The Path Taken — Story of Jannis Canterfield

[beast10]

October 23rd, 2013



"Alright gentlemen, congratulations to you all for for making it past the first cuts. Today however is the final day of tryouts and obviously the most important. Both our JV and varsity team will be announced on this day. So today will be showtime for you all, we lost a lot of seniors from the roster so I'm really looking for those go-getters who'll be able to fill in the needs. And needless to say, I'm not going to be bias based on what class you're in, I'm looking for flat out talent who'll be able to contribute for basketball team. So once again; I suggest you put all your effort into today if you really want it."



I exhaled a deep breath, I was playing at such a great level the past few days but I still feared of not making it . . . I knew I had a lock on JV but varsity was my goal. I never wanted to settle for less than what was on the table and I wanted to make my father proud and I knew my mom was watching me from the Heavens. They both wanted to see me achieve so the bar was set high for me and I was going to make them both proud as well as myself.



"Alright so without further ado, let's get things started here, layup lines on each side of the court," Coach announced. "You miss, you do 20 suicides over by the sidelines."



----Tryouts Over----



"Okay guys, it's the moment we've all been breaking to hear. I've got the rosters for both the JV and varsity posted outside the gym. It was great having you all here for the past few days and I really do wish you luck. If you don't make it, there's always next year, just keep practicing."



I went back into the bleachers and grabbed all my belongs I'd placed there and said a quick prayer before heading out to see the sheet of paper that possibly held my destiny for the next four years here; a spot on varsity as a freshman . . .



I watched as guys looked at the paper as I stood against the wall waiting, some celebrating and then some looking down to the floor and walking out alone. When nearly everybody was gone I stepped up to the varsity sheet first and analyzed the hand written paper. I began to get worried as I searched up and down trying to find my name in bank of names listed 1-13 but with hope I squinted and found my name in the center of the paper reading 'Guard - Jannis Canterfield'



"I did it," I slowly and softly tapped my fist on the paper. "I made varsity, all the work really does pay off I guess."



"You made it too?" Bryson Langdon, a fellow freshman asked.



"Yeah."



"Cool man," He said. "But it's the battle of the only freshmen here, keep my seat warm bro."



"Yeah we'll see about that, may the best man win."



"Alright then Jay, I'll see you around."



I nodded and pulled my phone out of the sweatpants I had over my gym shorts and dialed my dad's number to tell him I made the team. I waited and waited but all I heard was the ringing on my line until it was finally confirmed a no answer call.

[mikeman54321]

#StupidCliffhanger

[ChosenOne58]

You like the cliffhangers, huh?

[BraedenG33]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChosenOne58

You like the cliffhangers, huh?

Well, I think we all know my opinion on cliffhangers.

[beast10]

Lol yeah cliffhangers are a great tool for when I no longer feel like writing anything haha.

But anyways I should have an update sooner or later. Not really into video games anymore but this won't die anytime soon.

[beast10]

October 24th, 2013



I was just getting out of ceramics when I finally started thinking about my future here. I pretty much had been dedicating all my time in the gym lately in preparation of the tryouts and it was good to see it payed off but at the same time I wasn't really focusing on school work nor taking advantage of any study hall sessions. I didn't really care much about it until progress reports came out this month and I saw that I wasn't nearly doing as good as I thought. Now it was critical that I stayed updated with my academics because I'm pretty sure as a freshman, a few slip-ups and I'll probably find myself back in the court yard wondering what I could do.



However, I left the thoughts behind and continued to walk towards the gymnasium with my duffel bag in hand, today was the first practice of the 2013-2014 varsity season and I was surprisingly not nervous whatsoever.



"Hey, Jannis wait up!"



I looked over my shoulder to see Alexis approaching from down the path. I turned around and stood still waiting for her. It was kinda awkward considering I kinda stopped talking to her after learning she wasn't single like I had thought.z



"Hey what's up?" I asked.



"Not much, I heard you made varsity?"



"Yeah, I was kinda shocked to be honest . . . You tried out for the girl's team?"



"Yeah I made junior varsity!" She said with a vivid smile.



"Oh well, maybe next year you'll make varsity . . ."



"Junior varsity is cool, a lot of my friends on on here so I'm fine."



"Yeah but varsity is better." I said with a little laugh.



"Whatever you say, good luck with your season."



"Yup."



With that I continued back to the gym hoping for a good day.



----Later This Day----



Later that day I found myself still in the gym drained in sweat because of the long practice and along with me was Bryson as we waited after all the others made their ways out, coach had told us to stick around because he wanted to talk to us. I was nervously wandering whether or not we were in trouble or not but then I started to come to a conclusion that it had to do with us being freshmen on varsity.



"Alright, so Jannis and Bryson," Coach said. "I kept you guys in here because I want to talk to you both about your role on the team and indeed it's growing. We've lost a lot of depth on the roster since last year and you guys are on this roster because you both have the talent and I'm starting to believe you two may be the top players off the bench, especially according to your performances' today . . . So basically my point of the matter is that you guys have nothing holding you back as freshmen, you both work hard and you'll find yourself high in the rotation in no time."



I didn't know what to say but the thought of already having the opportunity to contribute to the team in just my first year really intrigued me. I flashed a smile towards coach while nodding my head.



"Thanks coach, I'll definitely be putting in the extra work." Bryson said while lightly clapping his hands.



"I will as well, thanks for the chance coach."

[beast10]

With the season coming up I've got a question to any followers: would you guys rather see more of the off-court storylines or basketball focused?

[dodar]

Quote: Originally Posted by beast10

With the season coming up I've got a question to any followers: would you guys rather see more of the off-court storylines or basketball focused?

To be honest I much prefer the story but I think a detailed description of important games would really add to the thread