I finally wrote again! This story is about a 13-year-old girl who loves basketball with all her heart and hopes to one day become a professional basketball player. This is what I have so far!
Chapter 1
Kendra Thompson froze as she neared the giant building standing tall and wide for all of San Antonio, Texas to see. Taking a deep breath, she got a firmer grip on the basketball in her trembling hands and began strolling towards the concrete steps as casually as she could. As complicated as the task was, no one seemed to notice her long legs shaking with fear, her ponytail about to fall out of its place, or even her teeth chattering loudly. Everyone just walked by either talking on their cell phones or listening to their MP3 players. Kendra wished she had hers right now to escape from the fear inside. Never had she been so nervous until now.
When security let her in after quite a few minutes of paperwork, the squeaking of shoes and the swishing of baskets was louder than ever. Kendra was fully aware of everyone who stopped and stared when she walked in. No, there was no unordinary look about her, but her immense height caught the kids’ attention wherever she went. She wasn’t surprised when she saw some girls whispering and pointing. She was used to it.
Since she was 6'2" at age 13, Kendra could easily block any shot. She was the best shooter on her team. She was also one of the best dribblers, even with the fact that she was so tall. Daily she was asked how tall she was. In reply, she’d say, “Taller than you, that’s for sure.” She was always put in the back row when there was a school assembly or a special event. She made her teachers look puny. She outweighed most of the kids, even though she was much below average for a girl her height. Sometimes she was mistaken for an adult, or a soon-to-be college graduate. She was used to correcting people.
Kendra had had a passion for basketball all her life. Her father who died when she was just eight years old introduced her to the sport. He coached her YMCA teams from when she was five to the year of his death. He had been a famous NBA player himself when he was younger. He had the same dream for his daughter. He died in a terrible car crash on one of the busiest intersections in Texas. He had been out with his teammates; they were drunk, so he was the designated driver for all of them. As they were driving home, he’d lost control of the car because his drunken friend got a hold of the wheel and steered him into the opposite lane where a monster truck collided into them. No one survived the crash.
Since the accident, Kendra had been devoted to basketball. She made extremely competitive teams at an early age, all because she followed her father’s footsteps and specific instructions. If it weren’t for him she would probably have little knowledge of the game and wouldn’t be out here right now.
Kendra began shooting around alone. She had perfect form, and she usually swished most of her shots. Nothing but net, nothing but net, was what she was thinking every time she was about to shoot the ball. It was a pattern of hers, and it seemed to help her.
About ten minutes later a whistle blew; it echoed throughout the AT&T stadium. This was where the San Antonio Spurs played, where Tim Duncan set and broke many records, where she hoped she could play when she was in the WNBA.
“HUSTLE, HUSTLE!” a voice boomed. Every girl sprinted over to where the four coaches were standing with their hands on their hips. Each of them had different emotions on their faces. The head coach had a straight face, the first assistant coach an angry-looking face, the second a gruff face who really needed to shave, and the third a friendly smile on his. Kendra already liked him.
Once everyone was settled, the white-haired head coach began walking back and forth, staring at every girl—one by one—with two beady eyes. He started talking quickly. “Now you all know why you’re here. Must I remind you? It’s because YOU earned this, because YOU are one of the most talented on your teams, and we want to give YOU special training for your future. Whether you are only in elementary school, junior high, high school, or even in college, you are expected to follow every rule precisely and exactly how I say you should. Got it?”
Now, let me take a few minutes to introduce myself and the other coaches. I’m Coach Walden; I won’t be much of the director; these coaches”—he pointed at the two assistants—“will be instructing you through this whole camp. I’ll just be walking around evaluating your effort, your attitude, and your skill level. Just play your best and pretend I’m not there when it’s time for assessments. Let’s meet our other coaches, shall we?” Then he let the first man with a gruff look on his face to the front. His name was Coach Varner. The third coach was named Coach Mullin. After a long explanation of the basic rules from that coach, the fourth coach trotted happily to the front. He introduced himself as Coach Barnes. He always had a grin on his face; it annoyed Kendra after a while.
By the time the coaches had taken attendance, all the girls were sorted into groups based on skill level. To be able to figure out who went where, they held a scrimmage, a shoot-off, a dribbling contest, and a rebounding competition. Coach Mullin took the girls who needed to work on shooting, Coach Barnes took the girls who needed to work on dribbling, for he was once a star point guard at UConn, and Coach Varner, who was the tallest of the three, took the ones who needed help with rebounding.
“This is going to be easy,” Kendra overheard a cocky girl snorting at how simple the requests from the coaches were. She was average-sized. Too tall for guard, too short for post. Kendra decided she would make the perfect wing.
Everyone agreed with the girl who had made that statement. They followed her around like she was some goddess, except for Kendra.
“What about you, Bigfoot?” The girl glared at Kendra, who had not said a word since she’d first entered the huge gymnasium. “Oh, wait, no. This’ll be a challenge for you, won’t it?” Everyone sneered. After the girl had said those words, Kendra’s knees tightened. She all of a sudden felt like she was glued to the court. Her teeth clenched, her anger rising by the second. But she was too shy to pick a fight. She instead shrugged and said, “We’ll see.”
~
The ball felt smooth in Kendra’s hands. It bounced perfectly on the slick court, just how she wanted it to. Every push she made to get it to the ground was like a dream. It went from one dream to another. If she messed up a dribble, it was like a nightmare. The whole play fell apart, and it would take quick thinking to put it back together. Kendra made sure everything ran smoothly. No flaws, no mistakes. It was essential in the game of basketball.
