Upward Basketball

Its been a major frustration of mine that ever since Meadowbrook UMC built their Community Life Center (CLC) that the building has gone virtually unused. I know there have been a handful of events, such as the Halloween Carnival and the Church Garage Sale, but these are events that were done before the CLC and could be done without it. There hasn't been much in the way of NEW things being planned for the CLC... but finally, changes have come.

I loved the feeling I got when I walked into the CLC Saturday morning. There was an electricity in the air. The room was full of people, cheering on two simultaneous games kindergartners attempting to play basketball. The kids had no concept of dribbling, or passing, or out of bounds. They only new to take the ball and try and put it in a basket (hopefully their own, but we'll congratulate none the less). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing that many people, from outside of the church, coming in to take advantage of this outreach. It was also really cool to see so many volunteers, who are not affiliated with the church, to be taking part as coaches and referees.

The excitement for me built more and more as it neared time for my game. I'm coaching the oldest age division, 5th &6th graders, and our game was the last of the day. In just two practices I've really come to like the players I have, especially Daylon. We sat in the locker room just before game time. Daylon was sitting in the chair next to me and his face looked stern and focused. It could have been chiseled out of stone for the lack of expression. I tried to crack a couple of jokes and give a few last minute pointers, but nothing would break Daylon's concentration. He had gone "game face", like that of a gladiator and he was ready to face the lions.

Daylon is unique. He is probably the best player in the league and I'm pretty sure he knows it. But he might also be the nicest player in the league as well. He understands the concept of fair play and want everyone on the team to get a chance to contribute. He'll gladly pass to the worst player even if he knows a turnover is inevitable. And he never wants to be labeled as a "ball hog" or "showboat" or anything else like that. So through the first quarter he tried his best to distribute scoring opportunities. But when the first quarter concluded he was less than satisfied with the fact that we were losing. Fair play or not, Daylon doesn't like losing.

The second quarter was very different, Daylon went Kobe all over that game. He turned it on, so to speak. He became ultra aggressive on defense, stealing any time he could, and he flew through the air to secure every rebound. But it was his offense that turned the tide. He showed no hesitation in flying past his defender and made every basket look easy. The third quarter he became even more vicious. It seemed that nothing their team did could possibly stop him. By the end of the third period we had coasted to a comfortable 33-15 lead. I took Daylon aside and told him that the game was already won and to take it easy the rest of the way. It is after all a Christian league and I didn't want to run up the score. I told Daylon to not make anymore easy baskets and to try and pass to his teammates more. He understood and was fine with holding back a little. But Daylon's frustration quickly grew. His teammates were not playing up to par and he had to restrain himself several times to keep from scoring easy, break away baskets. With about 3 minutes left in the game, I could see him getting more and more angry. He turned to me after, yet another turnover and said, "Can I please play normal now?" I laughed and said, "Sure, go for it." He turned it on again and managed to score a couple of more baskets before the game ended.

We won comfortably and everyone had a good time. But I don't think I'll be asking Daylon to "turn it off" again. As coach I need to try and bring his teammates up to speed and allow Daylon to play his game naturally. I'm really optimistic about how our season looks. I know that every child is a winner with Upward, but I still want my team to be win the most.