Miles was a normal boy. Pretty smart, good grades, but there was one thing that separated him from everyone else. He was a tremendous basketball player. He was team captain, starter and leading scorer. His life seemed to be perfect; he just turned 16 and got the car he had been hoping for. It seemed like nothing could go wrong, until the afternoon of July 8th, 2014. It started off a typical day. Everything was normal; he dominated basketball practice and got a 100 on a test. The day was going great (as usual) until basketball that afternoon.

“Faster,” his coach yelled.

“I’m trying, “he yelled back

The gym floor was as shiny as the sun. You could hear the squeaking of Mile’s basketball shoes. The coach ran over and showed him what he was doing wrong. He spoke with great tone telling Miles what to do. But the coach and Miles both knew something wasn’t right. Miles wasn’t doing as well as he normally does. Little did he know that it would only take one bad shot to end his basketball season, and that shot was about to happen. Miles jumped in the air, released the ball off his sweaty fingertips and knew it was going to be an air ball. Anger arose in Miles, and without thinking he was still in the air, he landed on the ground and his left ankle was in the shape of an “L”. You could hear Miles bone snap as he hit the floor. He rolled back and forth in pain. Everyone’s face turned white as they saw his broken Ankle. His coach rushed over to him and did that right thing.

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said in a calming voice, “you’re going to be fine.”

Nothing the coach was saying seemed to get to Miles though. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts.

The hospital was filled with people crowding the halls. Nurses were everywhere. He was forced to stay there overnight because the break was so bad. Laying in his room alone, waiting for his mom to show up, he tried to convince himself that everything was going to be fine. He would get out of the hospital in the morning, spend a month or so waiting for his leg to heal, and then everything would go back to being perfect again. Then something crossed his mind. His eyes turned into a black hole and his face had an expression on it that seemed like it was the end of the world. He had forgotten about the championship in two days! Without Miles on the team, they’re toast. He was wrong. It was going to be the end of the world! All his friends were going to blame him. It’s going to be his entire fault! It seemed like there was no one to cheer him up now, not even his parents.

“I have to make it up to all my friends, there has to be something that I can do to help my school win a championship. I brought this on myself and there has to be a way to fix it. I just don’t know what that is yet.”

He came back to school two days later, of course wearing a cast. Everyone stopped and stared as soon as he took his first step inside the doors of the school. His classes went by fine, but he kept daydreaming. Throughout the day he’d been getting all different types of expressions from his friends. Some good, like saying I hope you heal fast, and some bad, saying thanks a lot, now we will never win a championship. He ignored the good comments, but for some reason the bad ones really annoyed him. They kept floating around in his head, distracting him and making him angrier by the minute.

“It’s my entire fault! I’ve let all my teammates and school down. Everyone hates me now and there is nothing that I can do to change it.” He thought to himself.

That’s when it hit Miles. He knew what he could do to help his team win the championship! All he had to do was act like a coach now. He could teach all the players exactly the same stuff he has been doing.

He coached his teammates for two days, in the afternoons from 2:00 p.m. until 5”00 p.m. He went over free throws, and their proper techniques. Getting the ball set into your shooting pocket, having your wrist locked and most important of them all, bend your knees and hold your follow-threw. He did some ball handling drills and shooting drills. If someone wasn’t doing a good job, he would point them out and show them how to do it correctly. By the end of the two practices, he gave his teammates his pep talk, explaining to then that this is the best way to help his team. He didn’t break his ankle on purpose, it just happened. He’s done all he can do to help, now it is up to them to win their school a championship.

“I’m really sorry you guys. This is something I’ve wanted as bad as you, and I blew it. But it’s not over yet. It’s now up to you all the go win our school a championship. I’ve shown you everything that I do to make myself better and I’ve seen great improvement in this team. Good luck, guys.”

Sadly though, Miles wasn’t allowed to go to the game. He had to stay at him and take medicine for his ankle. He tried getting in contact with one of his friends that was watching the game, but sadly, no luck. He knew that answer would end up in the newspaper though, so he went to bed early praying for a victory.

That morning Miles woke up an extra 30 minutes early. He rushed downstairs and opened his front door. He walked through the cold December weather and picked up the wet newspaper, then rushed back into his house. He started flipping through the pages, trying to find the answer as quickly as possible. He finally turned to the correct page, and there in big letters were the words, “HIGHLAND PARK BEATS OAK CLIFF IN OVERTIME WITH A FREE THROW.” As he read that sentence, a huge smile appeared on his face.