Charlie J. 5M

The Winning goal

    It was a perfect day for soccer. As I walked on the field I saw all my teammates warming up Ben, our goalie. The grass smelled like morning dew and was covered in sunlight. The dew on the grass made it sparkle like the stars the night before.

Once we got on the field, everyone was excited about getting playing time. When we were talking, we saw a person on the other team about 5 foot 6. He was huge!

When the game started, we played our hardest and it paid off. We scored the first two goals and we were off to a great start. Then, five minutes into the game, Teddy got hit in the face. That was a huge loss because he is a great defender.

Then it was a back and forth game, two for us and three for them. In the second half the opposing team scored a goal to tie the game. Now it was tied at four to four.

Coach said, “Charlie you’re going in for Josh.” When I went in, everything changed. My mood, my attitude, my game were kicked up a notch and I was playing like never before. Whenever they were down by the goal, I was down there too.

At one point when I was down by the goal, Brendan got the ball, passed it out wide, and I ran and got the ball. I dribbled it up to half field and one guy got in front of me. I juked him, and by the time he caught up, I was at the 18 yard box. I stopped the ball, and the defender went from behind me, but he was too far ahead of me.

When I took my shot, I was at the penalty kick area. It looked like it was going to go over the cross bar, but it was a heavy ball and it sank down into the goal. Score! It was like my foot told the ball to do that.

When I was running down the field, everyone crowded around me and started yelling, “Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck!” It was awesome. There were five minutes left in the game and the game was 5-4 us.

Finally, the last five minutes were up. At the end, we won the game and the coach said, “Carry Chuck off the field!” My teammates didn’t carry me off, but I did get lots of fist pumps and hugs. And, when I got home I even got a root beer float. That is the story of my winning goal. Now I’m playing u11. That is how good I am.    

Bran S. 5M

Spider Scare

It was third grade, room 244, just at the end of the day. Lucas, a boy

in my class, had just finished reading his story about his pet spider,

Copper.  Everyone clapped, except for those troublemakers. They know

who they are.

“Now kids, go pack up!” Ms. Zingaro, my wonderful teacher, said.

Everyone got up and chattered toward the cubbies, except me. I snuck up

behind Ms. Z. I reached up on my tip toes, slowly extending my hand

toward her. I made spidery hands and crawled my fingers up her neck.

She jumped high in the air, yelped, spun around, black dress with purple

polka dots (very fashionable) swirling, and stared at me with wild eyes.

I leaned back, almost falling onto the multicolored carpet. All the kids in

the cubbies paused. I’m sure all the other classes paused, too.

I felt bad, because I absolutely, POSITIVELY, DETEST getting in

trouble. I did not expect such a dramatic reaction, and that’s why this

memory is burned into my brain. I remember the door and bathroom sign

out sheet in front of me, Ms. Z’s petrified face, and all the kids in the

cubbies, unaware of what I did. The table stood behind me, and the

SmartBoard was blank next to me. The teacher’s desk stood behind me,

stacked high with papers. On the computer buzzed a BrainPop video. To

my left was the wall of all the artwork and stories we had drawn and

written. The heater blew air into the room as the silver zipper on my gray

jacket swung back and forth, back and forth, in a hypnotizing way. It was

so quiet you could’ve heard a pin-cushion drop. I can picture the image

from my view, from the left, right, above, below, front, and back (I actually

forced myself to imagine the angles before I wrote them).

After the stunt I pulled, other students went around as a facsimile of me by doing spiders on someone’s back. I’m sure Ms. Z has forgiven me, though, and I’ve forgiven myself. Kind of. I do plan on getting in contact with Ms. Z again, I just won’t be pulling any more stunts. 

Andrew L. 5M

My Fort

I will never forget what happened that one summer day…

 Eeeehhhh! My garage door opened, I rolled out my bike, and drove down the street. After I went down two streets away, my bike chain slipped from the gear. I had to repair it, so I walked into the woods and stopped. I looked down a path and I saw a swing and a little fort made out of logs. The swing was blue and was made out of bungee cords and rope. I dashed to try out the swing. It worked and swung over a massive pit! The pit was in an 8 by 4 format with dirt covering the bottom.

