Time for Basketball

Tomorrow at precisely 6:45 AM the first official basketball practice for the season occurs.  While I am dreading all of the running and other drills I am looking forward to my senior basketball season and proving to people how good our team can be this year.  The gym will be full of sweat flying, whistles blowing and balls bouncing.  With an hour of practice before school and 3 hours after it is going to be a long and hard day and two weeks for that manner until practice cuts back with games starting.  While everyone dreads to go to practice we all know that we need to put the hard work in if we want to make some noise this year and accomplish our goals to win conference and regionals.  One of the other goals like always will be to beat Rock Falls and and win the Sauk Valley Bank Shootout.  Our whole team knows that the season is not the same if you lose to Rock Falls.  The whole gym is full with over 1500 people screaming for their team.  It is such an adrenaline rush to run out on the court and see all of the people. These moments are the ones that keep you going when you are in you are in the last of 4 hours of practice in one day, and your running line to line endlessly to end practice.  The biggest thing in practice is to just keep fighting and remember that your goals are ahead of you; never quit.

Sterling vs Rock Falls

Sterling vs Rock Falls the biggest rivalry in the area no matter what the sport.  Especially when  it comes to postseason where the loser faces elimination.  The regional championship for volleyball was no different.  It was the typical Sterling Rock Falls game, with the stands full and everyone yelling.  Both schools had loud and crazy student sections trying to help their team win the game.  Everyone thought that Sterling was going to lose as Rock Falls came in with  a record of 32-2.  But I just had a feeling telling me it was going to be close and we had a chance.  After the starting line ups, the first serve was about occur and everyone in the gym was on their feet yelling.  We took an early lead and like all good teams do they hung on and when we cracked they took the first game 25-18.  My feeling had gone away and I questioned myself coming to the game and spending $4 to get in.  Then the second game went our way we took the lead and had it most of the game and prevailed to win 26-24.  The regional championship was going to come down to a final game.  RF got out to a huge advantage at 10-2 but we had too much heart to go down like that.  They students kept yelling and they players kept fighting to take a 22-21 lead.  After a few points RF led 24-23 it was game point and everyone was yelling in the whole gym.  Then RF got the next point and won the regional championship.  

      This was a prime example of a Sterling Rock Falls game.  Two great teams going head to head with a lot of fans going crazy.  Leaving this game all I can think about is the basketball game on November 26, Sterling vs Rock Falls. It is going to be crazy.

The Last Go Around

Tuesday was my last regional tournament for golf in my high school career. We needed to get in the top 3 to move on as a team and we had a very good chance of moving on and even winning. We got to the course and you wan to look like you know what you are doing and aren't nervous but in all honesty I wanted throw up. As I warmed up he nerves went away a little bit but I still had them as my name was called to the first tee. We were told the order to tee of and of course I was first. I stop there waiting until I was given the ok to go which seemed like an eternity of me standing there wiping the sweat from my hand on my towel. I stepped up to my ball and piped it down the middle. My heart was racing and I felt so good after that shot. I finished he day with an 80. It wasn't good but it wasn't ba but like every true golfer I wasn't happy. I knew I could have played better. But the real story of the day was Andrew Blackburn who shot a round of 66 which was 5 under par. He was the winner by 3 strokes and propelled our team to the win by 5 strokes over Sycamore. Our whole team was excited to win a regional title but nowour focus is on Monday for sectionals. The goal has been to get to state all year and this is our shot. I don't want my season to end Monday in St Charles. I really don't want to go to state unless my team is there with me. We know that we can do this but we are all going to have to play a great round Whig we haven't done yet this year but I can feel that it will happen Monday and we will get to state. This time people won't be suprised.

