- 2012/13 Season
Personal Statement
Hello my name is Seth Bennett and I am a senior at Meeteetse High School. I am a proud three-year letterer in Basketball and Track and have been awarded All-Conference and All-State in these three sports as well. I am also a four-year letterer in football and have been awarded All-Conference, All-State, and Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
I have had a passion for basketball since I can remember. I was seven years old when I started playing competitive games in youth recreational basketball league, 3 on 3's, and attending camps. It has always been a dream of mine to become a college basketball player. I know that it takes a lot of hard work and can be a hard goal to achieve, but I will continue to strive to achieve my dream. I have spent numerous hours in the gym and weight room working to make myself better so I can achieve this dream.
My motivation to achieve my goals and dreams are inspired by my childhood hero, Dusty Tuckness. Dusty was like my older brother growing up and took me under his wing. He always told people that he would some day become a Professional Bull Fighter. Many people thought that his dream was unrealistic and encouraged him to pursue a more traditional career. He would listen and explore other ideas but he never let go of his dream. What happened after high school was a surprise to many people, but not to me. Dusty went on and gave it his all and achieved his goal and more by being selected Bullfighter of the year three years now, and is currently fulfilling his career goal, being the most sought bullfighter in the world. I learned a lot from Dusty but the most important thing that he taught me was to chase after my dreams and work as hard as I can to achieve my dreams. Dusty has also taught me to not let other people tell me I cannot do something like achieve my dream, because he is a perfect example of someone who did not give up and has now achieved his dream.
I am the type of person who will never give up and will give it my all no matter how hard the challenge or the score on the board. So far in my high school career we have had very tough seasons in both football and basketball. What I have learned from these seasons though is how important it is to never give up and to do my best for my team until the final buzzer. My sophomore year two minutes into our first football game of the season I broke my shoulder right at the top of the arm. I have always been one who has felt like they could never be hurt in a sport, until that evening when the ER doctor told me I wasn't going to like the news, my shoulder was broken and my football season was over. It was very tough for me stand on the sidelines all season and watch my teammates play and struggle through a winless season while it was killing me not being able to be out there helping them. This was one of my biggest disappointments in sports for me, but at the same time it created some positives. I say this because it taught me how to still be a leader and how to help my team from the sidelines and in practice. I became a more vocal leader and found some leadership skills that I did not know I had until then. I did exactly what the doctors told me and went to rehab in the mornings before school so I would not miss class and and did everything I could to get healed as fast as possible so that I would be 100% when the basketball season started. A week before the season started I was medically cleared and that same day I went to the gym and started shooting, dribbling, working on all the parts of my game, and lifting so that I could start getting back into shape and start making myself better. I took the leadership skills that I learned during the football season and combined them with my other skills and ended up having a pretty good season.
I believe the strongest aspect of my game is getting my whole team involved and my defense. I have always prided myself on being a pass first player. I learned at a young age that a team has to have all players involve to be successful, and as the point guard I can help make this happen. When I got into high school however, my coaches told me that being a pass first player is good, but I needed to start being a more all around player who looks to more than I was accustomed to in order for the team to be successful. This made me very nervous at first and it is still a little hard for me to do sometimes because I love getting my whole team involved, but I believe I have developed my game into a more all around player who can shoot, drive, pass, steal, block, and rebound. On the court I have great speed, quickness, good hands, court vision, jumping, and shooting, and coaches have complimented me for having a keen court sense. I currently have a vertical jump of 39" and am still looking to improve it a few more inches. Over the years I have played many different styles of basketball including slow-tempo and up-tempo styles. If given the opportunity to play basketball at the next level I promise to contribute to my team through hard work, applying and learning basketball knowledge, and of course working to execute the skills of the game to the best of my ability.