After swinging, I looked at the fort. It was broken down and needed to be fixed. I built the fort until it was gigantic. It was getting dark, so I decided to go home. When I got home, I quickly went to find my mom to tell her about my discovery. “Guess what, Mom!? I found a swing and fort in the woods!”

The next day, I did the same thing. I worked on the fort nearly every day for about four months! Unfortunately, one day Hurricane Sandy tore through the woods. I got up the next morning and biked as fast as I could to see what happened. I got there and was staring at a broken swing and a weak building. My heart sank. I tried to rebuild it, but it didn’t work. The tree broke and the ground was too wet to build on. All the work I put into the fort was gone.

After this disastrous discovery, I was upset, so I went on a bike ride with my friend who had seen my fort and who had even helped build it. I told him the news: “The fort was destroyed in the hurricane.”

“Aww, I’m sorry.” We biked back over to where the fort was so he could see for himself.  

Once we got there, we looked at each other and said, “We can do better!” We saw a great spot to rebuild, and let’s just say we spent a lot of time there. We kept building until it was done; luckily, we finished at the beginning of winter. Once it was done, we just sat there and stared at it proudly. I couldn’t believe it! We had accomplished our goal. Our rebuilt fort was even better than the one that Sandy destroyed. The moon reflected off the brightly lit snow like a light bulb shining onto a piece of tinfoil. We said, “It looks amazing,” as we biked home. I thought to myself, “What if someone knew about our secret place!”…

Zach F. 5Ca

The Island Of Anguilla

It was a cool and sunny February morning on the island of Anguilla. It was 6:45 a.m., and the sky was the color of a peach. The bay was an electric blue. The ocean breeze felt like snow falling on my face. The rest of my family was still asleep, while I enjoyed some quiet time on the beach in front of our resort suite. At this early hour, Meads Bay Beach was still empty; I knew I could save a good spot for the day. The sound of the waves made me feel relaxed.

After a while, I realized my mom had been sitting inside enjoying the view. I saw my sister and dad wake up too, which meant it was probably time to get dressed and go to breakfast, but I stayed out a little longer, savoring the beauty of the view and listening to some music. I listened to Aerosmith, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, and Rush until it was time for breakfast.

That first day, and the following six days, went by in a blur of snorkeling, boogie boarding, tubing, swimming, rock climbing, volleyball, soccer, and basketball. Each outdoor sporting activity was incredibly enjoyable, and we would cap off each day with an amazing dinner at one of the local restaurants. Though the temperature was hot during the day, it was quite cool at night; one night at dinner I forgot my sweatshirt and the restaurant gave me a blanket!

Before I knew it, it was our final day of vacation. “Five minutes until we leave,” yelled my mom from inside. It wasn’t until this very moment, just before our departure, that I noticed how much bigger our yard was than I had previously thought. As I explored further, I found boulders curiously stacked like stairs. They led down to a hidden beach. I stood on the sand, wishing I had known about the hidden place before. I rushed up to tell everybody so they would have a chance to see my discovery before we had to leave. “Come see what I found!” I exclaimed. My parents and my sister quickly joined me on the secret beach; we admired its beauty until we left.

Several hours later, it was a shock to the system to arrive at cold and dimly lit JFK Airport in New York City, New York. Once our driver picked us up, we sat through the two and a half hour car ride back to Easton. It seemed like the car ride went on and on and on and…until five minutes later, at midnight, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I fell asleep. The next thing I knew, we were home. I will always remember this trip, and particularly finding such an amazing, secret beach.

Zach F. 5Ca

Winter

Do you enjoy running across a snowy field? What about celebrating a holiday? Or taking a look at nature?  If anyone does, winter is the season for them.

Don’t worry football fans, football is still around, only harder. The menacing, perplexing challenges include running in snow and the strong wind will bring a player down. Instead of normal gear, teams have to wear hats, gloves, and coats. To make this version of football as death-defying and sensational as possible, people have to play with a rubber or foam ball. The reason for this is because if the ball was leather, you would not be able to hold on to it. The most amazing part of winter football is the last game of the NFL season, the Super Bowl. Some of the past teams to make it to the Super Bowl are the 49ers, Ravens, Giants, Patriots, Packers, and Steelers.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday with 8 nights and lots of presents. The main tradition is lighting a Menorah, in which the number of the night is the amount of candles families light. The soft, savory taste of potato latkes is unbearable to stop eating.