The Winners Of the NIB 12 West Division is.... Streator

     This is the day we have been waiting for all year, the confernce golf meet in Yorkville.  We come in trailing Streator by 2 points but with a win today we can make that up and be the conference champions.  Sterling was runner up last year and 3rd the year before, this was our year. 
     We arrived to the course bright and early and started our warmup.  The whole team was feeling good and warming up great.  Our main competition Streator warmed up next to us.  We received our scorecards and were a little dissappointed to find out that we didn't get to play with them.  Our coach gathered us around for one last motivational speech, "Sterling has not won the conference championship in five years. Go get it done."
     Half way through my round I am feeling good and just shot a 39 on the back, with the easier side yet to play.  I struggled to get started on the front with a bogey on the first hole and then on the second another bogey after chunking my ball into the water.  After the second hole I stood there and tried to just refocus.  My anger was getting the best of me and I just tried to relax and tell myself the team needed me to finish strong and keep going.  I thought about how this is my last ever conference meet and just told myself, "Go have fun and finish strong."  I didn't really finish very strong but 80 was not a bad score for the conditions.
    I got in to find out some other scores, Andy- 75 Sawyer- 79 Patrick- 90 Ryan- 93 and Brandon-102. As a team we shot a 324, not our best score.  We had the lead with one team left to post their scores, which was Streator.  We held our breathe as their coach made his way yo turn in his scores.  The total was 319.  We had lost by the small margain of 5 strokes.
     We all just stood there in shock and thought about the shots that we should have made that would have won us the tournament.  We watched as all the awards were handed out concluding with the announcement of, " The champions of the NIB 12 West Division is...... Streator".
     As I stood there in shock as everyone cleared out to go home I was approached by the local sports reporter. He asked, "Nathan how does it feel to fall just 5 strokes short of a conference championship?" I paused for a second before responing with, " We just didn't put 4 scores together today and that is a little dissappointing. We came here to win and we are not leaving happy but, we will come ready for regionals on Tuesday."

The Amazing (Boat) Race

     It is early in the morning on Wednesday September 21st and I am getting ready to go pick up the boat for the race.  We will race our boats across Thomas Park pond for physics.  My group had worked long and hard on this boat and had it all painted up and ready to win.  Our group name is PBnJ, for Patrick, Branden, Nathan, and Jando.  We decided to cover our boat in Happy Birthday decorations to suck up since it was Mrs. Gatz's birthday. 
     Our group lined up our boat and Branden climbed in followed closely behind me.  We lined up, we got the go sign, and got a giant push from Patrick and Jando.  Off we went across the pond.  To be honest my first reaction was, "Oh my God, we are actually floating and going somewhere."  I completely thought we weren't going to go anywhere and that we would just sink down into the cold water and goose poop. We are now about half way across and now the wind is taking us off course so I switch my paddle to my other hand then we started to lose ground.  I switched back and now the other group ahead of us is now stuck in the mud only feet from the edge.  My arm is getting sore and it is scraping against the top of our cardboard walls.  The other group has touched the edge and now we are going for second and get there a short 7 seconds later.
     With our second place finish we were guarunteed an A minus so we were pretty happy, and we ended up getting our picture on the front page of the paper.
 

     In the past week my great grandpa died.  To most kids this is not really the sadest thing in their lives.  For me it was not either until I got to the visitation.  It was the typical vistitaiton where I sat on the couch with my cousins and talked to the very few people I knew when they came by.  I sat there just waiting to go home and eat I was absolutely starving.  I felt really bad for my grandpa for losing his dad, and my great grandma for losing her husband of 73 years.  They married when my great grandpa was 20 and my great grandma was 18.  They lived on the family farm for over 40 years, before selling it to a grandchild. This was a huge loss to my family.
     The saddest point of the night was at the end when my great grandma went up to the casket to say her good byes to my great grandpa.  She spent a few minutes up there quietly saying a few words even though she knew she would get no response.  It made me feel so sad for her.  She is now 91 and is going to be by herself for a while and not really sure who will be there to help her out.
      I feel that after experiencing this that I want to really enjoy my time here with my friends and family because it is only going to last so long.  You never know when a loved one will be taken away from you, and you always want your memories to be positive ones.

Sacrifice

Everyone at some point during their life must sacrifice to gain.  Some choose to do the sacrificing and others choose not to.  I personally am one who chooses to sacrifice because I am very competetive.  During the spring I played golf in the cold and during the summer I played in the heat as sweat ran down my arms and legs just from walking and carrying my clubs.  As I am out on the course with my friends sometimes I wonder why I spend so much time on the course but I remember that I want to be the best I can be and that means I must keep working.  I think to myself "What else could I be doing right now?", but I realize this is what I love to do.  There are many people who do not find something they love and never sacrifice but yet they still wonder why they do not gain anything.  In order to gain you have to spend the time in the gym, on the course, or the field where ever you need to practice you must do it.  I know one day I went and played 18 holes with a friend then we ate lunch at the course then decided to hit range balls followed by another 18.  Time and effort must be put in to achieve anything.  A lot of people I know say practice makes perfect but in my eyes that is not true.  Perfect practice makes perfect.