Ethan and Gerrit wrapped up their community basketball seasons recently. For Gerrit, it was his first time playing “organized” basketball. I use the word “organized” somewhat loosely. Sure, there was an official coach, and regularly scheduled games and such. It was the on-court aspect that was laden with entropy.
Most of the players at Gerrit’s age are so desperate to get the ball that they’re calling for a pass the second the ball comes into play. Usually this happens in a huddled mass around the player with the ball that is alleviated slightly by the fact that the opposite team isn’t allowed to play defense until the ball passes half court. So you only get mobbed by your own teammates instead of every player on the court. There were times when you were equally in danger of having the ball stolen by a teammate as by an opponent.
Ethan, though, was a veteran, having played last year. The kids he played with were beginning to have skills, which makes for a much more enjoyable game viewing experience.
I’ve written in the past (mostly tongue-in-cheek) about my inadequacy as a father when not teaching my boys enough about sports. Lately I’ve been feeling something similar to what Orson Scott Card feels. “Sports are grossly overrated in American culture,” he wrote recently. He commented additionally that athletics tend to feed the arrogance of those few that excel while making the rest feel unworthy, even if they are highly talented in other aspects of life.
I think about a recent stake basketball game that I played in. I’ve pretty much given up on stake basketball, but someone from my ward called saying that they were playing right then and would forfeit if they didn’t get at least one more player. That game reinforced my distaste for that particular venue: officials that are players from the previous game, grudgingly there and utterly unskilled or apathetic about officiating, the ensuing escalation of physical play since nothing gets called, and the mounting intensity of aging former high school athletes in a game that doesn’t matter for anything.
But believe it or not, I actually really like playing basketball, given that:
- I’m playing with people with comparable skills and genetics
- The competition, though possibly serious, remains friendly
That competition can be very motivating, if nothing else, for getting a good run. And sports, with the right perspective, really can be fun, so long as you can overcome the potent tendency to judge yourself as a person based on your three point shot. So in the spirit of fun, here are a couple of videos of the boys at play.
Ethan’s Basketball Video (WMV 7.66 MB)
Gerrit’s Basketball Video (WMV 8.08 MB)