This snowy season is one to enjoy, what with all the changes in nature. In this frigid temperature, all the leaves are gone and nature enthusiasts will find deer roaming around. The sight of the snowy spruce trees is beautiful in the morning light. The temperature will be below 40 degrees almost all the time.

With the amazing sports, yummy food, exciting holidays, and beautiful nature additions, the season of winter is one to enjoy.

Theodore A. 5Ca

A Day at The 

Maritime Aquarium

  

                  "Finally!" I called out, as we left the IMAX theater. “I don't see what was so bad about the movie on sharks?" my mom said. 

          I looked at her like she was crazy. "It was just boring!" I exclaimed. 

          "Let’s just keep on exploring the aquarium," said my brother.  So that is what we did. Our cousins, who were also there, followed along with their parents.

          As we walked around, we saw many different fish such as jellyfish, puffer fish, giant sea turtles, eels and a bunch of other weird types of fish.  But those were nothing compared to what we saw next!  "Guys come over here!" my brother called out.  Everyone came rushing over.  I looked to where he was pointing.  There was a tank full of sharks, and, here is the thing, people were touching them!

          "Are you insane!" I asked, as my mom went to touch one.

          "Don't worry," she said.  "These are sand sharks.  They are harmless to humans."  Then I remembered how the IMAX movie had informed us about that. 

          "Stupid movie," I mumbled under my breath. Even though I knew they were harmless, I still didn’t want to touch the sharks. Neither did my brother. He just held my mom’s iPhone so it didn’t get soaked while she touched the surface of the shark’s body.

          At last we walked away from the shark tank and onto an elevator.  There was classical music playing inside. "Ding!"  The elevator door opened.  I stumbled out, tripping over a hole.  When I managed to regain my balance, I glanced around the room.  It was filled with lizards, frogs, and snakes!  "Awesome…" my words drifted away.  The rest of my group and I ran along throughout the room looking at each animal carefully.  One of the most interesting animals I saw was a tomato frog. It was a reddish brown color and it was about half the size of a bullfrog. We couldn’t hear any of the sounds it was making since it was behind the glass of its exhibit. After exploring all of the reptiles, we exited the amazing room.

         We next entered into a gigantic room of handcrafted boats inside bottles!  Wishing to be able to touch them, my brother and I examined them.  Our cousins on the other hand seemed more interested in the playroom next door!

         After exploring the aquarium a little bit more, the clock struck two and everyone was hungry!  Luckily, we already knew where we were going to eat!

         We rushed out of the aquarium and onto the busy city street.  We ran about a mile until we reached our destination.  There we stood in front of a giant restaurant.  We looked at it for a couple seconds until…  "It’s closed," my mom gasped.  I almost fainted, along with everyone else.  "You have got to be kidding me," I said weakly.  So we turned around to head back to the aquarium.  We ran the mile back.

          We re-entered the aquarium.  "So where are we going to eat now?" my brother demanded.  My mom then pointed.  It turned out there was a cafe inside the aquarium.  We went to the counter, and all we had to do was to pay the guy - all of the food was hot and ready!  We all took what we wanted and sat down.  We had been standing all day.  I almost forgot how it felt to sit down!  The best part about the cafe was not that the food was freshly made, but that it tasted amazing!

          Later, after we finished our meal, we went into the aquarium's gift shop!  We did not get anything there.  We just looked.  Because of this horrific tragedy, we went to the one and the only "Toys R Us" on our way home!

          We walked in.  I was happy to get something out of this long boring day.  I gazed around.  My mom had told me that I could get one thing and that thing could be anything that I wanted… as long as it was under fifty bucks.  Still, I was happy as can be!  I gazed around to look at the assortment of toys.  This was the bright light of my day.  Watching that boring IMAX movie was so worth it now, I thought.

          I ran over to the video game section.  I stopped.  Then I turned my attention to Mario Cart 7.  After picking it up, I did a one-eighty to face my mom.  Holding it out, I asked, "Can I get this?"  "Sure!" she said to me.  "Yes!" I thought.  I ran over to the check-out counter, handed the cashier $24.00, and dashed out.

