It’s a Wednesday night, around 10 p.m. I’m walking back to Brookdale in my practice jersey, with my Macs gym bag slung across my back. As I enter the elevator, I get a comment or two: “Wow, what team are you on?” or “You guys really just got back? It’s so late!?” I can tell from their tone that these people don’t understand how I put up with this schedule. They would never guess that I consider signing away five months of my school year to the basketball team to be one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to Stern.
As an incoming freshman, I came into Stern not knowing anyone. I quickly realized that meeting people would not be a problem because everyone in my freshman class was so friendly and welcoming. Nevertheless, I was still in search for a stronger sense of community at Stern. Joining the basketball team seemed like the perfect solution. At tryouts in the Norman Thomas Gym, we were a group of 12 girls who didn’t know each other’s names, but by the end of the season we had become a family. The friendships formed from three-hour bus rides and team Shabbats are incomparable.
The coaches also built up our team’s sense of family by providing us with constant love and support. After a successful win, we would all gather with our coaches as they praised us for our hard work and endurance. After a grueling loss, our coaches gave us constructive criticism on how we could improve our skills to win next time.
I can’t pretend that being on the basketball team isn’t a huge time commitment. Starting mid October, we practiced from 8-10 every night, Sundays through Thursdays. By the end of November, we were playing games once or twice a week, and went on a few weekend tournaments. Initially, I was not sure how I could juggle my class work and social life with the team schedule. However, I quickly learned the proper time management techniques to successfully manage my hectic and demanding schedule. I used all of my spare time to get work done or hang out with friends instead wasting time mindlessly surfing the Internet. After honing my time management skills, I would go to sleep feeling that much more accomplished, knowing how many activities and learning I had fit into my jam-packed day. My time constraints taught me how to focus on only one goal, and forget about other worries in the moment.
Although being on a team has its challenges, I have learned that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. While I am not advocating for everyone to join one of the sports teams at Stern, I do believe that being involved in some form of a club or team is very important to maximizing one’s experience at Stern. Being on a team or a club gives each us of a chance to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
“Why I Joined a Team”- One Player Speaks Out
It’s a Wednesday night, around 10 p.m. I’m walking back to Brookdale in my practice jersey, with my Macs gym bag slung across my back. As I enter the elevator, I get a comment or two: “Wow, what team are you on?” or “You guys really just got back? It’s so late!?” I can tell from their tone that these people don’t understand how I put up with this schedule. They would never guess that I consider signing away five months of my school year to the basketball team to be one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to Stern.
As an incoming freshman, I came into Stern not knowing anyone. I quickly realized that meeting people would not be a problem because everyone in my freshman class was so friendly and welcoming. Nevertheless, I was still in search for a stronger sense of community at Stern. Joining the basketball team seemed like the perfect solution. At tryouts in the Norman Thomas Gym, we were a group of 12 girls who didn’t know each other’s names, but by the end of the season we had become a family. The friendships formed from three-hour bus rides and team Shabbats are incomparable.
The coaches also built up our team’s sense of family by providing us with constant love and support. After a successful win, we would all gather with our coaches as they praised us for our hard work and endurance. After a grueling loss, our coaches gave us constructive criticism on how we could improve our skills to win next time.
I can’t pretend that being on the basketball team isn’t a huge time commitment. Starting mid October, we practiced from 8-10 every night, Sundays through Thursdays. By the end of November, we were playing games once or twice a week, and went on a few weekend tournaments. Initially, I was not sure how I could juggle my class work and social life with the team schedule. However, I quickly learned the proper time management techniques to successfully manage my hectic and demanding schedule. I used all of my spare time to get work done or hang out with friends instead wasting time mindlessly surfing the Internet. After honing my time management skills, I would go to sleep feeling that much more accomplished, knowing how many activities and learning I had fit into my jam-packed day. My time constraints taught me how to focus on only one goal, and forget about other worries in the moment.
Although being on a team has its challenges, I have learned that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. While I am not advocating for everyone to join one of the sports teams at Stern, I do believe that being involved in some form of a club or team is very important to maximizing one’s experience at Stern. Being on a team or a club gives each us of a chance to be part of something bigger than ourselves.