This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.Tyler Hastings is a senior guard at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He plans to study nursing at LSU.I was shaking.There were 17 seconds left in the semifinal game of the Texas state basketball tournament. My team, North Crowley, was down 49-47 to Duncanville, a powerhouse in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They’ve won multiple state championships, and we knew whoever won was probably going to go on to win the state championship.My point guard, Kameron Price, brought the ball up the court and was fouled with 17 seconds left, but unfortunately, he cramped up and couldn’t shoot the free throws.Our coach, Tommy Brakel, couldn’t pick anyone on the court to shoot for Kameron. Our sixth man was already at the table waiting to check in, so Coach Brakel couldn’t pick him either. He had to use somebody on the bench. He looked down and picked me.I had played just two minutes right before the end of halftime. Those were my only minutes in the game.When I walked onto the court, I was still clueless. I thought I was checking in, and someone else was going to shoot the free throws. But then coach Brakel told me to go to the line, no pressure.People say I’m low-key, but as much as that’s my demeanor, I was most definitely shaking. I was mostly concerned with my teammates, my starting five and my sixth man, who had done all this work to get us here. I didn’t want to let them down.My first free throw hit the rim and missed. I dropped to my knees — it was just my instinct. I let the body language get the best of me, but I picked myself back up, like I had earlier that season.