Basketball

I'm the opposite of a jock. Talking myself into any kind of exercise is a challenge, and I hardly ever consider it fun. It is for this reason that I am overwhelmingly thankful that my boy loves basketball.

I was on basketball duty tonight. Usually I go inside the gym and stay for just a few minutes before I head off to run errands or wander around the bookstore. Tonight I still wasn't feeling well from a cold I've been fighting all week, so I decided to plant myself on a bench and stay. I brought a book to read, but I decided to watch for a while. This is the sixth year that I've taken Connor to basketball practice, and tonight I realized that he has come a long way since those first years on the court. I guess I should have figured that out when he made the competitive team. He's never been an aggressive player, but he has always been an enthusiastic one. He loves the sport, and he enjoys every minute of it.

It's not the same game that it was when he was playing in the school gym in Marysville, either. This coach works these boys hard, and he expects a lot from them. Connor has to bring in a tally sheet showing he has done 500 shots every week. He also has a fitness routine he has to complete three times each week. Practices are intense, and I am amazed that those boys are still walking at the end of it. On Thursday nights a fitness instructor comes in at the end of their hour and a half practice and does a half hour workout with them. Knowing my somewhat lazy son, I would expect him to be complaining through the workout routine, but I noticed tonight that he does everything asked of him with a smile. And he's good at it! He not only keeps up with the rest of the boys on the team, he excels at these exercises! He is a far cry from his mom, and I am so thankful.

The team will play their first games next weekend in Guelph, and the boys are all excited, and a bit nervous. I'm looking forward to cheering them on, to cheering my boy on in the sport that he loves. What a great experience this is for him, to be part of a team, to have hard work expected of him, to learn to win and lose with grace. Twenty years ago I would never have thought I would add this word to a gratitude list, but tonight my heart is overflowing with it: I am so deeply thankful for basketball.