          I was like a lightning bolt in a glass jar.  I was super anxious to get home to play it!  Screech….!!!!  Sparks burst from under my shoes as I skidded across the ground trying to stop.  In the blink of an eye, I came to a halt.  I tugged at the car door, waiting for my mom to open it.  (Click!)  The door swung open.  I was a blur as I hopped in, put down my new video game, slammed the door, and buckled up.  Slowly we pulled out and sped down the road in our white Subaru.

          Beep, Beep!  My mom was honking her horn at this psycho driver who almost rammed into our car!  "That was close!" my mom said loudly, over the roar of the beaten up car in front of us.  We turned, not because it smelled, but because we were at an intersection.  That car looked like it was going to break down.

         Soon, (Screech!!!!) we pulled into my driveway.  The second my mom unlocked the door of the house, I was gone.  I slid across the room, did a ninety degree turn to the staircase that led to my room, and dashed up the stairs.  Sitting at my desk with my new video game, I took out a pair of scissors and cut the plastic coating off.  (Snip!  Snap!)  I cracked the case open and took out the cartridge.  Finally, I got my brother's 3DS and plugged in the cartridge. "Beep" it turned on, and I began to play.

         When I finished playing it for the day, it was dinner time.  I ran down the stairs and sat at the dinner table.  I ate everything on my plate. After dinner, we had vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, also known as “Neopolitan.”  When I finished, I went upstairs to watch television!  Since it was a Saturday night, there was nothing good on, so I went to my room to go to sleep!! As I drifted off to sleep, I reflected that even though the aquarium was boring, at least I got to spend time with my family and cousins. 

Sydney R. 5Ca

                                     

My First Snorkel

The summer breeze whipped my long locks side to side, instantly relaxing me. The sun beat down on my mother and me as we walked the perimeter of the one beach island. The grainy sand tickled our wet feet. Lengthy palm trees swayed as if dancing to the sound of the white- capped waves crashing onto the shore. Seagulls swooped down into the cold water, gulping down squirming fish. Our boat bobbed in the water. Our captain eagerly awaited our return. The gleaming clouds tip-toed across the clear blue sky. A bright flash from my mother’s camera snapped me awake. The beauty of Sandy Spit couldn’t be captured by even the finest of cameras.

I jolted to a stop, nearly tripping over a rock with jagged, mean- looking edges. In the corner of my eye, I could see a purple blur swirling by. Gingerly, I bent over to see what was lurking in the water, careful not to disturb the creature. I was flabbergasted! A plum-colored, watermelon-sized octopus spun around me. The underwater creature stared at me keenly then raced of into the never-ending ocean. I hurtled over several rocks to catch up to my mom, still astonished by my encounter with the rarely seen animal.

We had visited many islands that breathtaking afternoon. My family was on a boat tour through the U.S. Virgin Islands. I vividly remember docking at an island so small it looked like a spit of sand compared to the other islands surrounding it.  It was when we docked that I decided I wanted to go snorkeling for the first time ever.

“Are you ready?” my dad asked. He fastened the buckle to my life jacket and tightened my goggles. I knew I was ready, but refused to admit it. My stomach churned at the thought of the many Shark Week episodes I had watched previously. There could be anything out there. But I was willing to take the risk.

I gulped in fear as my ankles touched the water. Then my knees. Then all the way to my ribs. I gulped in fear again. There was no turning back. I squeezed my father’s hand. All the way under. Thousands of unafraid fish swam around my feet. Bright, healthy coral reefs welcomed me to the underwater world. The sun illuminated the water. Crabs and lobster were scattered across the ocean floor searching for food. The ocean creatures danced together in harmony. Animals I have only read about or seen on television were swimming before my eyes. Seaweed swayed like the palm trees above. I was careful to steer away from swordfish slicing through the water like lightning cutting through the sky in a thunder storm. We kept swimming. I could see our boat bobbing through the water and the sturdy anchor buried deep in the ground. 

When the water grew dark, my father and I swam to the surface. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon. The sky was a kaleidoscope of vivid colors. The colors looked like they were painted on a canvas, then mixed together with a swirl of the paintbrush. Together we savored the last moment of the day. We swam back to the shore. I took off my heavy snorkel gear and stuffed it into our water proof beach bag. We zipped up and swam to the boat. I told my mother and sister everything that I saw. 

