Flying through it all

Just a story about some tall, lanky guy

I remember at school there was this bloke. He was never one of the big sporting heroes, just some tall, lanky guy. He played on the basketball team, but at our school no one cared about basketball, you were only popular if you played cricket or league, and well he didn't. People didn't notice how good he was, didn't notice that he could shot 3's like there was no tomorrow, or that he could continually crossover the ball between his legs until the opposition was so confused that all they could do was move out of his way, or that he could launch himself up and fly from the charity strip and slam it into the hoop. No one noticed much, cause then again who cares about basketball?

Then one day some of the 'popular' people went to a game, saw him play, saw what a genius he was with the ball in his hands. They were fascinated by just how good he was, amazed in fact, so he became one of them. It was like a dream come true for him, he started making the teams, people were coming to the games, he was scoring, rebounding, handing out assists, all working like clockwork. It was brilliant! Then one day, during the final training session, before the final game, his knee went. The ligaments in his knee tore right through. No more basketball, no more fame.

It didn't stop him though, oh no, as soon as the surgery was done, and he could walk, he started on the rehab. I mean, I don't know how he did it. He just wanted to be where he was before, to play the games to score. He simply loved being on that polished deep brown wooden floor. So each day he worked on the rehab, tears welling in his eyes, his knee constantly failing under him. He worked so hard at it, I could see just how much it hurt, how much pain he went under. Each step and every stretch he would grimace and screw his face up in anguish. But he kept on going, regardless. Each day, day in, day out.

We came to the final year of school, he had still been working on his knee, and finally he had got it right. He started playing on the team again, mainly just sitting on the bench and instructing the other players on plays to begin with, but eventually he began to get some court time. A few minutes here and there, working the perimeter and setting up the plays. After a while, about mid-season, he got his style and confidence back. The team ran by his rules, and won nearly every single time.

Eventually the finals came around, he was there to lead the team, but the opposition wasn't as soft as the other teams they'd played, it was proving to be a tough game. The other team had good defense, and they were only scoring from the perimeter, it was down to him in the final minutes to win it. Went up, going for an inside hook shot and came down hard on his knee. It hurt to see his face, clenched and gnarled and contorted as the pain overwhelmed him, but somehow he kept playing.

As each minute passed he played harder and harder, limping up and down the court, somehow scoring and helping the team along. Eventually the team lost, a narrow victory, but he didn't seem to care. He worked so hard to get where he was going, and when he got there, he worked hard to keep it. He achieved what he set out to do.

With determination you can face the biggest challenges in your life. Check out some of the other great stories and resources on ReachOut.com about achieving your goals.

• Just another step (Video)
• Setting goals (Fact sheet)
• Putting your goals into action (Fact sheet)