don't ya hate it when that happens?
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
basketball flashback
6.28.02 friday
today I played a game of basketball at rieber… it was initially kind of intimidating getting back on the court again, but I made it and luckily my team wasn’t all that bad. We beat out two teams before half of us had to split. Luckily for me they weren’t so bad with the ball, passing it and shooting it. Each person had his own strengths and weaknesses. Michael had his size, which helped him out with his boards and layups. Josh mainly had his outside shot although he would drive and test the waters with ball handling a little bit. He did score most of the points in the first game. Matt had sort of an overall presence and kind of an outside shot giving us a good number of points. His height also helped with the boards. Playing ball is like cooking or baking. You test something out. You push a little. You give a little. You add a little more. The way I usually observe it is by watching what other teammates need, be it screens for outside shots or just the ball or a little help when they get double or triple teamed. Sometimes they just need a quick wall to bounce the ball on so they can drive in. Sometimes they don’t need anything at all. With the pushing, you have to push the other team a little, take note of their weak spots, and like a raptor testing the electrical fence in Jurassic Park, once you find that weak spot you step all over them. Now I know I’m not much of a ball player. I also know that I’m pretty athletic and that I can at least go with the flow. I did notice today that the one shot I took was left wide open. I’m a girl. So if they want to let me have it, by golly, I’ll take it! I also noticed that the 2 people guarding me in each game weren’t great outside shooters and that they would constantly try to clear the courts by pulling outside. I had to choose to follow them out or let them be and take the chance and hope that they suck. I do suppose they might not have been great drivers either since they never really did drive. I’ve got to learn to attack those drives by moving my feet, not only my hands.
I do know I am not that great at basketball. And this return to it kind of scares me. I try to rebound the ball… futile efforts at that. I try to pack a layup. Do I have to even say it? Yeah, so I try and I try and the only end result I get is good defense. But who am I to argue. I’ll take what I can and work on the rest until it falls at my feet.
I wish I had that outlook on life. It’s not the struggling I want, but the way I handle the struggles, because I know they’re not going to end. Cliché: they make you stronger. Tired of hearing it? Me too, but hell, we all know it’s true. That’s the only reason we forge on harder, faster, stronger. Because we know we can make it better next time. And next time when I’m done with the game, I’ll be looking back like I am now, and it’ll feel sweet, exciting and toasty. Toasty? Yeah, I said toasty because that warm feeling inside is me knowing where I am and what I have accomplished. It inspires me to look forward to tomorrow and to want to kick some butt.
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