Basketball to Hoosiers is the chocolate on our ice cream sundae. It is the peanut butter to our jelly. It is our Ginger Rogers to Fred Astaire. It is our syrup to our pancakes and The Lone Ranger to our Tonto. Without basketball, Indiana really doesn't/shouldn't exist.
I am a basketball fanatic. Blame it all on my dad and all on my roots. Ever since I can remember I have been playing basketball, attending basketball games or watching basketball.
When basketball season began here at Seoul Foreign School, I knew I wanted to get my fill. In December, I served as the assistant to the assistant for JV girls in the high school! I was the glorified water girl and I loved every minute of it. In March I began my role as one of the coaches for the middle school. I have been brushing up on my Bobby Knight tactics (minus the swearing and throwing chairs) and trying to light a fire under all the eleven - thirteen year old girls that just want to socialize and watch the boys. My third position involved volunteering with the elementary school. We had practice once a week for 45 minutes for several weeks then at the end of the season we played in a jamboree which promoted equal playing time and the old mantra, "It is just a game!" I gladly took the unpaid position and thought to myself, this is going to be a piece of CAKE! My vision included eager fifth grade girls and boys, desperate to soak up my basketball expertise and leave every day asking for drills they can practice at home. Unrealistic? Maybe a bit!
The first day of practice I introduced myself and most of the team barely looked up to acknowledge my existence. For the remaining 30 minutes I struggled to gain control as they proceeded to run around the gym shooting balls from half court, talking trash to each other and arguing about who was the best defensive player in the fifth grade! After gaining my composure I gathered them in a small circle to discuss the important things like shirt color and team name. Purple was decided as our color and then for the team name the kids began shouting every NBA team they could think of. Without ever agreeing on an answer I started to take inventory of my team. I looked around and one boy was banging his head on the bench while looking at the ceiling. Another young boy was picking the lint out of his shoelaces. A young girl sitting beside me was twirling her hair and humming a soft tune while also picking at something on the ground. The last boy that I noticed was sneaking up behind an unsuspecting victim and tugging on his shirt collar - again, all of this was occurring WHILE I was trying to inspire. I cleared my throat and in my loudest grown up voice I said, "How about we call ourselves ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?" This briefly got their attention and they all became excited about the name. Then, more chaos and disappointment set in when I told them I was kidding!
Practice - day #1 - check.
The remaining practices were less painful but equally distracting. The day for the big jamboree was quickly approaching and I have to say that I was quite nervous. We had varying degrees of skill on our fifth grade team and I was curious how we would mesh.
The big day finally arrived and at an ungodly hour on Saturday, our bus left for the big show. I gathered my team together and prepared my best John Wooden pep talk hoping to leave them inspired and ready to conquer the opponent. Instead the players were asking where the bathroom was and how much the Gatorade costs in the vending machine.
Now, I have failed to mention that there is one player on my team who truly stands above the rest, no I mean literally he stands about two feet above the rest. His name is Guiseppe and he is the tallest player on our team and the tallest player on the court. While standing next to his teammates he looks like he is in high school. There were players from other teams that would come up to him and ask, "How old are you, because you know this tournament is only for fifth graders?"
There were many things that struck me about this young boy.
#1. His talents are far beyond the average fifth grader and his knowledge of the court and the game of basketball is not something that can be taught, it is innate. Guiseppe is one of those players that is a "natural".
#2. Guiseppe is polite. This might seem like an odd statement, but need I remind you of my first practice and the fact that these are fifth graders? Guiseppe always said, "Yes, maam" in practice and was usually one of the only players that stuck around to help shag balls or clean up when everyone else had headed to the bus.
#3. Guiseppe was NOT a show boater. In every game this young boy had the opportunity to make lay up after lay up and score 20 - 30 points in the first five minutes, but he never did! Guiseppe was the first one to pass and he was always the player that handed the ball to the girls to give them a chance to shoot.
Watching this kid play was one of the highlights of my day. He would leisurely reach for a rebound that all the other kids were jumping and clawing for. He would pass the ball to another player even when he was two feet from the basket. He would apologize to the referee when he accidentally kicked the ball out of bounds and he would congratulate the other team on a made basket. He never complained when I took him out and played the subs and he was the biggest cheerleader on the bench watching his team remain undefeated all day.
After one of the games, the referee came up to me and asked, "Where did you get this kid?" Heading out to concession stands, coaches would stop me and comment on the selflessness of Guiseppe. I had parents come up to me and say that they loved how everyone was pulling together and working as a team. Everywhere we went, Guiseppe was the talk of the day. What I noticed was that this one kid was having a huge impact on the entire audience without saying a single word.
That Saturday ended up being a GREAT day. I had fun with the kids, we were undefeated and I learned a valuable lesson. Actions DO speak louder than words. Many times we don't recognize it because people aren't silent. We feel the need to litter our days with mindless chatter. We think that the louder we speak, the more attention we receive. We are uncomfortable with silence and we would rather force our opinions on others than listen and watch. As a teacher, far too often I rely on words that I speak rather than the actions that I perform.
Bottom line - in the game of basketball and the game of life, it is not just how you play the game, it is what others SEE while you are IN THE GAME!
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