Making the Team

Eliza was a small girl at eleven years old. Her peers were as tall or taller than their mothers, while she felt barely tall enough to get on the fun rides at the amusement parks. She was also a little shy and not very confident, had plain brown hair and average features. Eliza was an B student even though she always studied. She was easy to overlook and was always underestimated.

Eliza did have some friends, and she was grateful for them. Her friends lived on the other side of town from her, and she rarely got to see them outside of school. But Annie, Gale, Cooper and Eliza were good friends and had a lot of fun together when they could.

Walking down the hall at school, Cooper stopped and faced their little group. “Who is going to be at basketball tryouts tonight?” she asked, tossing her red hair back. Everyone responded at once in the affirmative. Eliza smiled and shook her head up and down. Her friends smiled back at her, but they were all a head or more taller than Eliza, and weren’t sure if she would make the cut to be on the team with them this year.

Annie said what they were all thinking, “I really hope we can play together again this year. We had a blast last year! And I want us to annihilate those East-siders.” They all shouted and laughed and made their way out to the locker room to get ready for try-outs.

Gale, who was the best player in their school, was boisterous and excited. She gave each girl a high five and spoke words of encouragement. Before they went out onto the gym, they gave each other a hug. Eliza was nervous but ready.

In Indiana, basketball is everything. Watching the professional teams, the local college teams on television and in person and going to the high school basketball games was sacred; second only to going to church. The best players were heroes and champions, revered and respected by everyone.

The coach got the girls out and into the warm ups. They formed two lines, one line approached the goal to make a basket, while the other line caught the rebound and bounced the ball to the next person in the first line. After a girl took her turn, she went into the opposite line. Eliza was happy with her performance. She made 3 goals out of 4 attempts. Next, they lined up at the free throw line and tried to make a free throw basket. Eliza was at a disadvantage because of her stature, but she did make one free throw. She was happy. The girls dribbled down the court, tried for a lay up, got the rebound and dribbled back down to the next girl. Eliza was holding her own.

Then the coach divided them into two teams so they could play a game. Eliza’s friends, Annie, Cooper and Gale were all on one team and Eliza was on another. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She was going to show them all.

No one knew that Eliza had been on a mission. She knew that while she may be small, she was strong and fast. She had a concrete driveway with a basketball goal over her garage. Every day, in every spare moment, she had been practicing. She practiced shooting, lay ups, dribbling and doing some elaborate moves with the ball. Every day, over and over, she worked. She was so obsessed that when her parents wanted to punish her for some small infraction, they would tell her she couldn’t practice that day. That wounded her more than anything else could.

Now the moment had come that she had been working so hard towards. The coach put one girl from each team in the center of the court and tossed the ball up. Gale tipped the ball and sent it over to Annie, who was pounding down the court toward the goal. Eliza knew Annie would throw the ball back to Gale, who would go for a basket. As the ball sailed from Annie’s hands, Eliza made a steal and grabbed the ball, heading down the court in the opposite direction. When she got to the other half of the court, Eliza slowed down. The other team was around her, and the girl guarding Eliza had her arms up and all around, making it impossible for Eliza to pass the ball safely. Eliza smiled to herself and got to work, dribbling the ball through her legs and doing behind the back dribble, then switched to a Euro-step, tricking the guard into thinking she was going one way when she really went another way. Eliza was able to pass the ball to a teammate and they scored. Eliza watched her friend’s faces, first looking shocked, then whooping in happiness for her. The power and control she had exhibited was like nothing any of them had been able to master yet.

Eliza made the team. She and her friends had a wonderful season, and went on to play together for many years. She never let up on her practices and used the drive and success she achieved to inspire her in many areas of her life.

Writing Prompts