I took one last look at the island and the ocean where I first snorkeled. The boat’s engine roared and zoomed off into the ocean, the very mysterious, never-ending ocean.

Sean O. 5Ca

Snowboarding at Loon Mountain

            There I was at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire. It felt like it was -50 degrees out with 40 mile per hour winds. It was so cold out, I thought that I was going to turn into an ice cube. The icy winds felt like knives skinning off my cheeks. It smelled like dying trees with dirty snow.  I already felt like purchasing some hand warmers, but my dad said we should wait until we did a few trails.  I looked around and barely saw any little kids.  All the kids who were there were just in the “Shack,” drying the snow off their equipment or eating French fries from the lunch stand.

I started off on an easy green trail because of the strong winds.  After awhile, I got used to the winds and thought about going to the top of the mountain.  Up there, there were harder trails colored blue.  I heard my stomach growl so I asked my dad to get some food.  For some reason, my dad said with a nice smile, “Sure!”  Usually he would say “no” or “maybe later” with a chuckle.  Inside the “Shack” it smelled better than McDonalds.  It smelled like greasy pizza, steaming hot French fries, and chicken tenders.  It was also cool because there were arcade games and machines that you put your gloves on them and they dry off all the snow.  My dad was in a hurry, so I only got to eat French fries and chicken tenders.  They tasted like heaven while they exploded my taste buds.  My dad said, “You want some help eating those tenders?”  I knew he was joking!  I did not want my dad to wait any longer, so I stuffed the last one in my mouth.                      

As soon as I stepped back outside, it felt as cold as Mount Everest.  My two friends Anna and Luke were right behind me, along with my dad.  We went up to the top of the mountain where the blue trails were; the harder ones.  Up there, the winds were stronger than ever.  While I was strapping on my snowboard, I saw my two friends skiing off the chair lift.  They did not need to strap in because they had skis.    The temperature was so cold up there, for some reason it felt like it was burning my skin!  When all of us were done strapping on our equipment, we started to go down the hill.  From the beginning of the ride down, I did a good job, but then realized I was out of control, going too fast. I went on a jump and flipped, and landed on my back. ”Oooww!” I started to panic and all I wanted to do was get down to the bottom of the mountain. I was shaking and thinking I must have just broken a bone. “I am scared!” I shivered to my dad. He responded,  “I will lead the way down.” Once I got to the bottom, my ankles were hurting because I did so many wipe-outs.                                      

Once I knew I was safe and didn’t have any broken bones, I had some hot cocoa at the lodge and found myself in a very happy place.

Rachel A. 5Ca

Pureto Rico 2013

It was 3 a.m., and my family, my friend Charlie, and I were leaving for Puerto Rico in a half hour. “It’s freezing out,” I exclaimed, stepping outside. Light coming in blinded my eyes for a second. “Dennis is here,” I yelled into the house. (Dennis is our driver.) My mom and dad came rushing down. Plopping into a nice warm car felt good.

   The plane ride didn’t seem too long; it was only about three hours. Charlie and I were talking when, all of a sudden, a rush of sunlight brushed my face, telling me I was finally in Puerto Rico. Once we arrived at our hotel, the view from our room was breathtaking. We had a great view of the beach and also a very well-kept courtyard. (We even got to see a wedding from the balcony!) As soon as we were unpacked, Charlie and I raced down the stairs to…disappointment. The beach had red flags everywhere…no one could go swimming because the waves and wind were too dangerous. Luckily, the water slide was open. We must have spent over an hour on there. After a long day of travel, it was finally time to go to bed.

   “Coqi coqi coqi,” the alarm clock went off. I sprang out of my bed and got dressed. “Charlie, wake up!!” I anxiously said. Charlie looked at the clock and sprang out of bed. “I’m hungry. What about you?”  Charlie asked. “I’m starving,” I responded. “Let’s go down to the café!”

The sun was shining in our faces and Charlie’s hazel hair flew back in the breeze, as did mine.  “I’m going to get a pina colada, what about you?” I asked Charlie. Charlie responded, ”Me too.” The thought of a pina colada made my mouth water.

