Only One Word To Describe It: MAGICAL!!!

Growing up I always loved the game of basketball. Part of that is probably due to the fact that I have five brothers and I was always out playing with them. We'd play out in the driveway for hours. I later went on to play Jr. Jazz, Junior High basketball, and then Varsity basketball. It was a great ride! I took a few years off of basketball and then came back to the game as a coach. I was the head Sophomore coach at Lone Peak high school for 3 years and my love for the game grew even more! One thing that I've noticed throughout all of these years of basketball is that everyone who plays dreams of making that last second buzzer beater shot to win the game. When I was younger I would launch shots from half court and imagine myself winning the game and having my teammates lift me up into the air in celebration.
As a coach I would practice those long shots with my team before practice. All of us dreaming of swishing that game winner. Anyone who has played the game knows what its like to dream of making that game winning buzzer beater, but very few ever really get the chance. Well, I got my chance this past Wednesday night:


Let me set the stage. Our church ball team is an AMAZING bunch of girls. We have played 6 or 7 games and had only lost one game, and that one had gone into overtime. It was a tough loss. So this week we had the chance for a rematch and played that team again. We came in HUNGRY for a victory! Our faithful fans came to cheer us on and it was quite a crowd! The game began and it was quite the battle. The score went back and forth throughout the game. With less than 10 seconds left the other team scored and we were down by one point. All I remember is that I wanted that ball in my hands. Lori passed the ball into Aubrey, I ran over and called for the ball and she passed it to me. I took a few dribbles up to half court, a couple of girls were running towards me, and all I knew is that I wanted my team to WIN. So with about 3 seconds left I took that half court shot that I had taken so many times before. My heart started to sink because it looked like there was no chance that ball was going in. Then, by some magical force, the ball suddenly dropped and SWISHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! It was nothing but net! The crowd went wild! My team stormed the court and we were all jumping up and down in pure excitement! Our fans came onto the court and we celebrated our VICTORY together! It was as though we had just won the state championship! In the hundreds of basketball games that I've played in throughout my life, I've never quite felt the excitement that I felt as I watched the buzzer beater fly through the net! Who knew that church ball could be so thrilling and fun!?!?!?

Go 15th Ward Ballers!!!