From Soccer to Basketball: My Sports Story

Photo Courtesy of Alexa Sandler

I think that via this blog, we have clearly established that I love sports. What you may not know is that I actually played sports throughout most of my childhood. From the moment I could walk, I was playing sports. However, I faced a lot of adversity as I was incredibly small (and still am). I never let it stop me from chasing what I wanted and playing whatever sport I wanted. From the grass to the hardwood, I want to share with you my sports journey.

Photo Courtesy of Alexa Sandler

In 2004, I started to play soccer. I was 5 years old, and I was fiery and energized beyond compare. Scoring goals left and right, I enjoyed playing the forward position. I even ended up playing backup goalie for a few years. Soccer was everything to me growing up. It was all I would do and all I would talk about. I played for over 10 years. In 2012, my family moved from Michigan to California. I knew that soccer was the way I was going to assimilate to this new and unfamiliar place. After settling into California, my mom signed me up for the local recreational soccer league right away, and I suddenly found some peace after moving.

Photo Courtesy of Alexa Sandler

In 2013, I entered high school and thought it was time for a change after many years of playing soccer. So, naturally, 5' 2" me decided to tryout for the basketball team. Yeah, crazy right? I had always loved shooting hoops at the park by my home, so why not give basketball a shot? Well, from the moment I stepped on the harwood for tryouts, I never stepped off until I graduated in 2017. Basketball was my whole life in high school. I was put on the Frosh/Soph team, was named starting point guard, and captain. However, during a game, I suffered a buckle fracture of my left wrist and was out for 3 weeks. After that, I was back and better than ever. I won't get into too many stats and details about my basketball career, but I will highlight some of my achievements that crossover from my time on the Frosh/Soph (2 seasons), JV (1 season), and Varsity (1 season) teams.

• Starting point guard for 3 seasons

• Captain for 3 seasons

• Winner of Most Improved Player Award (2014), MVP (2015), Coach's Award (2016), and Titian of the Year Award (2017)

Basketball also took me to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to play on Team Orange County in the 2015 Maccabi Games and Arts Fest. That was truly a fun and unique experience where I played basketball with some new teammates for the summer and played on a different stage than my high gym. It was the biggest basketball tournament I had ever played in and it was an extremely rewarding experience even though we didn't place.

Photo Courtesy of Alexa Sandler

All of my stats are buried somewhere, but the numbers aren't that important to me. This was a time of personal growth, leadership growth, and communication growth. I learned so much by playing basketball, and I am very thankful for my four years of experiences with the sport. It gave me confidence when sometimes I felt as though I wasn't good enough. After graduating in 2017, I hung up my basketball shoes for good.

Entering college, I had no intention of being involved with sports. That is until I got involved with sports photography - as I'm sure you know if you are reading this blog. For more on that story check out my blog titled "What It's Like to be a Sports Photographer".

After having an extremely nostalgic moment writing this post, I look back fondly on playing sports and the role it played in making me the person I am today. My experience playing sports seems like such a distant memory now. It's kind of weird how things that were your whole life in the past are now just a memories in the depths of your mind.

What is your sports story?