Hoosiers Essay -- essays research papers

Hoosiers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As driving into Hickory, Indiana, a tiny town, I see that every house has a basketball hoop on the side of their barn. The little town consists of one main street. It has the local supermarket, barbershop, hardware store and some other small stores. While driving on the main street, I noticed that everyone notices a stranger coming into town. That is how small Hickory is. Driving into the high school parking lot I see that the girls dominate the young men by far. Looking around I also see that everyone is talking about the basketball game that night.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When hearing that Norman Dale was going to coach a high school basketball team, I figured it was worth a shot to see how he would handle high school basketball rather than college. His experience in college was once hailed, but then dramatically failed. I was glad that I took the time to see how much talent coach Norman Dale could dish out of his players. I heard through some townspeople that the practices were unreal. Coach Dale was very intense and had the young men were worked very hard. Coach Dale believed that in every practice it should be helping you to get better for your next game and how you practice is how you play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were only nine players on the team and they did have talent. It was whether or not it all worked was up to coach Dale. From watching their first game to the game, there was a great journey that the Hickory Hoosiers had. So many things happened and many memories were made. It is a special journey that needs to be shared.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hoosiers started out rough, but held their composure. They were losing and the townspeople didn’t like how coach Dale was coaching. They disagreed with his decisions that he made during the game and they didn’t like his attitude. Coach Dale believed that his style of coaching was appropriate and he wasn’t going to change. The townspeople decided to have a meeting to see whether or not they should keep coach Dale. The players were waiting for the answer of if Coach Dale was being fired. The players felt that Coach Dale shouldn’t be let go. As the meeting was going on a young man, Billy, from school who was in excellent basketball player but didn’t play on the team, due to his home life, came to talk. He said that he would come and p... ...o have a chance to win. The Hoosiers got lucky and made a terrific steal to get the ball back. A time out was called and Coach Dale told a play to run with 16 seconds to go. The players slumped in their chairs. Coach Dale didn’t know what was going on and asked them to tell him. The guys wanted Billy to take the last shot. Billy said he would make it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With 16 seconds left Billy dribbled the ball up the court and took his time. Five seconds were left and Billy took three dribbles and pulled up for the shot, nothing but the bottom of the net. The entire place went crazy. The little town of Hickory all rushed the floor. The Hickory Hoosiers were a team of composure and a team that would do anything to win. To see a team from the first game and to the last, it was quite a journey. The love for the game was expressed through the coach to his players and from the players to the coach. The journey is now over but will never be forgotten. This journey shows that no matter how small you are, no matter where you come from, or the past doesn’t matter. What does matter is how much heart you put into something. What a great journey.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