The American Dream Derek Moses

3, 2, 1, and the final whistle blew! The basketball game was over and we had won in overtime! My team from Central Bucks had beaten all of my friends from Council Rock, an unbelievable upset. A good friend and coach, Irv Magill, gave me the opportunity to go to Delaware to play in the Tri-State Maccabi Games for Central Bucks in 2003, and it was an experience I will never forget.

Practice, practice, practice, and more practice. I traveled about an hour two times a week for a few months to participate in a two hour long practice for this team. It was essential for me to make a full commitment to this team because each practice we had together was crucial to our success. I learned the importance of team and how every member needs to give their best effort in order for the team to work as a whole. I learned the importance of working together to achieve a common goal. I put every ounce of effort that I possibly could into this team. They say “practice makes perfect” and although our team was far from perfect, the dedication that we put forth into making ourselves better paid dividends.

“Quality is better than quantity.” Our team was dependent on this statement. Although the skill level of our team was fairly low, we had one...