A Sporty Memoir
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Copyright
© 2011 by Mustafa Sakhi
All rights reserved.
This
book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any
manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the
author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2011
ISBN 978-0-9849876-1-0
Mustafa Sakhi
Brookfield, CT, USA
This book is dedicated to the Class of 2014 at Brookfield High School in Connecticut.
Table of Content
Chapter 7: First Real Practice
Chapter 8: My First Basketball Game
Chapter 16: Tryouts and Season
Author’s Note
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My name is Mustafa Sakhi. I am going to be a sophomore at Brookfield High school this year. I was inspired to write this story by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. When I watched both of their documentaries I was impressed by their hard work and dedication to the game of basketball. As a result, I wanted to tell my basketball story. This memoir will consist of many lessons I have learned over the course of three years and how I overcame many obstacles along the way. As a basketball player I always wanted to show people the approach and mentality I have toward the game. That is the key to my early success. That made me better and different than other players. I started to write this during the summer of 2011. Honestly, this idea just popped in my head and I gave it a try.
I love the game of basketball. I love everything about it, whether it is the competition, the screech of the hard wood or the sound of the ball going through the net. It makes me feel at peace. If my heart was taken out, it would probably be a basketball. This is my basketball journey.
I was about 8 years of age when I started playing soccer. From the very moment I kicked a soccer ball, I knew that it was my sport. I had occupied myself with the Newtown soccer team but I wasn’t very good. Later on I moved to Brookfield where I joined their soccer team. On weekends, I enjoyed playing basketball with my younger brother, Muhammad, and my best friend Paul. I wasn’t very serious about it but my father always wanted me to quit soccer and play basketball. I am very tall for my age, about 6 foot 3 inches, and I have a wing span of 6 feet 9 inches. My love for soccer was still in my heart, but on the other hand I wasn’t sure if I was ready to let go of it. Months went by and I started to realize that my dad was right. I could barely run at the speed of the game. I was too big to have the stamina to keep up with short athletic kids. Most of that had to do with my weight. I was overweight but it kept me from performing at a high level. That is when I recognized that I had to quit soccer and start playing basketball.
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The transition from soccer to basketball was hard. At first, I had felt like I was missing something. I was scared to play at my full potential. Paul is my neighbor and is a true basketball player. When I started to practice, he helped me a lot. I give a lot of credit to him. Paul taught me the fundamentals such as the correct shooting form and how to make a layup. It was tough at first because I was slow and clumsy. About two years before I began playing basketball, I started to go to the Regional YMCA of Brookfield, CT. I lost weight but I kept growing in height so it evened out. My dad would meet us there around 6PM because that is when the pool was open for free swim. Swimming was basically the only exercise I did. That all changed when I picked up basketball. I started to come early so I could practice and play with other kids. Those times were difficult because I wasn’t good enough. I usually passed the ball on the offensive end of the floor; I could barely shoot even if I was wide open. Honestly, I was afraid. I did not tell anyone of this which made me to get even more afraid. The fear of me missing a shot or getting blocked was through the roof. But my strength was defense. It wasn’t something I had to work on that often. I was and still am tall for my age. My height wasn’t the only tool I had, I have very long arms. It was easy for me to block shots and grab plenty of rebounds. Then one day, I met a group of kids from school. I always saw them playing and working hard. They asked me to play a pickup game with them. I wasn’t sure if I had wanted to because of my fear, but I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be one of the worst days of my life. I got blocked easily, I could not make a shot, I got the ball stolen from me etc. There is nothing to describe in words how I felt that day after the game. I was ashamed of myself and I could not keep the tears from leaving my eyes. I felt sick in the inside whenever I thought about that specific day of my life. That motivated me to continue to work hard on my game.
Paul and I continued to practice every day. I finally found a shooting form that I liked and was comfortable with. I was able to make an open layup. At that time, I always lost to him because his specialty was ball handling and shooting. He was the best shooter I have ever seen. In addition, he could use both hands for dribbling and making layups. I always gave him room to shoot when we played one on one. If I got too far, he would shoot right over me. On the other hand, if he got too close, he would drive past me and score. That is where I learned how important it is to have the full package. When I say full package, I mean being able to shoot from the outside and being able to drive and finish with both hands at the rim. I worked every day on my jump shot and my driving ability. I started to do more exercise at the gym and at home. I began to do pushups to get stronger and then it started to become a routine. And then one day, I heard about the 6th grade travel basketball tryouts and I hoped that my father did not hear. Unfortunately, he knew about it and asked me to go for it. I tried to tell him that I wasn’t good enough to play with the player in my grade. But because he is my father, he told me that I had to do it.
