Outside Bridgewater Middle School, a group of students participated in an intense game of basketball. Bridgewater is located in Winter Garden, Florida. The school is for students in grades 6-8. It was a hot, sunny day, which may have affected the athlete’s ability to play their best. The game was part of an everyday gym class, which means many of the kids were not experienced basketball players, they were simply having fun.
At first, the game was off to a great start! The first two players on each team made fantastic layups. Although layups are some of the easiest shots to make, it does require skill. The students were able to maneuver around the opposing players in order to score.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be the best two plays of the game. After that, many shots were taken, but only a few points were scored. A few students tried to score 3 pointers, but no one was successful.
A great aspect of this game was that the players did not give up. They all seemed to get along and support each other. Even when a player didn’t make the shot, their teammates still encouraged them. (This is a big deal in middle school because not everyone shows sportsmanship, I know I don’t). This may have been a good lesson for me to learn that day.
As the game continued, the students kept trying to score. At this point, the score was 19-15 and pretty low on the action. One student tried to make a heavily contested inside paint shot, he ended up missing miserably. The ball actually went over the fence and nearly drilled me in the right arm. This is when I knew, these students were not serious athletes. I had to throw the ball back to the players so the game could continue.
I thought the game was pretty much over at this point, until… a student made a double team half court shot. This was an incredible feat, definitely not one I was expecting due to the way this game was going. It was a nice ending to a pretty much average game. 
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