Playing Basketball

Well it’s time to try something new… BASKETBALL!.  As always, I’m a nervous wreck, and Jimmy just thinks everything will be fine.  I wish I had his optimism.  What team will she be on, will the coaches be understanding, will the kids treat her nicely… are just a few of the questions swirling my mind. 

I went to the parent meeting so I could hear what was being said and talked with the director.  Another parent I know and grew up with was there.  Come to find out she’s one of the coaches.  I’m talking to her about things.  She assures me it will all be fine, and that it’s not that competitive.  Kids are still learning the game.  She said we could request Payton to be on her team.  I said oh gosh that would be great!  So, a lot of my worries went away. 

I’m talking to another parent whose daughter and Payton are best friends.  She says that her daughter is going out.  Ugh I wish I would have known that.  I could have requested her on that team.  Oh my gosh so many thoughts and worries.  I talk with my friend and she warned me that she may just tell me to relax.    She was right it was amazing!  I couldn’t have asked for better coaches and teammates for her.  She had a great season.  Basketball might be her thing. 

There were a few breakdowns, and I noticed she would cover her ears with the buzzer going off.  Then another game I noticed she was watching the clock nonstop, and figured out she was watching it so she could cover her ears for the buzzer.  We forget so quickly she how differently her surroundings affect her compared to us.  A buzzer going off is a little annoyance for us.  To her it was like a gun shot in the gym, or at least that’s how Jimmy explained it, and now I’ve got that terrible image in my head.  We also coached her out of taking “granny shots” to normal shots, and from over head spike passes to normal chest passes.  You didn’t want to be on the end of a five-foot pass from Payton before she learned the chest pass.

At her yearly check up with the specialist we told the doctor how she was doing and some of the struggles with basketball.  She asked “Could they turn the buzzer off?  Or turn it down?” “I’m sure there are other kids who are covering their ears too.”  Genius.  I always think about advocating for her from the class room level; but never in this seemingly minor of fashion.  So, we talked to the coach and they were all for it, and why wouldn’t they be, these are super nice people.  All the other teams were responsive to it as well.  Payton stopped watching the clock.  Another amazing thing to watch was when they blew their whistles, they blew them softly which you could tell was a major help.  We can’t wait to work more in the Summer on her skills and see her flourish even more next season.

Comedy Clubs are expensive.  If you need a good laugh, go to a 7-year-old basketball game.