  I knew I was going to get something else also, because today we were going to the El Junque rainforest and I would need a lot of energy. All of a sudden, we heard a rumble. I checked outside and realized it was the shuttle bus pulling in. My parents came down in a rush, we all plopped into the shuttle bus, and we were on our way.

  When we pulled up to the rainforest, my jaw dropped.  It was amazing! There were different shades of green everywhere. It was like looking at a crayon box with only green in it. The wooden planks creaked under me as I walked across the bridge. There was an outdoor gift shop. Everything in there was so unique, from wooden coqi whistles to hand made clay jewelry. The tour guide said we only had 15 minutes to shop before we got to explore this fantastic forest. I got a coqi whistle and a pair of clay earrings.

   The first stop of our tour was a waterfall. The rocks gleamed in the sun; the water crashed down like waves on the shore during a hurricane. Our second stop was a rustic tower with a lot of stairs. As we finally arrived at the top, there was a breathtaking view of shades of green everywhere going on for miles and miles.

 Finally we arrived at the six-mile walk. It looked really fun with green everywhere and big leaves and vines to swing on.  However, it was pure torture. We had to stop every time we saw a new thing; some things were very interesting, like the coqi frog. Coqi frogs are an orangeish-brown color which camouflages it in the night. Its cute little sound is heard throughout the country of Puerto Rico. When we finally arrived at the El Junque waterfall, the water crashing down made it seem like the water was having a very loud argument. “Looks cold,” I pronounced shivering.

“ I agree,” Charlie replied.

   We shimmied ourselves into our bathing suits, and the tour guide painted golden dust on our faces.  “Are you ready?” I questioned Charlie.

She answered,  “Yes!”

“Let’s do it!” I finally said.  My foot numbed as I placed it in the bitter, icy water. I hesitated before I placed my other foot in the bitterly cold water. The smooth rocks felt good underneath my numb feet is I eased into the water. As soon as I got a little deeper, I relaxed. Charlie and I raced to the waterfall. It was a tie according to my dad. The rushing water felt as if water dropped on your head from 100 miles up in the air.

    I rushed out of the water and dried off. The second I got my body out of the water, a cold burst of air crept all over my body. It felt great to wrap myself in a warm towel and put warm clothes on. It was a six mile walk back up and I dreaded it.  Fortunately, I did find 10 coqi frogs, six salamanders and two lizards which made the walk more bearable. Once the dreadful walk was over, everyone loaded up in the van and we went to have lunch. Along the way we stopped at some landmarks including the old San Juan towers. 

“Charlie, isn’t this cool?” I asked

“Yes!!” she answered.

After touring the landmarks, we stopped at a very good restaurant called El Casita. Charlie and I split mac and cheese, tostones (a fried plantain), and steak with juca and chimi churi sauce. It was delightful! After lunch everybody loaded up in the van.

   On our way to the hotel, we passed a horse farm, and lucky for us, the tour guide knew the owner of the farm and we got to get a quick ride. The chestnut color of the young colt, Dreme, was stunning. Her fur was finely brushed and ready to ride. I swung my leg over the black silky saddle and began to ride. The crisp air blew my hair back as I rode through the vast fields. Nobody else was in sight except for Charlie on her chocolate brown horse trailing behind us.

    A screeching noise came out of nowhere. It sent the horses flying back to the stable. I had to get a good grasp on the horse so I wouldn’t fly off. Dreme came to a sudden halt, which sent me soaring through the air and I landed on a stack of hay.

Luckily, I wasn’t hurt; I walked back over to Dreme and led her to her stall. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a peppermint; I know that horses love them. I cupped the peppermint in my hand and put my hand close to Dreme’s muzzle and let her eat it.

  “Vaminos!” Alexander, the tour guide, yelled to us. The farm was only five minutes away from the hotel, so it wasn’t that long of a ride. On the way to the hotel, Alexander gave us a quiz on the El Junque rainforest. Charlie and I got most of the answers right. Once we got to the hotel, we were both exhausted and went to bed.     This was one of the best days of my life and surely one to remember. The day was filled with exciting and new experiences that I got to enjoy with my best friend and my family. Maybe someday you can go to El Junque too!  

