Growing into Basketball
There is a joyful and rewarding feeling when we throw something where we want it to go.It doesn’t seem to matter whether this is a scrunched-up piece of paper landing in a bin or shooting a 3 pointer with a basketball.
The feelings these actions awaken in us are often the most satisfying we experience in life.
Childhood Dreams On Basketball Machines
Some of my first experiences of basketball were on the arcade games where you scored points for shooting as many hoops as possible within a time limit. If you were lucky some of your mates will have chucked several basketballs from the other machines onto yours.
This meant that you could be playing with several balls, continuously shooting hoops one after the other.
Tickets would pop out of the machine, But the prize didn’t matter.
Nothing could beat the feeling when the ball spun around the rim of the hoop, on a knifes edge
Not knowing if it would drop for what seemed like an eternity…. but it often did.
Every hoop, whether this dramatic or not, was satisfying in some innate human way that feels so linked to who you are.
In that moment, shooting hoops, you can feel connected to the basket, connected to the ball and connected to something greater than yourself.
Physicality
As you grow up, the task of throwing a ball into a hoop is still the greatest joy, but you’re getting BIGGER and STRONGER.
That household bin you used to throw the ball into becomes a 10-foot regulation sized hoop in the yard and the timer defeating you in the arcade is now 3 or 4 friends between you and the hoop.
In order to experience that sensation of the ball flying through the air, only to float perfectly through the hoop and swish the net. You have to dribble, spin, run, jump and use your brain to outthink opponents so that you’ve got some clear space to take a shot or jump and slam dunk.
Growing kids and young teenagers will notice their muscles tone and the fast twitch muscle fibres in the legs allow for leaping and turning in the blink of an eyelid ( a youthful eyelid, that blinks rapidly, although we can’t comment officially on whether eyelid speed slows with age. )
Competition
Team sports are fun and exciting whether competitive or not, but there is often a deep human desire to win.
Pulling off a great assist or Alley-oop alongside teammates is exciting and great friendships and bonds quickly form
Talking about blocks, rebounds and near misses whilst banter flies around and laughter fills the sportshall.
The action is often end to end with fast breaks and lots of exciting baskets scored.
Growing into Basketball is something that happens quickly but you spend a lifetime learning and falling in love with the most exciting game.
