The Putney Pythons

Throughout the summer, whilst doing The Challenge, I had enjoyed learning about and playing basketball for fun. During The Challenge I had been playing with a coach from Let Me Play who said that I have some skill playing basketball, as well as some other staff, however I was still at a very beginner level. So I decided that I would like to pursue it properly as a hobby and tried out for an all girls basketball team, The Putney Pythons. I was accepted and when I spoke to the team coach, he said that I was good, however I needed practice if I really wanted to play well, hence I pursued it to become really good at basketball. At the beginning of each month my coach and I would set myself aims for me to reach by the end of that month. At the end of each season I would participate in the competitions with my team against teams from other places in London. Playing basketball is useful for CAS because I increase my awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth both physically and in technical skills for playing. Nearly every week I would undertake new challenges because we are always doing different training activities to test speed and agility and also playing matches between us. Being in a team I have to work collaboratively with other team players and it helps to show perseverance and commitment as I want to be there to have fun with the team and not miss any practice. Throughout every session I develop new and previous skills, but am always improving on these skills with practice, and in every session I strive to become an inquirer, knowledgeable, a thinker, a communicator, principled, caring, a risk-taker, balanced, all necessary things for playing basketball, and in fact any team sport.

This is a challenge for me because I have always just played basketball for fun and not as a serious sport. In each and every session I put my mind and my body through challenges to improve my skills and myself as a player. My coach is constantly setting me challenges and pushing me for improvement, one of the reasons is because I am the youngest in the team, which is also challenging because the other girls are in their twenties, however I managed to integrate with them in no time. Being the youngest also makes  the sessions more difficult because of the strength and skills these women already have however this makes me want to try harder to become like them. In the usual sessions, it is challenging physically and mentally because it is constant a constant cardio work out, non-stop running, and thinking about techniques to work together as a team to score as many baskets as possible and also to keep the opposing team from scoring as many baskets as possible.

Throughout the different sessions I have been set different aims that have been decided between my coach and me. My aims so far have been to to learn the basics of how a match works, be able to play basketball non-stop for five minutes on a small court, learn defence and offence techniques as a team and as an individual, learn to do lay-ups, learn to shoot properly, play one on ones with other players, be able to play basketball for five minutes non stop on a real-sized court, be able to play non-stop for 30 minutes on a real-sized court, become really fast and learn to jump high, learn how to dunk, learn how to trick opposing players when defending and offending. These have been increasing throughout the year, but the main aims for me were to get good at basketball and to get fit and healthy.

This activity is Action because playing basketball is a sport.especially when basketball is played properly I have found that it takes a lot of strength and continuous exercise. This activity has also been Creative because I have helped to design another team's uniform, The Putney Pelicans and other designs for the teams like logos.

Although I am still undertaking the activity two times a week, I have managed to meet most of my aims and I am aiming to be able to complete them fully before school ends. I really enjoy being part of a team although I am the youngest there as it is composed mainly of 20-30 year old girls which I don't find in any way to be a challenge as it helps to improve my communication and playing skills. I have developed a real passion for basketball and every time I am not able to go because I have to study for exams or something else I really miss it.