Basketball is as much a part of my culture and heritage as is hula, and not because I can trace my genealogy to the Naismiths, but simply because it’s a family passion. I must admit, the flames of the fire were almost extinguished, but through a new generation – new life has provided enough oxygen to turn embers into flames.
At the end of five games, we’re undefeated, but the number in the win column are for the athletes – for me, it’s the lessons learned through the duration of the game.
During the fourth game we found ourselves in an unfamiliar situation at the half – we were down by seven point which in a youth league is a huge lead. The league allows 3-minutes during this break, and I like to always take the girls outside of the gym and give them some words of encouragement, relevant to the game or situation.
I took a deep breath, assigned positions for the third quarter and said, “I believe in each of you. I need you to search inside of yourself, and find something that will help you to give just a little bit more. Dig down deep inside.”
I must admit, the faces of my team, the fire in their eyes were priceless as we huddled once more for a resounding, “Uila!” The girls’ gave up 18 points in the first half, but only five in the second. They left their little hearts on the court at the end of the game, exhausted in victory.
The same as during halftime, we met after the game outside of the gym in our corner and this time I said, “I am proud of all of you. And, you should be proud of yourselves. I want you to remember that feeling you felt when you dug down deep inside of you when you want something later in life.”
This past Sunday placed us once again in an unfamiliar situation, we were leading, but we weren’t playing the type of game we normally do. We appeared sluggish, preoccupied by something other than the game which was allowing their opponent to “believe.” Now, instead of “digging deep” I said, “We must go in there and take their hope away.”
Once again the look on their faces were priceless, almost as if, “Where is it, so I can go get it?” They used the tool of faith “When we work together, no one can stop us” and the tool learned from the previous week of “digging deep,” and realized that the two tools combined took their opponents hope away. This game, they gave up 11 points in the first half, and an astounding zero in the entire second half.
I am enjoying the journey of this season.
