MY BIGGEST REGRET

“Not a day goes by that I don’t have some sense of regret regarding my basketball or sports career in general. Though I was given a great father who pushed me in every sense of the word and one who put me in every league he could afford I still feel like I fell short and that haunts me. I was one of those kids who worked very hard at the game of basketball and I gave it a lot but i could’ve given it more. I regret not being the leader I should’ve been. I regret not getting to a state championship game. I regret not working harder on my defensive abilities because I never truly learned to play the game hard the entire time. I was good enough to coast a lot of the time and then when I wasn’t good enough to coast anymore I realized that I never trained myself to play the game hard all the time.

When I watch high division I college basketball players I am reminded of what might have been for myself and really what should have been. I still envision myself on the court and being able to play the game at a high level. I used to tell my father that I had the ability to turn on and off aggressiveness but I never did. The things that you can get by with when you are younger are not always going to be there. I wish I had a coach who had the guts to sit me down and not play me until I went hard every play but instead I could score points so I was on the floor and rarely taking the challenge of guarding the opposing teams’ best player.

My point is that any players who read this and has hopes of playing college ball needs to learn truly what it takes to get there. You have to be willing to sacrifice time with friends to practice. You have to be willing to give up your summers to be seen by coaches. You have to be willing to learn from other players and never accept the fact that you are good enough. Nobody is good enough and it is that feeling that still drives Kobe Bryant and Lebron James today. My downfall was believing that I was good enough to offset any weaknesses I had and I was lying to myself all along. That is my biggest regret of all.”

(writer from Hoop Skills)