Samar Karna '18 Recruiting Profile

There were twenty seconds on the clock. Time was ticking and we were down by one point. The game had already gone into overtime, and both teams were putting their all into these last few seconds. Suddenly the ball flew towards me, and I weaved in between the players, passing the ball and trying to find an open spot on the court. We were at ten seconds. I leaped into an opening just as the ball made it into my hands, and glanced at the clock. Five seconds. “Just like you’re dipping your hand into a cookie jar”; my coach’s words resonated in my hands, and instinctively I turned my body into shooting position. Bend, jump, shoot. As the ball spiraled into the net, the screams of the crowd, which I previously reduced to background noise, became music to my ears. My team won the game, and it was just another reminder about why I loved playing basketball. I spent most of my life dribbling up and down the court, playing game after game, and molding my practices to get the best version of my performance. However, I didn’t realize that I was also molding my character to be the best version of myself.

When I was younger, I would struggle a lot academically; my grades would constantly fluctuate and I did not have the discipline to maintain a definite study regimen. Video games and playing with friends became a habit, one that I later realized was unhealthy. All this changed as I stepped into my first basketball practice.

The coach immediately threw me a basketball and told me to run laps around the court. He made me stretch until I ached all over, shooting balls until my arms could barely move. I had only seen basketball games on television before I came, yet this sudden jump into basketball shocked my system. After about two hours of pushing and pushing my body to the limit, practice ended. The coach only said one sentence to us as we left: “Good work boys, be prepared for many more days of the same thing.”

Basketball taught me how to persevere in the face of adversity, both physically and mentally. Several hours of practice were followed by several hours of mapping out the court, pushing past fears of failure and learning to make mistakes as well as prevent them. In order to succeed on the court, I had to create a routine schedule of practices, conditioning, and exercises. These principles gradually seeped into my daily life. My grades got better as I began to study with discipline; I spent more time thinking about my future and had thoughtful conversations with my coaches and teammates about my long term goals. Basketball became a lifestyle for me - I had a brotherhood to rely on for encouragement and motivation, and the game itself enhanced my strategic thinking skills as well as the ability to create good habits and rid myself of the bad.

With the implementation of a new lifestyle and a new interest, I turned my life around by 180 degrees. Instead of relying on chance and leisure time, I gained a work ethic and a dedication to pursue my goals. I spent many hours a week perfecting my performance on the court, yet instead of losing myself in the sport, I utilized my time so that I could get the best of both worlds. I continued basketball with the intent of pursuing it in college, and began researching other interests, such as STEM and medicine. As I reach the next milestone in my education and in life, I know that my success was because of the principles instilled in me by a sport, a team, and a goal. A goal to maintain work ethic, dedication, and discipline towards whatever I choose to pursue; I owe it all to a ball and a game.