Azar Swain (Student-Athlete)
What Up Diary, Today is Monday. It felt good to be crowned State Champs this weekend, but the journey is only beginning. This weekend is the Basketball Spotlight Memorial Day Classic, and I am excited for it. It feels like forever since I have played in a Basketball Spotlight tournament because I was absent in Atlantic City. This tournament will be the first time BBallSpotlight and others will be able to see the “X-Clan” in action. It should be a good one. I’m always nervous for big games but as soon as the game starts I’m fine. Today was a rough day though. Basketball practice wasn’t good, my school day went by slowly, and it was burning hot outside. Overall, it was a bad day. I really hope that tomorrow will be a good day. Good Night Diary.
Good Afternoon Diary, Today is Tuesday, and today was even worse than yesterday. Basketball practice was the worse, the school day went by even slower as we are approaching the end of the year, and it was even hotter outside. Today was probably the worst day of my life so far. I really need to pick it up in sports because for the past 2 days it has been clear that I am starting to lose focus of what I am trying to do. Today is really something that I want to put in the past. So, there is nothing else to say. I just have to find the right mindset and stay with it. Peace Diary.
What Up Diary, Today was A LOT better than Yesterday. Being in a slump in athletics is probably the worst feeling for me. I feel like I can’t get anything to go my way, nothing is going good for me, and I feel out of place when I know I can do so much better. This slump turned around when I worked out and got shots up with my dad after school. We spent a lot of time talking. I just had remember what was important and get back to the fundamentals of when I started to become a shooter. So, when you are in a slump, try to just take the time to think back to the fundamentals. They are key. Later Diary.
Good Afternoon Diary, Today is Thursday and it was a great day for me. It’s crazy how things can change so fast. Just the other day on Tuesday, it seemed like it was the worst day ever. I’m glad that things are back to how they used to be. Tonight was the 8th Grade Portfolio Night at my school. It is definitely sad having to leave the middle school since it’s the only thing I have known at Rivers. I am going to miss the faculty and younger students. They became a big part of my life, and have taught me countless lessons. This school year blew by in the blink of an eye. It’s crazy how time flies. Good Night Diary.
What Up Diary, Today is Friday and today was productive and more of a preparation day for this weekend’s BBallSpotlight Memorial Day Classic. I’m excited for this weekend. I can’ t wait to be back out there with my boys. Today, we didn’t have classes up at my school because yesterday was the last day. We just had to do leadership activities today. I realized that next week will be the last time doing these diary entries, and it’s sad that they are coming to an end. It has been a tremendous experience for me, and definitely something that I will never forget. Peace Diary
What’s Good Diary, Today is Saturday and we had two games down in New Jersey for the Basketball Spotlight Memorial Day Classic. We won our first game against the Brooklyn Badgers, but then lost our second game to New Heights by 20 points! I think that the X-Clan is athletic enough, but we need practice. It’s very hard to get all of my whole team together to practice because we all got to private schools so far from each other. This was pretty much an experimental tournament since this was the first out of town tournament for us every since we came together. We will be back in no time though, and that’s my mind set. I got a chance to guard some really good guards today. I needed that because defense has been one of my main goals coming into this year. I think I did really well at on ball defense today. I’m starting to see how to move my body now and I can be a little more physical with guards now. It’s all good. Everybody loses, it’s just how we bounce back from the loss. Some people act like they never lose but losing is part of the game. I would rather lose a basketball game than lose in school because that would get me in some serious trouble. lol Good Night Diary.
Good Afternoon Diary, Today is Sunday and we faced Team Final. The coach from Final always speaks to me and I like him. He’s has never said anything bad about me. He always trys to help me with my game even though I have never played on his team. Team Final has had the same team every year since 5th grade and I played against these kids on that team a countless amount of times. It was a hard fought game the whole way through. We ended up losing by 2. I have respect for the whole Team Final team. I got a chance to play against my boy Quade Green. This was a good challenge for me. He is bigger, stronger and faster but I feel like I did pretty well. I still have way more to learn but it was exciting. I got a chance to see Coach Derek and Coach Jahbe. They always try to help my game and I really do listen to everything that they say to me. So many people this weekend were telling me how much they like the diaries. I didn’t know anyone even read them. That really made me happy. I have to say though, despite the loss, I am proud of how our team came out today after the loss yesterday and fought. We (as a team) have learned a lot from this weekend, and in a way, we needed these losses. They brought us back down to earth. I am going to miss doing these diaries and playing in the whole Basketball Spotlight atmosphere next year. It has been a great 5 years playing in all of the Basketball Spotlight Tournaments and I am grateful to be able to play in such high-intensity games. No matter what anyone says I am ready to play High School Basketball because I played at the Spotlight tournaments! Thank You. Later Diary.
