So sad that basketball season
is over. I have written about other sports my children have
participated in, but not basketball ...... until today. I never played
as a kid with the exception of HORSE or a lame game of one on one here
and there. Being on the taller side, I would often get asked, "you play
basketball?" Sadly the answer was no. I was never coordinated enough;
I can't do a layup, not even a fun easy one with no defenders to
contend with. (In my opinion, a layup is much harder than it looks and
the wrong expression to use for doing something easy!) I have a
terrible shot and the endurance needed to play the game is/was beyond my
capability. I didn't grow up watching basketball either. So it wasn't
until my children started playing that I too started to learn about the
game.
I have come
to appreciate the sport in the same way I appreciate art because I have
concluded that this is what basketball is; it's a dance really. Think
about the way the athletes use their body to "box out", to hit the
layup AND draw the foul. How about the form needed to make a free
throw- starts in your toes, through your knees, hips, core, shoulders,
elbow, all the way to your fingertips. Consider the dance with the four
other partners, the awareness of each teammates' locations on the
court, the screen sets, the swing. I know this sounds silly, but
basketball is a beautiful sport. (Especially when a carefully designed
play is executed as designed!)
I
found myself serving as an assistant coach years ago for my son's
developmental team, a total joke of course, but the kids were little and
what harm could I really do? "Your job is to get this ball in that
basket. And then try not to let the other team get the same ball in
that basket." Basketball in its simplest form.
Of
course, over the years, I have learned a few more aspects of the game:
offensive plays, defensive plays, all the MILLIONS of things happening
at once.
It's just 5
people out there, on stage, exposed, no place to hide, no helmets or
equipment to sneak a second of solace, no moment to catch one's breath,
and all on a well lit court. It's seriously rough out there too, far
more physical than most people realize.
And win or lose, it's always so much fun even making the stomach-ache worth it.
My two lesson take-aways:
1)
Playing a team sport is the recursive reminder of how society works.
We are all in this together, in this game, this life, this world on a
team. We rely on each other and make the passes, the blocks, set the
screens, and make the steals in order to move forward. We cannot do
this alone. So we get at it together.
2)
Take the time to look at things we enjoy in new lights, observe, truly
watch, breathe it in. Art is surely a gift from heaven, here for us to
enjoy. And the beauty of art surrounds us so much and so often that we
sometimes miss it. If we can take a moment outside the experience,
we'd gain a whole new view. It's worth that moment.
I
feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to fully appreciate this
sport of basketball, the "Sporting Dance" as I have come to see it. And
so sad to say goodbye. For now.
