A Letter to My Younger Self – China Antoine and Sherrice King
In the video above, China Antoine reflects on her collegiate career. China played basketball at Shelton State Community College and the University of Minnesota.
Below is another reflection, this one from Sherrice King. Sherrice wrote a letter to her younger self. She played basketball at the University of Colorado – Boulder.
Hello Reese,
As I sit here at in Denver international Airport waiting for my flight home from a truly rewarding reunion weekend with my teammates, coaches and other folks I met while playing at CU I think about the 31 years that I have been affiliated with the program as a player, student, athletic staff member and finally proud alumni and I marvel at the journey you will be traveling. It will be filled with joy, fear, excitement, wind sprints when you are already dog tired, challenging moments of self-doubt, amazing wins and heartbreaking losses both on and off the court and I tell you to take it all in, the good and the bad.
Take the days when coach chews your butt (there will be lots of those days!). She’s probably right but it still hurts! Take the highs of conference and tournament championships and beating Stanford in the Sweet 16! Take the lows of getting whipped by Texas Tech in the next game. At least you make it to the Elite 8! – but it still stings because it will be your last college basketball game.
These are all the learning experiences we need to survive and thrive now in a career you love! You don’t get to skip anything (not one minute). You will need every bit of what you learn on this journey. Those dark days will only make your future successes that much brighter!
On your darkest days remember that you are not alone. You have your family and your teammates and coaches. Sometimes they will challenge you, annoy you, hurt your feelings, make you run, but they are also the ones who know you best and want you to succeed. They will remind you that you are stronger than you know. Let me repeat! You are stronger than you know! Your time at CU is the proving ground! Later when people say you are resilient and can handle pressure better than most you will think back to your time at CU and know that the tests you passed both in the classroom and on the court were your foundation.
Finally remember this time at CU is brief and it will pass (as all things do) and you will be relieved that the struggle has ended because the journey was hard and you occasionally felt unappreciated, but one day you will be sitting here in this airport looking west toward the Flatirons reminiscing fondly about the good times, forgiving the bad times and being thankful that you chose this path.
Hang in there girl!
Sherrice
These two former athletes, from different times in the college recruiting process, share valuable information for you. Before you take on the recruiting process, think about what you will want to say when you graduate college and start planning for that now.
