Articles
Basketball Motivation
In my youth we would head straight to the neighborhood court after school and play until dark or until we were called home for dinner and homework. Focusing on practice and play was our form of relaxation from our youthful pressures. If we had time, after the sun had sunk below the horizon, we would head to Paul's house that boasted a misdirected flood light from the garage. We would play until his mom had enough and would chase us all home. On winter days, we would shovel snow off the court and would have a warm bucket of water to dip the ball into to prolong our playing time.
Some young players today don’t have the same obsession with practicing and playing as my comtemporaries exhibited. When I was young and started playing basketball, we didn’t have video games, computers, electronic devices or hundreds of channels of television stations to suck away our attention. The youth today will put more time in mastering a video game than they do practicing the intricacies of basketball. Some parents use the electronic devices as a reward for young players to work hard improving their basketball skills. As parents we need to reverse that form of reward and make acheiving a level of skill as a basketball player the reward for hours of practice.
What can be the obsession with basketball? Why replay movements of the game long after the game is done? What keeps us coming back with all the aches and pains? After putting in all that practice time sometimes the game still feels so foreign… why keep coming back? Some kids may fade away with the frustrations while others will come back even stronger from the adversities.
Maybe it can be explained if we put in terms of golf. That one great shot will drive you to golf again another day, even after an extremely sub par performance. In a round of golf, after duffing and shanking one shot after another, that one great shot will bring you back. In basketball that one great moment can be multiplied many times over in a single game. The mistakes are made only to be erased a moment later with a great play. So, is it the momentary successes that breed the hope that keeps us going? Many a player has had that forlorn look that said, "There is no way I will ever return to the court again." And as if on cue, the next play brings success and the next day they are back. prepared to take anything on that comes their way.
In most sports, there are those solitary periods of time that give you a deep, inner perspective of one's true self. In the isolation, the thoughts go deeper, questions are most demanding and sometimes the clarity breaks through. Basketball, although a team sport, is also a solitary sport. The perfection of individual skills needed to perform with a team push you to separate yourself from others.
Basketball is a relatively simple sport not requiring a lot of space nor a lot of props or gadgets. All that is needed is a bucket, you and the ball. With all the simplicity, what keeps our attention? I think it's the need of the individual to tame that single object. Oh, the amazing and seemingly impossible skills that can be accomplished with repetition and persistence. But, doing the same thing over and over will drive most of us crazy. Why in basketball do we have the ability to concentrate and go over the same thing again and again?
The journey to gain control over this round ball can be an arduous adventure. The ability to dribble one way, cross the ball from one hand to another already takes some skill, being able to do this while someone is trying to take it away from you adds another layer of complexity and skill. Learning to shoot the ball can be as frustrating as throwing a softball through a hole at the carnival, then you have to adjust your skill because your opponent is standing between you and the basket.
The taming of the basketball is the equalizer that any player of size can accomplish to level the playing field. The ability to shoot the basketball with a quick trigger and proficiency can eliminate almost any difference in size. The shorter player having the ability to dribble low and swift, can offset a player’s larger size. But, my oh my, imagine the beauty of the larger player that can possess both of these skills; the ability to be a sharpshooter in any situation, having the confidence of a general going into battle and dribbling with such tenacity and efficiency, it has your defender in retreat.
And when you bring those individual skills and perform them in harmony with other players, the results can be exhilarating. The unspoken connection between teammates, the communication flows just through eye contact. The subtle shift of a player, his teammates knowing the direction he is going before movement is made. The screen set to free the dribbler only to free the rolling screener for an easy lay in or… the diversion of several ball side players sacrificing themselves for the back door cut from the weak side. A each individual brings perfected skills to team play, the bond players can have with players of complementary skill and knowledge can create a game that is as fluid as a choreographed dance. As a basketball player, it is the shared joy of team play that can be the most satisfying, when all players come together, well rehearsed and ready to perform their part.