The Joy of Playing

Tue Feb 23 01:00:00 EST 2010 | by Johanna Dickson

You will need a current version of Flash to view this content.
Click here to download the latest Flash player.
Click here to bypass the detection.

We weren't surprised when Jake became enthralled with basketball this year.  Most of his peers had played for a few years, but this was Jake's first season. He was quick to grasp the rules of the game and soon he was devoting hours to driveway free throws. He was rapidly improving, and yet he seemed a little timid when it came to game time.  I'm not proud of this, but this is what I did; I told him I would write a wired-4-sport article about him if he took a few more shots at his next game. Don't judge me.

I bet you want to know what happened.  Well, Jake didn't take many shots that game.  Do you want to know why?  Very simply, he didn't get many opportunities.  He was extremely well covered.  Even with a web article on the line, he was not going to take a bad shot. He did however, throw a lot of great passes, and had some awesome assists.  I watched other boys dribble (or double dribble) down the court, not once looking for a teammate to pass to, and take innumerable and inaccurate under-the-hoop lay-ups. I watched boys give the "what's up with that" gesture to the volunteer refs.  I watched pushing and shoving and ball-hogging.  And then I had the privilege of watching Jake, hands up... just waiting for a pass... bright eyes fixated on the ball, the object of his desire. I saw him make choices that were best for the team, sacrificing self-glory for the safer shot.  And as I watched him, it dawned on me that Jake is the best kind of player... he's not in it for the glory, but for the joy. The boy loves to play.

Right now, I'm sitting at the computer and I hear the steady beat of the basketball outside the window. In a few minutes, Jake will come in with black, driveway ball fingers and a satisfied smirk.  I could not be prouder of this kid.