Annabelle Teoh
One of the last moments of a two-month journey occurred in the rustic Dalat gym, where all the hard work and sweat had been expended: it was the last practice of the season. The girls sat around in a close circle, listening to Coach Steinkamp debrief the upcoming trip.
The mood was...chill. The team was laughing and joking around, as usual, but there seemed to be hints of other emotions: fear, sadness, anxiousness…
Sensing the whirlwind of emotions around us, Coach Steinkamp gave us a talk about what playing basketball (or any other sport, really) has taught and will continue to teach us. “It takes weeks to climb Everest, and if you do happen to make it up, you only get 5-10 minutes at the top of Everest... it’s the journey that matters, not the end product...no matter what the outcome, smile because you got to experience the journey that comes with playing basketball,” said Steinkamp.
With those words in mind, the varsity girls basketball team flew to Manila, Philippines on a cool morning on February 12th to compete in the annual ACSC conference. Our team had been preparing for this week since November, and we were ready to fight, tooth-and-nail, to earn a medal. But if we didn’t, we’d remember what Coach said and still smile because the journey was the grand reward...not so much the end product.
Out first game was against St. Paul: the best team in the conference! We were nervous and scared but also determined to play.
The game started, and we fought, one basket at a time. When the game ended, we came 8 points short and lost the game. Though the loss was disappointing, we were proud of how we played. The opposing team had beat every team the previous year by at least 30 points, so coming in 8 points short this year was definitely significant: it set a precedent for the other teams that St. Paul could definitely be beaten.
As we went on to play our games, we realized that the competition this year was pretty close; every team was around the same level, and it almost seemed as if the only factor that determined the outcome of the games was simply which team could play a better game during that moment. Unfortunately, we lost a few crucial games and were out of the running to earn a medal.
It was a crushing moment for us. We came into the tournament, hungry for a medal, and we had just lost our chance to win one. Now, we only had the chance to fight for 5th/6th place.
Out first game was against St. Paul: the best team in the conference! We were nervous and scared but also determined to play.
The game started, and we fought, one basket at a time. When the game ended, we came 8 points short and lost the game. Though the loss was disappointing, we were proud of how we played. The opposing team had beat every team the previous year by at least 30 points, so coming in 8 points short this year was definitely significant: it set a precedent for the other teams that St. Paul could definitely be beaten.
As we went on to play our games, we realized that the competition this year was pretty close; every team was around the same level, and it almost seemed as if the only factor that determined the outcome of the games was simply which team could play a better game during that moment. Unfortunately, we lost a few crucial games and were out of the running to earn a medal.
It was a crushing moment for us. We came into the tournament, hungry for a medal, and we had just lost our chance to win one. Now, we only had the chance to fight for 5th/6th place.
We had one of two options: 1.) To let that loss affect us and lose our final game, or 2.) To smile and find comfort in the great things we have learned and experienced this season, and let that help us to get the 5th place title.
Thankfully, we were able to do the latter. We sprinted up and down the court, intercepting passes, blocking shots, running plays, and sinking buckets. We ended our last game of the season (sadly, for seniors, the last game of our high school basketball careers) with a humble but proud 20 point lead and placed 5th out of 8 teams in the tournament!
Thankfully, we were able to do the latter. We sprinted up and down the court, intercepting passes, blocking shots, running plays, and sinking buckets. We ended our last game of the season (sadly, for seniors, the last game of our high school basketball careers) with a humble but proud 20 point lead and placed 5th out of 8 teams in the tournament!
Even though we weren’t able to place this year, we were still able to have a great time all because we, as a team, found joy in the journey of basketball that began two months ago in our own rustic Dalat gym.
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