Chapter 66:

It was Tina’s first day of practice.  The team has been running around the track for 10 minutes.  Tina is doing a good job of leading the small group of freshman.  Her class includes another shooting guard, a point guard and 2 forwards.  She was a few feet behind the older players.  This was a 15 minute session and the coach has advised her team that she expects the point guards to be the fastest on the team by the end of the season, even the freshman.

Tina was not promised a starting spot this year but she knew that if she worked hard during whatever playing time she gets, it would pay off.  The team will be losing 4 seniors at the end of the year, so she thought her chance would come next year.  Until then she is determined to earn every penny of that full scholarship.

“Hey Tina, you wanna pair up for shooting drills?”  Asked Hailey.  She is a senior guard.

“Sure.” Tina replied.

The coach liked for the upperclassmen to shoot with the younger players.  She found it often helped both players.  The older players stay on their toes because they are aware that coach can often take their minutes away if they begin to get lazy.  The younger players usually pick up some tips or pointers to improve their game simply by proximity.  It’s a win-win.

The players were to shoot 25 free throws, 25 jump shots from the right wing and 25 from the left.  The centers would shoot 25 from inside the paint and the guards would shoot 25 from beyond the three point arc.  Each player were told to aim to make at least 50% of their shots.  The player rebounding the ball would count the makes for the shooter.

Tina made 45 out of 100. Hailey made 68.  Tina was a little disappointed because she knew her shooting percentage was over 50% last year.  Is she getting worse or is she just nervous?

“Hey don’t hang your hang your head Tina.  You did much better than I did when I first ran that drill.” Hailey said.

“Really?”  Tina asked.

“Yes really.  In fact I believe the highest tally clocked by a freshman when I started was 31 out of 100.”