2017-01-04

【Aiden in English】

        Since the first grade, there was a mutual understanding that dawned upon my soul. I was not going to be a sports superstar. There was simply no athletic traits that were given to me, physically or mentally. Therefore, the idea of sports became nothing more than an exercise. Later on, when slight talents were found, they were very quickly disregarded due to lack of time or practice. When I happened to sign up for Township Rec Basketball, it was a few years late.

        I’m in the eighth grade at present. What that means is that if you have shown basketball talent, you probably already started years ago or have even made school and travel teams. Well, sorry to disappoint, but I do not have the talent or the determination to try out.

        So why, you might ask, are you starting now? Actually, it was my mom who presented the idea, and after two years of quitting soccer, I’m not sure why I agreed to play basketball. Yeah, the doc said at birth that I would be tall, but either I am going to have an enormous growth spurt in high school or the doc flipped a few numbers (I’m fairly average about 6’7” right now). Oddly, this is quite beneficial to me, since my height is right between the point guard and small forward positions. Unlike at the 76er’s Summer Camp in 2015, when I just standing at 5’2” or so would stack me up against large centers and power forwards, I preferred to work the perimeter of the court, using the three-point line like a measuring mark. Moving forward, I become more and more restricted, as my playstyle is extremely passive. The further I get into the paint, the less mobility and usefulness I have. Other than a kick out or a quick bounce pass to a nearby teammate, there isn’t much to do within that small constricted area. Therefore, I want to explain some more of my first game, I shoot threes and mid-range jumpers. Although I’m not too trigger-happy, when I get hot, don’t expect me to pass up an open look. So far in practices and the one game we’ve had, I always had hit a three, but I don’t take many.

        As for the first game, I’m not going to talk about it much. It was kind of a blow out in our favor. After our offense took an early 20 point lead, the game slowed down to a defensive stalemate. And yes, the other team did not make a comeback.

        A new road appears on the horizon with me. Most of the time, these kinds of paths quickly lead to absolutely nowhere and simply depression. However, there always is a flicker of hope in every child, in which one day he or she can grow to be as good as those standing up-top the world. And now it is my time to imagine my dream.

【红霞译文】

        自打小学一年级起，我心中便明白自己将来不会成为体育明星，无论从体格上还是精神上，本人丝毫没有任何运动素质，因此体育运动不过是锻炼身体的代名词，后来即便发掘出丁点体育潜力，不是因为没工夫就是因为缺乏练习，总之很快落入被遗忘的角落，等我重新报名参加乡村娱乐篮球队，一晃过去了几年。

        现在我是初中三年级学生，言外之意，假如你有篮球天赋，恐怕几年前早已开始或者加入校队和游击队了。哦千万别失望，我非但没啥运动特长，甚至连参加选拔赛的勇气都拿不出来。

        说到这里，你可能要问为什么现在又开始打球了呢？其实这纯粹是妈妈的主意，我已从足球队退役两年，不知为什么竟然同意重打锣鼓另外鼓捣篮球。没错，刚出世时医生曾说我会长得很高，但眼下我个头中等（约67英寸／1.7米），或许要到高中才会窜个子，或许医生信口开河。奇怪的是，平均身材反倒让我大沾便宜，因为现有身高恰好介于组织后卫和小前锋之间，不像2015年参加的七六人队夏令营，那时本人顶多62英寸／1.57米左右，大中锋和大前锋把我夹得真够瓷实。因此我喜欢打外围，在三分线附近迂回，要是继续向前场进攻，技术发挥将大打折扣，毕竟我打球风格太过被动，越是往禁区里面钻，越是在跑动性和对抗性方面露怯，除了前场接应或者把篮板球就近传给队友，小小限制区于我并无多少用武之地。借此机会我想解析一些有关首场比赛现况，我中距离跳投投进三分球，尽管并非有意逞能，可一旦打入高潮并偶遇没人阻拦的空档，休想指望我把球传出去。截至到目前为止，在所有训练和一场比赛中，我好赖都投进了三分球，但每次不多不少只有一个。

        对于首场比赛我不想细说，本队有点走运，上半场单凭进攻就领先廿分。随后，比赛节奏减慢，两队防守对峙好一阵子，没辙儿，对方还是回天乏术。

        地平线上一条崭新的道路出现在我面前，大多时候这类羊肠小径不是很快成为绝路，就是死活行不通。然而，每个孩子都满怀希望，期待有朝一日他／她也能如愿以偿站在世界之巅，现在该是我拥抱梦想的时候了。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2014： Tala Private Game Reserve, SA(南非塔拉私营禁猎区)

2011： 报复心理(Revenge)