LSU roars following loss as Nicholls stumbles
October 16, 2012
Cement truck flips into Bayou Terrebonne
October 16, 2012
Dear family and friends,
Isn’t it amazing how success in life is decided in something as small as inches?
In football, a team may go 99 yards, two feet and 11 inches.
But until they push for the final inch, they have the same thing as the team who has not yet gained a yard – zero points.
In baseball, it’s the same thing! A guy can hit the ball 399 feet and 11 inches.
But if the ball doesn’t travel that extra inch, it is caught for an out, instead of traveling out of the park for a home run.
Prior to this week, most of my Puerto Rican experience was defined by being on the wrong side of inches.
This week, I finally broke through and got the extra few inches I have been looking for.
In basketball language, I just simply have started making shots!
Anyone who knows anything about my style of play knows that I have been blessed to be an above-average shooter.
My last season at Nicholls, I shot more than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line.
For those who are not overly familiar with basketball, that is a statistic that not very many players can put beside their name. It is a mark that I, personally, am very proud of!
But since getting to Puerto Rico, I haven’t had the same luck!
Out of the first 19 3-pointers that I shot as a pro, I made just one. It was in my first game as an Atletica.
I don’t know if it’s because we have a different ball or because of the change in my climate and lifestyle, I just have struggled to put that round piece of leather into that orange cylinder.
My shots weren’t way off. They were either just short or just long.
Remember the initial message: Success is measured in inches. I was just an inch off!
This week, things changed.
Last Monday, we played a road game against a team named Morovis. They are a small town in the middle of Puerto Rico.
It’s about the same size as Houma, I suppose. It may be a little bigger, but not by much!
There’s a lot of land out here in a lot of different places, but a lot of it isn’t inhabited. There’s a lot of empty, unsettled space.
In that game, my inches started to round into form.
I started early and scored 7 points in the first quarter against Morovis and 23 points total – a team high for my squad!
More importantly, I made 3-of-6 shots from behind the 3-point line!
We fought hard and the game went down to the last second.
We lost by 3 in that game, but it felt good to have that level of impact on a basketball game again.
After playing Morovis, we had a lot of time off.
Some of that was because of the way our schedule was made, but another part of that was because of a tropical storm that hit Puerto Rico.
Great – just great! I leave Louisiana and still get hit by tropical storms!
What kind of luck is that?
After the storm passed, we played again Sunday night.
In that game, I had 21 points – my second best game of my career here.
This week, we will close our season and push to the playoffs.
It’s all about the inches!
If we push for the extra inch, we will be successful.
If not, there’s no telling what might happen!
On a side note, I want to sincerely thank everyone for the kind words of encouragement that I have received throughout my stay here.
I know I haven’t answered every message, but I can tell you I have read them all and am so appreciative! It means a lot! I cannot wait to return home and hand out a lot of hugs to those who have kept me in their thoughts and prayers! Your support means more than you know!
Stay blessed! Keep pushing for that last inch!
-SL7
Houma-native and San German Atletica guard Sumar Leslie gets on the floor to try and get a loose ball during a game this past week. Leslie says she is beginning to experience better luck shooting the basketball in this week’s diary entry.