Crossover, wrap around the back, stutter step, between the legs, back around to her front. Kendra made a plan as she went down the court. In the corner of her eye she spotted Coach Walden scribbling on his clipboard. He whispered into Coach Barnes’ ear and then pointed right at her. She felt pressure all of a sudden, like there was a need to make all the complicated moves look simple. By focusing on this, she lost control of the ball all of a sudden. It bounced across the court towards the baseline. All the girls scrambled to get a hold of it, including Kendra. Again, she glanced over at Coach Walden. He was writing something down on his clipboard with a disapproving look on his face.
It was a nightmare.
Kendra’s strength was dribbling; she didn’t want to be on the development team. With all her might she sprinted to the ball which was rolling quickly to out of bounds. None of the girls were able to catch it. Kendra ran right through them and recovered the ball just before it got out. She saved it and chucked it out of the blue at a teammate. She caught it, and the play started all over again.
Back to a dream.
For the rest of the scrimmage Kendra didn’t make a mistake, even the smallest tweak. Flawless, that was the only description for her playing ability. Everyone knew it, too; even the snobby girl who had just an hour before teased her knew it.
After the scrimmage, it was time for the shoot-off. Every competitor dashed for a basket. Most followed the girl, who Kendra later found out was named Nellie. They all grabbed a ball and waited impatiently for the coaches to give them the rules and expectations.
It took at least five minutes for the coaches to explain the rules. Several girls were even sitting on the ground by the time everything said was finished. Coach Walden blew his whistle, and that caught everyone’s attention. They were all now aware and attentive of the contest.
“On your marks…” Coach Barnes announced, “…get set…GO!” Everyone quickly got into position and began shooting. Most everyone had proper form, but Nellie’s seemed to be grabbing the coaches with every ball she shot at the basket. She was just as good as Kendra; the ball spun gracefully in the air every time she pushed it perfectly off her fingertips. Kendra couldn’t help but feel jealous as she saw Coach Walden grinning at Nellie. He even pointed her out to the other coaches. Out of the eighty-six girls who were attending this camp, it was her he noticed. She was the girl who was admired by her coaches but despised by her peers. It disgusted Kendra seeing how satisfied Nellie looked every time she released the ball. This turned her on.
Kendra angrily snatched a ball. She dribbled it a little bit to get the coach’s attention, held it right in front of her shoulder, bent her knees low, focused on the basket, and with all her might, shot it. It looked just like Nellie’s, except better. Kendra let out a sigh of relief as the ball fell into the basket like a magnet. Nothing but net. Beautiful.
The next few shots were pure luck. Kendra decided to challenge herself by doing a complicated trick, or releasing the ball with her left hand, or shooting from near the half court line. And guess what? She made every one. She could hear the girls behind her whispering, and this time she knew it was about her ability and nothing else. Kendra proudly strolled to the ball rack to grab another ball, but the whistle blew. Everyone hustled back to where the coaches were standing. All four of them stared the girls down. When everyone was looking anxiously back, Coach Varner began.
“We’re gonna have to postpone the dribbling competition and the rebounding event for tomorrow; we’ve got a lot to say about today’s playing, and we need to get you settled into your rooms at the hotel next door. Here are my remarks. Everybody, listen up.”
Kendra tuned Coach Varner out. She didn’t think anything would go against her. She had played flawlessly, after all. She played around with her ponytail and stared around the gym, admiring the vastness of it all. It wasn’t until Kendra heard her name that she turned her head towards Coach Varner. He was pointing at her. She smiled. Was she getting an award on the first day?
“I need you, Miss…” Coach Varner started.
“Thompson, coach.” Kendra replied.
“Ah, yes. Miss Thompson, I need you to stay afterwards. I have a few things to say to you.”
“Ooh…” Kendra heard Nellie snickering. If you examined the average-sized blonde, you would actually think of her as a pretty girl, but once you got right down to it, all you saw was evil. “I think she’s in trouble.” The rest of the girls giggled.
“Silence!” Coach Varner boomed. His face was red with anger, and you instantly knew that he was an impatient man. When everyone was staring blankly back, he went on. “Now, all of you, follow Coach Walden and he’ll take you to the motel and you can get settled and have dinner. Stay together when we’re on the sidewalk; you never know who might be out there at this time of day.”
Although it was only 5:30, Kendra knew what went on in the city life. It could be dangerous out there even in broad daylight. She watched as everyone walked out the door in one big bunch while she stayed behind with Coach Varner. When everyone was gone, the tired-looking man began speaking calmly.
“Miss Thompson, I’m just going to get right down to it. We don’t have much time. We, the coaches, aren’t looking for a show-off player to recruit in the future. You may have the skills, but we also assess you on attitude, too.”
“But I was just playing the game, coach.” It wasn’t until after saying those words that Kendra regretted it.
“Excuse me, Miss Thompson? We don’t talk back to our coaches, either.”
“Sorry, coach.”
“I’m going to have to teach you how to play without acting like a know-it-all. It may be the first day, but we watch you from the second you come in to the day you leave. Be aware of that, Miss Thompson. Now I’m not impressed. Try and get me to change my mind about your attitude, will you?”
“Yes, coach.” Kendra held her head down in shame. She had failed on the first day, and now it would take all of camp to get them to reconsider her.
“All right. Now, let’s go.” Coach Varner began walking—in Kendra’s point of view, jogging—towards the door. She followed, still ashamed about what had just happened.
Let me know what you thought in the comment box! I would really love your opinion!
Happy Summer,
♥ Abigail ♥
