I was going to post this picture but the caption was getting out of control. So here I am. Firing this thing back up.
I couldn't just post this and be like "Lincoln's last day of basketball". Well, I mean, I could have but gosh there's just so much more. And if I don't share I'll bust. A feeling that my husband will never understand. 😂
Lincoln was on a combined 3rd and 4th-grade basketball team this year and I was one of the coaches. As time went on it was pretty clear, as a smaller to medium-sized 3rd grader... he wasn't, well, one of the more skilled players. Add to that, they played on 10-foot hoops (which is a huge pet peeve of mine and is terrible for shooting form and confidence, etc, don't get me started).
Lincoln was getting smooshed. Literally, one time in practice he tripped, and then a couple 4th graders literally ran over him. All I saw was two legs on the ground sticking out, he was flat as a pancake, and I thought ohhh I hope that's not Lincoln. It was. We actually laughed about it on the way home.
I had to accept that basketball might not be the thing that he's going to be really good at. And that's ok. He doesn't have to be. But I still want him to learn the skills and have fun. But these basketball games, with the big kids and the 10-foot baskets, he basically had no chance. He can barely make a basket when he's standing there all by himself, let alone in a game with other people trying to stop him. There were games where every time he'd touch the ball, it was a turnover. Every time. And I could start to tell that the better kids wouldn't want to pass to him. And I can't blame them. I've been there.
So, all that to say, our basketball experience this year hasn't been the best. And I kinda regretted going this route because it's no fun getting clobbered. We had our last games this weekend, and I actually told the grandparents not to bother coming.
The odds of Lincoln even being close to being in a position where he could potentially dribble the ball or make a basket successfully... there was no chance. And I've been to all his games and all his practices. I think he's shot the ball twice maybe in ten games. He's never made a basket in a practice game, he may have never even shot in a practice game.
Alright, you get the point. Last Saturday, it's his last game of the season. He's got this little guy with his hands in his pockets guarding him, something happens, the ball bounces towards Lincoln, he's on the left side of the hoop, a couple of feet away, he picks up the ball, we all scream "Shooooot!" He shoots (which him actually shooting is a huge success in my book). He shoots... and it goes in! I could not believe it.
It was as much of a cinderella story if I've ever seen one. Unbelievable. Me and the bench go nuts. Even the good kids came up to him and said "good shot Lincoln!" which was so sweet. I probably would have bet a million dollars that Lincoln wouldn't make a shot. I was in such a shock. I could not believe it. It was like "God this season was not a failure!!!!" I didn't say that out loud lol. But it's sure what I thought.
I have played enough basketball to know that you can't base a season or your overall skills as a player on one shot, one lucky shot. But man, I can't believe he made that shot. I can't believe it.
Now, I know what you're gonna say, I know what you're thinking "Oh I bet Lincoln was so excited, I bet that made him so happy!" Mehh, I don't really know. He's so chill sometimes. I think he was like "yes!" but that was really it - at least that's all he let onto.
Which I honestly felt a little guilty about because I remember feeling like my basketball success sometimes meant more to my parents than it meant to me. And here I am feeling the exact same way as I'm over here dancing up and down in my head that my nine-year-old made a shot.
So there's your storytime for the day, Lincoln made a shot, on his last game of the year. It was unbelievable.
Edited to add: My parents are amazing. And were amazing. I just now know what it feels like to spend a ton of energy trying to get someone to be good at something. 😂
Comments
Post a Comment