//blog39
/His legs feel like they are about to collapse. He can hardly focus on one thing because everything seems fabricated somehow. He finds it hard to judge distances and finds his depth perception feels off. This is how Kyle Bergman feels before every basketball game.
/It is the first game of his senior year at Morden Colligate Institute. It just so happens that his team’s first game lands up being an away game, which isn’t that much of a difference from home games since the same handful of people (mostly parents) would come to watch a home game anyway. These thoughts didn’t help Kyle’s situation so he pushed them aside. He needed to concentrate on shaking off all the feelings he had now that seemed to prevent him from making any successful shots or even run properly. Sure he has played basketball before, but he has never felt this way during warm up for a game. It felt like he was viewing everything through a television so that when anyone spoke to him it took him a few seconds to realize they were addressing him.
/He knew all of this was just the nervousness before a game but what really bugged him was that no one else on the team seemed to feel this way. Everyone else seemed so be running with energy and making shots with accuracy that were of normal standards. Then he began to see subtleties that gave away the real truth about everyone else and their state of mind. He noticed beads of sweat collecting on someone’s brow when they hadn’t done enough activity to break a sweat. He also noticed solemn faces on those who were normally grinning and joking. In fact, now that he was watching for it, he noticed pretty much everyone was displaying some sort of nervousness. Somehow this made Kyle feel a bit better to know that his team mates were feeling the same things he was.
/Five minutes to game time and Kyle’s shaky legs take him to his team’s bench to hear the coach’s pregame words and strategies. He still feels separated from reality but things seem to snap back into focus as soon as the coach says that he is going to be starting the game on the court.
/ Kyle may feel better now that he feels re-connected to reality but the excitement just builds as he strides onto the court with his team of five. They all spread out in their standard formation for the start of the game tip off. The two tallest players from both teams meet in the middle of the court, towering over the official who has the job of tossing the ball. Kyle feels the tension on the court build as the two competitors in the center crouch, ready for the sudden movement of the basketball that would start the game. Suddenly Kyle’s legs feel like they might just bend in on themselves and felt like his chest might explode. He starts worrying he might forget plays, he might miss all his shots, might fall right on his face, might...Suddenly the ball is in the air! Kyle’s body takes over and all previous fears, doubts, and ailments fall away as he begins his game with his team. Nothing mattered now that the game started; all he needed to do was play.
//endofblog39