basketball

It’s Bigger Than Basketball

Posted on by wkennar
Air Ryan

 

My son just completed a summer basketball league through our local Parks and Recreation. 

Though Ryan is eleven years old, and now a middle schooler (gasp!), up until his request to play basketball this summer, he had never wanted to enroll in any sort of  enrichment class or activity (either after-school or on weekends).

And that was always fine with me.   

You can click here to be redirected to RoleReboot to read my personal essay, “Why My Son Doesn’t Need ‘Enrichment’ Classes,” that was published back in 2018 to find out more.

But that was then.

Ryan decided he wanted to play basketball, and play he did with one hundred percent heart and soul – at every practice and every game. 

About half-way into the summer session, there was a major scheduling snafu.  Only ten children showed up at game time.  The other team Ryan and his teammates were scheduled to play, kids from a neighboring park, didn’t show.  And the coaches didn’t show.

But we had 10 kids who came to play.  2 referees ready to work.  And 1 park employee prepared to keep track of points, fouls, and timeouts. 

The 10 kids were split into 2 groups of 5, and my husband and another parent were asked to serve as coaches.

My husband coached the way we parent.  Not stressing the outcome, but praising the effort.  Paul walked over to “his team,” introduced himself, asked each kid his name and gave each one a fist-bump.  (And yes, Ryan was on his Daddy’s team.)

At each timeout, Paul shared fist-bumps and high-fives with his group of kids.  He clapped while they played, encouraged them to pass the ball and communicate with one another.  And for most of the game, he let these boys just run the court and play.

When the game was over, (Ryan and his teammates won), my husband had them all line up to shake hands with their competition.  And while the other coach had begun to walk away from the court, my husband walked over to him, shook his hand, and congratulated him on a good game.

That’s a big part of the lesson I wanted Ryan to take away from this basketball experience.  

Yes, it’s been great to see his layups improve.  

Yes, I’m impressed with his defensive playing. 

Yes, his long-range shots are dramatically better than they were when he started.  (And he made a big shot in the last game of the season!)

But ultimately, I’m proud of his good sportsmanship and his wholehearted effort.

And the biggest takeaway is one Ryan provided himself.  The ability to know yourself, to trust yourself.  

It was Ryan’s choice to play basketball.  On his own time-table.  When he was ready.

 

Champion Role Models

Posted on by wkennar
At the March 30th, 2019 Clippers game.

It all began because our son, Ryan, borrowed a sports-themed Sesame Street DVD from the public library.

Abby Cadabby was teaching viewers the word “champion,” and she used her magic wand to “poof” Blake Griffin beside her.  He thought he’d been summoned since he was a slam dunk champion.  Instead he was going to participate in a chicken-calling contest – which he won.

And that’s how our son, and our family, became a Los Angeles Clippers fan.

For many, the Clippers weren’t the easiest team to like.  They haven’t won any championships.  Yet.  They’ve had their difficulties and scandals (I’m not  going to name their former owner).  They’ve had to live under the shadow of a more popular Los Angeles team and have always been regarded as the “underdogs,” and “the other L.A. team.”

But not in our house.  Blake brought basketball, Clippers basketball, to our family.  We began referring to the players by a series of initials:  BG (Blake Griffin), CP3 (Chris Paul), DJ (DeAndre Jordan), and JJ (J. J. Redick).  My son was intrigued that a daddy was coaching his son (coach Doc Rivers, son Austin Rivers – now playing on the Rockets).  Ryan even wondered if his daddy could be his coach when he grew up and played for the Clippers.  

Not one of those players is on our current team.  We’ve had to learn the hard way that it’s not very easy for players to have a Dirk Nowitzki-like career.  That just because someone has a contract doesn’t mean they will stay on the team.  That trades are as much a part of the game as the shoes.

Yet we love our current team even more than we did our “initials” team.

This year’s roster includes guys who can most likely go shopping at their local Target without being recognized and asked for autographs.  These are guys who are professional basketball players.  It’s their job.  And some of them smile while they play, like they haven’t stopped marveling at the fact that they’re getting paid (a lot of money) to run back and forth in shorts and try to put the ball through the hoop. 

These are guys who didn’t get much play time before finding their way to Doc Rivers and becoming a regular part of the starting line-up (Landry Shamet).  These are guys who are praised for their off-the-bench prowess (Lou Williams), their spirt (Montrezl Harrell), and their grit (Patrick Beverley).  This is the team without a “superstar” – a team made up of players who all contribute to the overall team win.  Because that’s what basketball is – a team sport.  No one player can do it all.  

And then there are the extended members of the Clippers organization; the people you see on the sidelines.  The people who make you feel like you, as a fan, are a part of something special.

Actor Billy Crystal – Harry Burns to me (When Harry Met Sally) and Mike Wazowski to my son (Monsters, Inc.).  A longtime season ticket holder.  A fan and supporter through the highs and the lows.  

Owner Steve Ballmer, who sits courtside (even during away games), wearing his red and blue shirts.  Clapping and shouting, kicking his feet and turning red with the same excitement my son has shown on Christmas morning.  

The Voice of the Clippers, Ralph Lawler, who is retiring after a forty-year career.  40 years of reporting, of optimism, of professionalism and all with a team that didn’t always win a whole lot.

Before the 2018-2019 season began, the Clippers were counted out.  We were a rag-tag team of no-name players apparently.  Then the trades were made in February, and with the loss of players such as Tobias Harris, our Playoff chances were lost too.  Or so they said.

Except every time our Clippers are told they can’t do something, or they won’t do something, they do it anyway.  And that’s why as a mom, I love that my son is watching the Clippers.  This season especially.

Ryan is 11.  He stands in front of the mirror and sees strength, intelligence, and good looks.  He’ll tell you he’s going to be an astronaut, a professional basketball player, a singer, a doctor.  He believes it’s all possible because no one has told him otherwise.

But someday they will.  Someday someone will count him out, because that’s life.  And that’s when he has to channel our Clippers.

Our Clippers aren’t in possession of a Championship title yet.  But they gave the defending champs a great run.

And to this organization, this mom would like to thank you for being role models for my son and for demonstrating what it takes to be a champion.

 

Thoughts From a “Fellow 76er”

Posted on by wkennar

Ryan with basketball (photo by Wendy Kennar)

The NBA Playoffs began on Saturday.  In our house, that fact is a big deal because our Clippers are playing.  We are enthusiastic Clippers fans, following their wins, their losses, their challenges.  (In fact, I even wrote a piece about all the lessons my son is learning from watching the Los Angeles Clippers.  You can read it here at MomsLA.com). 

But the last place team on the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers, also has held my attention this basketball season.  While the Clippers have won 53 games and lost 29, the 76ers have won only 10 of their games, and lost 72. 

I first began paying attention to the 76ers because I like their name.  My husband and I were born in 1976 so we’re 76ers too. 

The fact that the 76ers (my son refers to the team as “your 76ers”) have the worst record in the NBA makes me feel somewhat protective of them.  It’s not easy being in last place.  And these players are still the sons of women who want to see them do well. 

Even though their team ranking isn’t exactly enviable, these men are professional basketball players.  They get paid to play a game that countless children play in their own backyards.  Even though their team isn’t doing well, these men have all accomplished something that many boys will only dream of — becoming a player in the National Basketball Association.  I still think that’s quite an accomplishment.

Though my son only knows the Clippers as the top-notch team they are now, I remember when they were much like the 76ers.  At the bottom.  Discounted.  Teased.  And look at them now. 

Someday the tides will turn, and the 76ers will find themselves in a better position, up near the top.  And you’ll hear me saying, “I knew they could do it.”