Give and Take

An old man noticed his young grandson sitting on the wall, crying. He asked him what was wrong. The youngster replied, "I can't do what the big boys do." So the old man sat down and cried, too. 

I saw a lot of aspiring hoopsters at the Team 13 3-on-3 fundraiser today, as I lamented the lack of teachable fundamental basketball moments as a spectator, not as a coach. But there's no crying in basketball. 

What would I have emphasized to the youngsters? In the basketball world of give and take, you take DEFENSIVE RESPONSIBILITY, take QUALITY SHOTS, take CARE of the BASKETBALL, take the ball TO THE BASKET, and take CONTROL of the BOARDS. But the overarching message was giving, and several hundred people and over thirty teams turned out at Melrose Middle School for a worthy cause...promoting hope and opportunity for Samuel Jean-Gilles. 

We live in a cynical, increasingly polarized world. We can change the conditions that economic inequality increases polarization. Education levels the playing field. And it was great to see women and men, old and young, black and white and yellow, girls and boys united on the hardwood for a unifying cause. Friendship and community triumphed over trash talk and competition. Those messages transcended the mundane basketball education today.

Certainly many worthy causes compete for our support. A lot of people stepped up today to answer the question, "what can I do to help?" We can make a difference...and rebuild a world where every child can fight for a dream.