Conclusion:
When I started the project, I assumed that the girls would be very hard working and dedicated to their basketball. Because of things I heard from other people, I also assumed that they might be very stuck in their own group and unwilling to really get to know others. I thought they might be standoffish towards me and not like me. Not all these assumptions were proven correct throughout the duration of this project. I found that not only are these ladies hard working and very dedicated to basketball, they work as a team, have lots of fun, and are very great athletes. The team chemistry and flow that I witnessed as they played together was fantastic. Off the court, I found almost the same group of girls. Although a few of the players choose to not associate themselves with the rest of the team outside of basketball, they are mostly still friends outside of basketball. I now see them as a fun group of girls that are very nice, pretty both inside and out, and all around enjoyable.
I saw many of the same patterns during my project. Like I already said, the Hoopsters have a great system going for everything they do in basketball. The warm up for their games, the layout of practice, their uniforms, etc. all had patterns. Also in their interviews, everyone said that they knew they were looked at negitively by their peers. They also said that they weren't much different from their peers. Every group of friends will have issues but the Hoopster really aren't as bad as people think.
Research Questions:
· How does the girls’ behavior differ between on and off the court?
There really wasn’t a lot of difference in behavior between on and off the basketball court. Besides a few girls separating themselves from the rest while not in basketball, they were still a team and a group of friends no matter where they were. Of course they have issues outside of basketball that aren’t dealt with during practices or games.
· Are all the girls true friends?
This is still a mystery. Unless I was part of their group and really knew every story and angle, I wouldn’t know. They seem to get along pretty well, but they have their problems. They’re high school girls after all. What they are though is a true team that works together despite their friendship complications.
· What divides the team the most both on and off the court?
On the court, the team never seemed divided. Lack of communication, frustration, panic, confusion, etc. caused the team to become unsynchronized at times but they always pulled through. Never did I see a girl putting down or discouraging her teammate. Off the court, high school drama and miscommunication have the biggest effect on the team.
· Is the stereotype of this group (snobby, self-absorbed, over confident) accurate?
No. In fact they are quite opposite. The Hoopsters are a group of fun, dedicated, and happy girls. Some are quieter than others but this doesn’t mean they’re snobby. They just may not be as comfortable around people they aren’t close to. “Hoopsters” isn’t a term that should be used to classify these girls in a negative way. “Hoopsters” is supposed to be about their love and passion for the sport of basketball in which they are so good at.
I thought I might have difficulties with the girls being themselves around me but from day one, they carried on like they were comfortable talking to me about things. At the first practice, they were laughing and joking around with each other, telling me all these funny and embarrassing things that happened in the locker room right before practice. Also, in the interviews, many of the girls opened up to me about their true feelings about their teammates and the struggles/successes of the team. These things showed me that the girls were being real with me, not just putting on a show. The only obstacle I had was not being able to spend more time with them. If I could go back, I would spend more time just casually hanging out with them outside of school and basketball and get to know them a little better as friends.
This ethnography project allowed me to experience the real Hoopsters, not the stereotyped group that everyone makes them out to be. Not only did I learn more about this group of girls and about the sport of basketball, I learned a lot about myself as well as what it means to be a good athlete. I am a couple years older than these girls and I have never competitively played basketball, but I too am a high school girl and a dedicated athlete, which allowed me to relate to them easily and get the full effect of this project. In the end, these girls taught me many things over the past few months that I can use for the rest of my life.
For one, they showed me that true athleticism isn’t all great and glamorous. It takes years of hard work and dedication to become good at something. On and off season, day and night, through pain and strength, and when no one is watching, athletes must work hard and give it their all.
Second, a sense of organization will take you a long ways. When a team is working together and is in unison with each other, things go so smoothly. Whether it was running a drill in practice, going through warm up, or executing plays in a game, these girls had a system and worked as a team to make things happen. Like Maya Godina said, “We’ve just been drilled the same way for so long and it’s such a team oriented sport that we don’t have much of a choice. We win and lose as a team and it’s never only one person’s fault.”
There’s always the classic “don’t judge a book by its cover”. In this case, I judged them based on other people’s judgments and assumptions. I allowed myself to fall into the trap that so many other high school students have. I definitely made a mistake that I have learned from. Some of these girls are great friends of mine, others are just becoming my friends, and a few are now good acquaintances.
This was an incredibly enjoyable project for me. I loved the opportunity to understand basketball better and have a much greater respect for it. Also, it was a wonderful chance to get to know these ladies and appreciate what great athletes they are. It was a long, but super fun project. :)
