Basketball A-ha

Slice of Life-Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers Blog for 

hosting the weekly Slice of Life! Every Tuesday

"Momma, is Kameron going to walk the yellow brick road?"

I giggled, thinking of how Nattie remembered this concept from two weeks ago when Kameron was at Basketball Camp.  "You know what?  You're right.  He was late last night.  Maybe he should walk the yellow brick road!"

"Yes, Momma, I think he should!".

So, I thought about Basketball Camp for my slice.  I reflected on the things that Kam and even Nattie learned from the coach in just a short amount of time.  It was a four day camp from 9-3 each day.  The campers lived and breathed basketball and the skills that are part of the game-including life skills.  I want to share these key ideas.

1.  Don't be late.  If you're late, you have to skip on the yellow brick road.  The coach demanded this expectation from day 1.  If you're late, you had to skip on the yellow brick road.  This was embarassing as the boys who showed up late, even parents had to skip through the road of boys and sing the munchkin song.  It motivated Kameron, Nattie and me to get moving in the morning so we were early almost every day.  It was a fun topic of conversation too.  The boys (about 200 of them) made two lines, creating a road down the middle of the gym.  The friends who were late had to skip down the road and sing whatever the coach made them sing.  (All in good fun of course-but it sure motivated a lot of boys to hustle and be on time!)

2.  Basketball takes practice (skills are part of that).  The coach taught the boys skills that they could practice daily to improve their game.  I thought of this in terms of writing, reading-anything that a person would want to get better at...takes. practice. daily.

3.  There is no "I" in team.  Kam shared with me that the coaches were encouraging the boys to work together and get to know their teammates and play to each other's strengths making the whole team better.  Surrounding yourself with people who bring out the best in your work will result in greater success for all.

And last but not least of the key ideas-
4.  Just do it.  Our game is not improved by sitting on the sidelines watching somebody else play.  We have to get in on the action to really get better.

I think all of these apply to life skills that anyone wants to improve...hopefully you can see the connection to your own life.

Which one is your favorite?