Ballin’ Since ‘09

By Emily Burich

My favorite hobby has always been basketball.  Ever since kindergarten, I’ve enjoyed the sport and being a part of a team.  I started playing when I was four years old for an organization called CYS.  I played with them until the eighth grade, after which I just played high school basketball.  I also joined club teams and organizations such as NJB and GameTime.  I played for my middle school team and met my best friend because of it.  I’m still very close with all of my past teammates and we have a special bond I’ll never forget.  The sport isn’t just a game or practice; to me, basketball means so much more.  It’s where I met friends that I can call family and it’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  As things in my life are constantly changing, the one thing that stays consistent is my love for basketball.  Especially when I’m having a bad day, I can go outside and shoot some baskets to make myself feel better.  A lot of my other friends play basketball as well, so over the summer, we went to the park almost every weekend to play and get some exercise.  This year, I played on the Varsity girls basketball team and we were League champs!  Basketball is so important to me and all the memories I have because of this amazing sport mean so much.