got better. I put on her jersey and passed the ball in. I kind of followed what everyone else was doing. I was the last one down the court and wasn't sure where I should be. One of the players passed the ball to me because I was open for a shot. Everyone around me yelled, "Shoot it"! Not knowing what to do, I just chucked it up. I missed the shot, then came out of the game. I felt bad that I didn't make it because they could have gotten those points, Although it was kind of on the spot and I didn't do very well, I still felt it was a good experience.

3. I've always said that if I could play on a team with my friends I would totally do it. I would feel a lot more comfortable because they would know my situation and be softer. But none of my friends are basketball players, so that wouldn't really work. For example in P.E. in Elementary School when we would do our basketball unit, we would scrimmage on teams. Being with my classmates felt more comfortable than complete strangers. I would tell the people on my team to not pass it to me if they wanted me to shoot the ball because I wouldn't do it. For the most part I didn't get the ball very much, and I was okay with that. But when I did and I made the shot, everyone cheered and that made me feel really good.

4. My mom and I have talked multiple times about the Paralympics. I have always thought it sounded fun to do sometime in the future, and I have thought about all the work and effort I would need to put into it if I was going to do something like that. But a positive affect of being on a team like that, is we all would have challenges and we'd have to work through them together.

I might play basketball sometime in the future, but for now I'll just enjoy watching it and learning more!!

As you may have noticed, on the left sidebar of my blog, I added some of my music suggestions. I have decided that every month I am going to share some of my favorite things like music, movies, crafts etc. Keep an eye out for those and if you have any suggestions about what I should do, please feel free to comment.


Always have hope,