I arrived at the tryouts with thousands of butterflies in my stomach and dizziness in my head. I tried not to show it, but I think that it was obvious that I was really nervous. We started tryouts out with layups. Only thing that made me a little bit happier was that Paul was also trying out. Our coach started some drills to see what fundamentals we had. I always put myself in the back of the line to gain some confidence if someone missed a layup or shot. A layup is when a player dribbles the ball toward the basket and shoots it with one hand. Most will do a layup when attacking the basket. I didn’t think it was that hard but I was wrong. I had no idea that we had to go lefty! The idea that I had not practiced a single left handed layup was mind boggling. I did not make any lefty layups. So I already knew that I had made a bad impression on the coach.
Next were some mid range jump shots. I had a little more confidence in myself when I was up to shoot. Fortunately, I made my first shot. Then I made the second one. Overall, I thought I did pretty well on that part of the tryouts. Although I was beaten by everyone else, I thought it was a good thing for me. As soon as I gained some confidence, it went downhill. We had to box out the coach and then sprint to the other side and shoot a three pointer. Uh oh, I was not ready for this. I am not even going to explain what happened because I did not hit the rim once, so you can guess that it was really bad.
To sum it all up into one sentence, I DID NOT MAKE THE TEAM. I was disappointed but I also knew that I wasn’t good enough…yet. That was the moment where I learned that I needed to train harder and hope for the best next year.
A YEAR LATER……
It was a year since I failed to make the Brookfield travel team. That one year changed everything. First thing I did was to choose a good professional basketball player to “follow”. I chose Kobe Bryant. The reason I chose him was because I saw him hit a game winning shot against the Portland Trailblazers in year 2000 NBA basketball game. It’s funny because my dad and I just happen to turn to the game and Kobe hit the shot at that exact time. Back then, I remember telling myself that he was my favorite player. But as a 5 year old child, I said some silly things. In addition to that, he is an all-time great player. He has the best fundamental game in the NBA today. Instead of using physical strength and speed, he uses footwork, shot fakes etc. When I decided that Kobe was the player I idolize I started to copy the moves he used. I would look very carefully on his foot work. At first it was amazing, being able to make his feet move in an unnatural way and still make the shot. I look at the way he shot the ball. It was important that players jump when they shoot, otherwise they will tire out easily. I look at the way he approached the game. He had a “chip on his shoulder” at all times. He truly believed that he was the best and he continues to get better. I started to get a swagger about my game. Whenever someone asked me: “Who is the best player on your team?” I would answer: “Mustafa”. I needed the confidence to play at a level where it would become obvious that I was the best and no one could stop me. But I knew I was nowhere near my destination: The Brookfield Travel Team.
My routine continued every day. After my studies, I would go out and practice. Those hours I spent outside on my driveway shooting probably helped my game the most. I always felt confident there. I wasn’t afraid to do things that I usually would not do. I practiced threes, layups and rebounding. There was one day in particular that is most memorable. It was a rainy and gloomy Saturday. I couldn’t go outside and I didn’t have anything to do. So I asked my dad to bring me to the YMCA. When I got there, the gym was empty. I happily changed and started to practice. About 45 minutes later, same kids from school entered the gym. This time I knew their names: Thomas, Ricky, Ryan, Chris and Kevin. The memory of our last encounter was still fresh in my head. But then I said something that would change me forever. “Hey, do you guys want to play a little 3 on 3 game?”
The Next Day…
I did not believe it at first. It was a terrific achievement. I basically took the game by the throat and squeezed. I totally dominated. I shot when I could, I drove the ball and I had a couple of nice assists. It felt like a dream come true, a dream that I would remember forever. I was not afraid anymore. The tears of happiness came but I really did not care. I think the kids were impressed, especially Thomas Walker because after the game he told me: “You have gotten a lot better, keep it up big guy.” When he said that to me, I was filled up with pride and happiness. I felt as if I had accomplished something.
That is when I knew, I was ready.