Ball is life?

iSchools+March+Madness+Tournament+on+March+16%2C+2017.

iSchool’s March Madness Tournament on March 16, 2017.

Eight seconds left on the clock, and you can hear the fierce movement of your heart as it pumps rapidly, but you stay silent while those who surround you in the gym are yelling and chanting both positive and negative things. Now, there is 4 seconds left, and you see your rival approaching you down the court with the ball while the defense presses upon him. Three seconds left. He shoots – 3,2,1… And the winner is?

In modern-day sports, many players admit to feeling a bit scared, pressured, and even tense. However, it is common for players to feel this way, and as uncomfortable it makes many feel, student-athletes claim to want more and more of this breathtaking feeling.

Savion Wise Fordham, a current NYC iSchool student, describes the adrenaline that takes over his body as the clock hits the final two minutes during any games he plays in or any game he watches. He refers back to the 2015-2016 NBA Finals in particular. During that postseason, former NBA Champion, reigning two-time and unanimous MVP Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors make it to the NBA Finals for the second year. His rival, four-time MVP, two time NBA champion, Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers also went to the Finals for the second consecutive year.

“It was a good series, I am a Lebron fan and when I saw the warriors were up 3 games to 1, I thought it was over for the series. It just shows how professionals have a lot pressure on them, just like any other team in a high school or a team .” Typically, pressure carries a negative connotation with it, but in these situations it can be really useful. It tends to make people bring out the best version of themselves. .”.

Trey Atkins, former iSchool Varsity Point Guard, talks about the pressure that goes through his mind when playing the game of basketball. “..it’s hard, and it’s also pretty easy to let the pressure get under your skin.” He then gets deeper in the other sports activities he participates in, and this is what he had to say: “Personally, I think that it’s a little different for example professionals have a reputation to take care of, and the pressure is so crazy for them for each game because sooner or later the best of them comes out and pours out into the court and they are just better and more fierce”

As you can see, basketball, like any other sport, has its set of difficulties and hardships that can correlate with sports in general. There is a massive amount of pressure that goes on in these particular sports. Joe Crea, the physical education teacher at the iSchool, says, “Personally, I watch basketball, but I am not a fan of it; however, I do go support the soccer team of the school and one thing I can say is that there is a lot of pressure on these kids when they are playing and this could relate back to basketball as well.”

Basketball involves a lot of emotion and competitiveness,that’s apparent in any other game one plays. In addition,it gives players a sense of responsibility, making sure they put their best effort into the team. Many times these players come across drawbacks that they learn to outweigh through their leadership and persistence.

Paraprofessional Joseph Laurro talks about his experience as he watched the March Madness Tournament at the iSchool: “I was surprised to see how emotional these kids got, they relied on each other a lot. I also began to notice that by time there was a different leader whenever someone different had the ball. It’s just so entertaining to watch all at once.”

As you can see this is the traditional, iSchool event of March Madness.
Players are playing together in the school gym/auditorium.

The passion and devotion that players have for basketball is quite noticeable and impressive. Former varsity basketball player Rolando Cabral says, “ I love it, it’s my therapy. It changes my mood whenever I do good, and whenever I do bad. But at the same it’s like, I feel different at the end of every game. I have a mindset to work harder for the next time.”