short story Changing your life around

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I look forward to hearing what you think about my short story I have just written this short story and love to hear your options are valued 

Changing your life around

A young man called Ray had cerebral palsy and felt so alone because he did not have any friends, but after a few days of searching the web, he found online support and advice on various subjects and disabilities.    

Ray got fantastic support from the online community and was able to make friends from the online support group. This stopped Ray from being lonely and he gained so much confidence from being with the online community.

One online community member was able to help him find a local wheelchair basketball group in Ray’s local area.  A few weeks later Ray felt less lonely because he made some fantastic friends, whilst he developed his wheelchair basketball skills and was pleased to be part of a team.     

Ray and his team had qualified for the local wheelchair basketball competition. He became the star player for his local team, which had a few close games, and Ray was the game changer for his team ensuring they won those close games. 

As Ray and his teammates, called Baseliners, were going to begin playing their first quarterfinal game in their first season now as a full-time wheelchair basketball team.

The night before their biggest game, that Ray and his teammates had faced, they were unable to sleep in their hotel rooms as all the players broke out in cold sweats.  It was a sign that all the players were feeling nervous.

The next morning Ray and his teammates were around the breakfast table at the team’s hotel. Ray gave a motivational speech to his teammates, he said, “I know none of us has been playing wheelchair basketball for long but we have developed quickly a team togetherness and fantastic team spirit, which has gotten us to this crucial part of the local wheelchair basketball tournament.” 

After the Ray and Baseliners teammates got their kit bags before getting on the black coach which was waiting at the Royal basketball court where this crucial match was going to occur against the Brave hearts basketball.   As Roy Smith had been a basketball coach for more than 25 years of experience in coaching, but this was the first time that Roy had coached a disability wheelchair team. Once everyone was sitting on the coach it was on its way to the Royal basketball court.

Roy said, “Can I please just say something to you all. I know this has been an eye-opening opportunity for me as I have seen you all forget about your disabilities and they have not held you back to follow your passion of playing wheelchair basketball. I remember hearing one of the team players called Ray was feeling very low because he did not have any friends, but Ray said can I please say that you all feel like a family to me because I felt not sure where I wanted to go in my life before I found wheelchair basketball. This has helped me find true passion.”  To conclude, Ray said, “Let's go and make our first special memory as a team and make it to our first semi-final.”

As the coach pulled outside the entrance to the Royal basketball court, like Roy, the coach driver, called Simon, was helping one by one with assembling their basketball chairs before getting the bus wheelchair lift out to enable each player to get into to their chairs and down in onto to the ground, then Ray and his teammates carried their kit bag on their laps and pushed their wheelchairs as they took themselves through the automatic doors of Royal Basketball court. They were closely followed by Roy as they headed towards the dressing rooms. 

While the players were busy getting their basketball kits on. Ray put on some motivational music to get his teammates focussed on the game ahead.

As the time for the game to begin neared, Coach John gave his team some last-minute words of confidence to his team, before sending his team out onto the court as the first quarter was going to begin once the referee blew his whistle.

As the first quarter was coming to end, The Baseliners and the Red Jet wheelchair basketball team had nothing to separate them on the scoreboard as the score was tied at 6 all as the first quarter came to end. As coach John has his team in a huddle. He says we need to get to Ray who has got us to this point in the tournament. As the hooter went to signal the second quarter the players and coach put their hands on each other before saying come on we can do this. As the words of their coach were still ringing in the players' ears, Ray was taking shots from the all-around court which found their way in the basketball net.  As the scoreboard was ratting along.   Now the scoreboard was showing 26-6 to The Baseliners who were starting to run away with the game.   As the second quarter drew to a close the hooter rang to signal to end of the second quarter of the basketball game.

Coach Roy said, “we need to keep in tight as we cannot let the opposition back into the game.” 

As the referee's whistle, to signal the beginning of the third quarter, blew, Ray clapped to encourage his fellow teammates to carry on.

Ray dribbled past a few of the oppositions player before laying the ball up for one of his teammates, who were able to score a few points 33 - 6 as the ball went into the basket to stretch their lead which was slowly growing something that was becoming more difficult from the opposition team the Red Jet wheelchair basketball team were looking a deflated team who looked that all the players had run out of stern. As the clock was rolling and showed there were only a few minutes left in the third quarter when suddenly, the hooter rang to signal to the end of the third quarter.

Roy had his team in the huddle for the final time in the game.  Roy told his team, “ ... You have got this game, but we need to stay professional and finish this game off.”   The referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the fourth quarter.  They added more points on the board as they extended their lead.  36 - 6 the Baseliners were doing a bit of game management as they saw the game out and we're heading to the semi-finals where they would take on the Blue base wheelchair basketball team. 

The Bluebasers wheelchair basketball team had made headlines in the local and national newspapers, some contained written big spreads about the Baseline basketball team who were getting notices in their first season of becoming a basketball team.   Everyone was asking whether this team could go all the way to the final.