If Jeremy Lin can make it in the NBA . . .

I'm in the middle of my school midterms, which is why I haven't been thinking about blogging much. However, this last couple of weeks, a lot of news came out about Jeremy Lin, the Chinese American dude who graduated from Harvard, and now plays for the New York Knicks. My sister and I already follow Jeremy Lin and his funny Youtube videos with KevJumba and Nigahiga.

Last week, my dad keeps making me watch clips of Jeremy Lin playing point guard for the New York Knicks. I can't help but think that maybe there is athletic potential in all of us Asian kids after all.

I've been playing in an Asian League basketball team since 2nd grade.  We had a very lame name for our team: "The Shooting Angels".

Me in third grade with the Shooting Angels

When we were kids, we didn't mind so much, but in 6th grade, we started feeling a bit embarrassed by the name.  My teammates were saying that they don't want to wear our team shirts to go out because of the name.  So we finally changed our name to the Magic.  Still lame, but better.  Apparently, the Asian leagues have the funniest team names: the QD's, Below the Rim, Happy Shoyu, Hoops a Daisies, Hollywood Dragonettes, Mustang Rainbows, Kukui Nuts, and many more. It's kind of quaint and nice, as long as you don't have to wear those names on your shirts.

In the Asian league, we play over thirty games a year.  We play all over Los Angeles County, Orange County, and even in Las Vegas.  We are drilled on the fundamentals, and we develop great friendships with our teammates whom we've been together with since 2nd grade or even younger. My team doesn't exclude girls who are not so good at playing. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and we encourage each other during games.  I started off shooting at the wrong basket, but now I am the point guard for my team (mainly because I'm short but fast). We've had some good seasons (we were last season's champs), and some bad ones (We're in the midst of a losing season right now). On my part, I also play with kids from my local parks and recreation center perhaps another ten to fifteen more games a year.

In middle school this year, I joined the school basketball team.  Because my school is mostly non-Asian,  I think most of the school coaches and students assume that this short scrawny Asian girl  doesn't play sports. But, when I signed up for basketball this season, I find myself to be one of the more experienced players on the team.  While we've been losing quite a few games, I know that I help keep the team competitive. When we play against other schools, I'm pleasantly surprised that I run into players from the other Asian league teams I've played against before.  We're happy to see each other.

If we all keep playing, and schools and teams give us a chance instead of assuming that Asian kids can't play sports, maybe there will be more Asian boys and girls playing ball in college, and in professional teams too. Go, Jeremy Lin!