It Ain't About the Record: Essay

"It Ain't About the Record"
By John Branch
April 14, 2012
"It Ain't About the Record" Article


Essay question: What was the purpose of this article and why was it important?


            The article, "It Ain't About the Record" by John Branch is important because it talks about a troubled girls basketball team of survivors. When reading the article, you see all the troubles that these teenagers go through and how rough their lives are. The main goal that Judge Larry Logan of Carroll County Juvenile Court tries to get through to them is "if you get knocked down, get back up."
            There are many problems with the nine girls on the Lady Jaguars. Many of them don't live with both of their parent's and there is also a huge drug use problem. One of the players even smokes marijuana with their mother and father. Some of the players have even lived in houses with no water, heat, or electricity and only a few of their parents have steady jobs. Some of the girls even have disorders like ADD, bipolar, and/or depression. Many of these troubles have caused these teenagers to be reckless and carefree about their actions.
            With the bad influence of their parent's, their actions affect their children a lot. One example of bad influence from one of the player's family, Destiny, is that her mother "recently gave birth to her fourth child from the three men she had married, at least one whom beat Destiny." This example of bad parenting is why Judge Larry Logan wants to make the nine basketball players survivors. He wants them to thrive in life and not have this influence rub off on the teenagers. These bad influences lead to wrong choices in life; many choices that they will soon regret when they grow up.
            From this article I learned that sometimes the biggest obstacles in the road are what make you stronger as a human being. These tricky situations that knock you down allow you to get back up and try harder. Like many of the players, Destiny has gone through many troubles and she has come out a survivor from the things she experienced. The troubled basketball girls are able to build themselves up and prepare themselves for more troubles to come so that they can survive through the difficulties in life.