January 26, 2000
CYBERCOLUMN:
Tryouts
___On Tuesday evening, the air at the gymnasium was thick with the smell of yesterday's champions' sweat socks, the squeak of tennis shoes and pressure far more intense than any Final Four. The pandemonium of 20 basketballs, six goals, 43 10-year-olds, concerned parents and unconcerned siblings quickly became tightly wound, excruciatingly organized tryouts.
___The commissioner of the league has devised the most anxiety-producing process 10-year-olds can imagine. Each future MJ (most of whom look more like Harry Potter thanMichael Jordan) has to line up with a number on his back, dribble the length of the court, shoot a lay-up, dribble the length of the court again, and shoot a jump shot from the free-throw line. Even the hoopsters who have already played five seasons have to endure the stress of taking two shots on which their lives depend.
BRETT YOUNGER
Pastor, Lake Shore Baptist Church, Waco
___ Six coaches with official clipboards sat at mid-court looking more like Bobby Knight than John Wooden. Players fidgeted. Several were suddenly fascinated with the bottoms of their Reeboks. Some chattered nervously: "I think I should have played soccer." Those with enough false bravado talked trash: "His mother made him wear long pants."
___ They all were imagining the bad things that could happen: you could dribble off your foot (that's what happened to #6); sweat could pour off your forehead on to your hand and make you throw the ball into the wall (#11); you could trip over the ball (#13); you could miss and hear your little brother yell, "airball!" (#20); the goal could shrink (didn't happen, but #25 thinks it did).
___Almost everyone missed the jump shot from the free-throw line--about 40 feet from the goal. (Scottie Pippen wouldn't have made the jump shot; Scottie always chokes.) Every missed shot brought a painful grimace from the shooter (and his parents) and a look of relief on every other b-baller's face. On the rare instances when someone made the long shot, everyone in line was awestruck--"ooooooh."
___ Number18 has a cast on his left arm--which tends to make him a pretty one-dimensional ball handler. Number 38 must be 20 years old. He looks less like a 10-year-old Karl Malone than like Karl Malone. My son, Graham, proudly wore #41--signifying that his father signed him up the day after the deadline. When he made the lay-up, we both breathed a little deeper.
___ My guess is that tryouts felt vaguely familiar to a lot of us. Some days it seems like we'll always have a number on our back and never get past the fear of kicking the ball out of bounds. We imagine people with clipboards making a list of our mistakes.
___ When do we get to quit trying out? When can we stop wondering if we're going to make it? How long will we feel like we're three inches too short? When will we understand that playing the game is more fun than trying out?
___ We spend too much of ourselves worrying about whether other people think we're good enough. We may be weak on left-handed lay-ups. The free-throw line may always be too far from the basket. And it doesn't matter.
___ We don't need the approval of others. Tryouts are done, and God has chosen us. Enjoy the game.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
