March 22, 2000
CYBERCOLUMN:
The temptation to double dribble
___I've been amused and amazed attending basketball games involving 6-year-olds. My son, Caleb, is on a team sponsored by a local pizza place. His older brother, Graham, calls them the "Delivery Boys."
___The first thing that catches your eye is the shorts, which aren't short by any normal definition. Someone had never ordered uniforms for a team of players under four feet. Theshorts, which do look very cool, come to about an inch above their ankles.
BRETT YOUNGER
___The referees are extremely important to 6-year-olds' basketball, because they have to point players in the right direction, as in, "Go that way!" or "Go the other way!" Players still shoot at the wrong goal once or twice a game, but fortunately the kids who shoot at the wrong goal are also the ones most likely to miss.
___ The referees also have to help teams get the ball in bounds. Getting one and only one player to stand out of bounds to throw the ball in is harder than you would guess. The other four players gather in a clump and beg for the ball. "Throw it to me." "No, throw it to me, and I'll be your best friend." "Throw it to me, and I'll throw it right back. I promise."
___Other than throwing the ball in bounds, which is primarily a test of friendship, passing is an as yet undiscovered art. Most passes are dribbles that get away--which isn't surprising since most dribbles are about five feet off the ground. When a player shows any inclination to pass the ball and sometimes when he doesn't, the others start yelling. The farther they are from the basket, the louder they shout and the more they wave their arms. The ball handler usually responds by tossing the ball aimlessly into the air. The few passes that arrive at their intended destination are usually of six inches or less.
___Defense is limited--only in part because it's against the rules to steal the ball when a player is dribbling. At the beginning of each quarter, the coach tells each player the number of the player he is to guard. This leads to a lot of running around to see the numbers on the backs of the opposing teams' jerseys. Players who are guarded closely take it personally. One player repeatedly shouted, "Go away" to the boy guarding him. Another appealed for help, "Mom, he won't stop guarding me."
___One of the nice things about 6-year-olds' basketball games is that no one keeps score. I was a little embarrassed when after a game a woman asked me what the score was. I answered, "We're not supposed to keep score." She said, "What was the score?" So I said, "28-24." Why would she think that about me?
___ You see some things that you don't see at other games--a player going to the water fountain during the game; the toss for the jump ball bouncing; a coach using a time-out to tie shoes; a coach sternly warning his players: "Don't stand under the basket. The ball will hit you on the head."
___The most disturbing aspect for some basketball aficionados is the frequency of traveling. Double dribbling is legal, so almost every time down the court players walk with the ball. They are encouraged to travel.
___Legalizing double dribbling is helpful for children who haven't played competitive basketball. It is, however, frustrating for 6-year-olds who've been playing in their driveway with their older brother for years. In our driveway, for instance, we call traveling. No one, not even a 6-year-old gets to walk with the ball.
___All of this led to a moment of great pride. Caleb was dribbling the ball down the court when one of his teammates almost ran into him, so he stopped dribbling. The other players were far away under the goal, had their backs turned, or were uninterested. Let me say without even a trace of humility that any other 6-year-old on the court would have begun dribbling again, but Caleb wouldn't do it. His teammates shouted for him to dribble, his coach said, "Dribble." Someone on the sidelines shouted, "Dribble, Caleb." But my boy knew it was wrong. He stood there with a determined look on his face and held the ball until the other team took it away from him. I couldn't have been prouder.
___For at that moment I had a vision that one day my son will be 10 or 20 or 30 or 40, and someone or everyone will encourage him to take a shortcut, and he'll say: "That's not what I learned. I'm not going to do it."
___Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." I will never read Emerson's words without thinking about my boy refusing to double dribble.
___The church gathers to remember what we won't do. We promise to hold different, higher standards, to stand against the values of our culture.
___Even when every one tells us it's OK, we get to say: "I won't judge people by the color of their skin. I won't take a higher-paying job just because it's a higher-paying job. I won't treat a homeless person as insignificant. I won't lie to make my life easier. I won't ignore another person's feelings just because I don't like him or her."
___ The church is made up of people who would rather let the other team steal the ball than give up their principles.
___Brett Younger is pastor of Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco.
Send this story to a friend
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