Peter B. 5Ca

The Final Shot

My basketball team was down by 20 points, and we were not doing very well. You could feel the tension in the air and cut it with a knife. Our coach called a timeout and started telling us what we were doing wrong. "We need to get a tighter defense and hold our follow through, whenever we take our shot," he said. The timeout was over and we had possession. I passed the ball to the guard and he brought the ball up the court. I set a screen for him and he rolled off of the pick. Right when he rolled off the pick, I did a pick and pop. That's when you set a screen, go to the open space, and take the shot.  So, that's exactly what I did! I took the shot, and I made it; we were now down by 18.

It was the best feeling ever. My adrenaline was pumping and I felt like we were back in the game. The other team brought the ball down the court and we were playing in a 2-3 zone. A 2-3 zone is when there are two guards at the top of the key. The two forwards are down on the sides and the center in the middle. The guard on the other team brought the ball down the court and looked eager to score. His eyes were huge, his face was red, and he was hyper-focused. You could tell he was looking to score. He passed to the left side, but I stole it and I took off. I went for the left hand layup and I made it. Now, we were down by 16.

The guard on the other team looked like he really wanted to score, so I needed to get tighter defense on him. He passed to the right side to make sure that I didn't steal the ball again. The pass was good and they score. I brought the ball in and was ready to blow the lid off the place. I dribbled down the court as fast as I could, weaving in and out of all the players. The pressure was building to get to the other end of the court; it felt like hours until I was finally under the basket and took the layup. SCORE!  

Next, the other team got the ball. They began passing from player to player. Left, right, right, left. It was exhausting. I finally stole the ball again, but as I was dribbling down the court, another kid fouled me and I got a free throw. YES!!! A lot of pressure was on me because if I made this, my team would only be down by 11. I took the shot, I made it, and now we were down by 11.

After the free throw, the other team brought the ball down the court. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to stop them, but I kept the faith. My coach called, "Man-to-Man.” A man to man is when you pick up a man and you stay with him until your coach calls a different play. But, since we don't know the other team members’ names, we just screamed out their numbers on their jerseys. The point guard passed to my man and I blocked it! I knocked it out of bounds with a good smack. Since I slapped it out of bounds it was the other team’s ball, but still,it was a good play. Once I knocked it out of bounds, the crowd started going crazy. Beeeeeeeeeeeeep! It was the end of the third quarter.

After a quick drink and some instructions from our coach, it was the start of the fourth quarter. Someone passed the ball to me and I brought it up the court.  I took my time moving up the court with the ball. Everybody on my team was echoing each other screaming, "Here, here! I'm open, I'm open!" I screamed to them, "Go to the basket!" Finally, a kid on my team was open so I passed to him, he went in, and scored.

At this point we were all screaming at each other because now we were only down by 9. Our coach screamed out, "Put on the defense.” This play is when the other team passes in the ball and I try to steal it. So, that's exactly what I did. He passed it in, I tipped it, then got control of the ball. Once you tip the ball it flies into the air and it is a fight to recover. Fortunately, I did recover and I scored. Now we were down by seven. Our coach kept on saying “Put on defense,” so that's what we kept on doing. The other team passed it in. I tipped it again, my team got my tip and put it in. We were down by five points. All I was thinking to myself was, “I can't give up now.”

The other team had possession and dribbled right by five of our players. I stole it and passed it up the court where my teammate got it and put it up. Now, we were down by only three. We continued to put up our defense, but they got by us again. I felt like I was in a fight for my life. I couldn’t lose now! I cut in and out, circled everyone, and followed the ball as if it was a piece of candy. I scored! We were down by one!  I felt like an all-star, like no one could stop me. They got by us and were running down the court. I stole it back and thought to myself, “That was a close one!”  I was running down the court with 10 seconds left. As the audience counted down, “Three, two, one…” I threw the ball from almost half of the court….score!!!  The game was over and we had won!

The crowd went wild. I felt as if I was Kobe Bryant and made the last basket of the championship game! This was my game! I did this; I led my team to the win! All these thoughts ran through my head as I left with my dad. He patted me on the back and said, ‘You were amazing!”

 "This was the best day ever," I responded, smiling up at him.