The end of a season

I'm not a coach. I've been a coach (does assistant to the sophomore girls for three years count for much?) and like all the other members of my family, I live and breathe basketball, can diagram a good play, disect a zone defense, and have way too much opinion for the gym. I was a decent girls team athlete in my day...though that day will have to live on in the glory years of my brother....and my boys. We'll get our NCAA championship one day, I know we will.

That being said, yesterday was the end to a very disappointing junior high season. Good thing it's only 7 games in one month - I'm not sure our basketball gene could take much more chaos.

My brother is (pardon my language) a Damn good basketball player. One of the better 14 year old basketball players I've seen, especially for his size (and guess what - like his older sister, there aren't many kids his size out there). I mean, the kid is 6'1" weighs over 200 lbs and is a force to be reckoned with on the court.

The excitement of making the junior high team, and the adrenaline rush of the first two wins quickly disappeared when said brother, and all the parents (and older sisters) in the stands quickly realized that, like most coaches, he didn't get it - didn't know what kids to play when, and threw away the following 4 games - blow out doesn't even do the losses justice.

But, in our family we have a work ethic and a "stick-to-it-ness" that even in my years of teaching I didn't see in many kids (heck, I don't see it in many adults to tell you the truth). My brother's got it and he persevered... he didn't get much time, got pulled the second he made a mistake, and so on but he fought through.

Then, we get to yesterday. The last game of the season. The game that, even with a losing record, if the team could pull it out and win, they would go to the playoffs. The coach, at the last game, finally found his line up. Isn't it great of coaches to figure it out at the end of the season? Yeah - same when I played basketball, too.

Will the Thrill was part of that new, pretty dynamic line-up. He went in with 3 min.left in the first, played all the second, almost all the third, and all the 4th. He didn't score that many points, had 3 blocks and countless rebounds and a defensive play at the end of the game that was collegiate in athleticism. He was double teamed the entire game and more important than anything - my brother decided to step-it-up and be the team leader. Being an 8th grader amongst 9th graders, and the kid who didn't make the team last year he's had a tough time finding his role.

Yesterday though? It came to him naturally - that brother of mine is a born leader. He was talking, guiding, cheering his team mates on, to what we thought would be a victory. Unfortunately, the coach didn't see the need to keep that dynamic line-up in the game. He switched things up. The hard fought for one point lead at halftime disapeared. Before we knew it, the "wrong" kids were in and we were down by 12 or more - unable to claw and fight back on top.

The season ended. I think, for our family at least, it was one of those Moral Victory's you hear about. You know the kind - you didn't win the fight, but you proved your point and took a stand and that's made you all the better person.

And even more important than that? That brother of mine, who also happens to be the best uncle in the world....has created a monster - I mean protoge in his little, newly obsessed with passing, rebounding, dribbling, and shooting little nephew. A little buddy who is now sleeping with a ball, just to be on the safe side.



Who also happens to be his biggest fan.