As the Baldwin boys basketball game on Friday came to a complete halt around me, I felt the pressure and emotion of taking my last layup ever. 

At the start of the game, the opening tip was hit to a teammate, who passed it to me for an uncontested layup – our opponents from Bethel Park were allowing me, in my leg brace, to take this shot. All of the eyes in the gym were focused on me. 

The pressure was finally relieved once the ball was in the bottom of the hoop. The moment the pressure was off, the emotions flooded in as I hugged my teammate on the court one last time. 

I haven’t played since the third game of the season, a big game against Penn Trafford, who had upset us last season in the first round of playoffs. Some time during the second quarter I got a steal and a layup, but when I landed, my knee popped. When I went to jump shortly afterward, I collapsed as my knee gave out. 

I later found that I had torn my ACL – a career-ending injury. 

I still attend every practice and game to be a part of the team. I try my best to game plan for opponents, develop underclassmen, and encourage the team. But this does not fill the gap of not being able to play, and I have not gone a day without thinking about it.

Since it is my senior season and I have no plans of playing in college, shooting this final shot on Friday meant a lot to me. 

My coach first asked me if I wanted to do this last Monday, just a few days before the game. The question came as a shock to me, but I jumped at the chance. I wanted to do it not for the sake of the big crowd and all of the people, but to lace up my shoes and prepare for battle with my teammates one last time. 

This injury has brought me more than just anger and sadness. What it has brought me most is perspective. And this perspective, I believe, will be essential for me later in life.