o-fer no more
coach shelton always had good advice. i'm talking about little shelton, not big shelton. big shelton was always cool with me ; but, little shelton was a much more genial guy and more free with his personality. since he was my track coach as well as my football coach, i spent more than twice as much time getting to know him and letting him get to know me.
he often gave pep talks that involved some version of the following: when you win, you have all week to think about how great you played...your food tastes better, the air smells cleaner, you'll sleep better, and...the fourth superlative he frequently used had to do with one's girlfriend being more enjoyable...so to speak. as it turned out, coach shelton was a prognosticator of formidable skills. the week following a win was always a whole lot more fun than those other weeks. even practice was agreeable.
in contrast, EVERYTHING about losing sucks. sportsmanship and "doing my best" are nice sentiments, but nothing replaces going home with a "w."
i have been fortunate to have usually been on teams that won alot. often enough my contribution was not the main cause of our success, but i have always been able to feel like a vital part of the fun of winning. unfortunately, this year's church basketball team is one of the worst teams (in any sport) with which i've ever been associated.
most of the players are new to playing with each other. there is almost no chemistry. adding to the lack of chemistry is the fact that we have a rotating group of players, with no two consecutive games constructed of like personnel. all of these guys know how to shoot and dribble (more or less) but there is alot more to basketball than these basic abilities. we have more talent than alot of the other teams but this fact has not prevented us from losing every game...until tonight.
the fact that we beat the worst team in the league only matters because it confirms that we are not the worst team in austin. this is a better feeling than it should be. whereas we usually leave the gym seperately, and quickly following a loss; tonight, we stood around chatting with each other for a few minutes. there were even a few smiles present. i know what you're thinking... it IS sad what i've become in my old age.
i only wish i still had a girlfriend.
he often gave pep talks that involved some version of the following: when you win, you have all week to think about how great you played...your food tastes better, the air smells cleaner, you'll sleep better, and...the fourth superlative he frequently used had to do with one's girlfriend being more enjoyable...so to speak. as it turned out, coach shelton was a prognosticator of formidable skills. the week following a win was always a whole lot more fun than those other weeks. even practice was agreeable.
in contrast, EVERYTHING about losing sucks. sportsmanship and "doing my best" are nice sentiments, but nothing replaces going home with a "w."
i have been fortunate to have usually been on teams that won alot. often enough my contribution was not the main cause of our success, but i have always been able to feel like a vital part of the fun of winning. unfortunately, this year's church basketball team is one of the worst teams (in any sport) with which i've ever been associated.
most of the players are new to playing with each other. there is almost no chemistry. adding to the lack of chemistry is the fact that we have a rotating group of players, with no two consecutive games constructed of like personnel. all of these guys know how to shoot and dribble (more or less) but there is alot more to basketball than these basic abilities. we have more talent than alot of the other teams but this fact has not prevented us from losing every game...until tonight.
the fact that we beat the worst team in the league only matters because it confirms that we are not the worst team in austin. this is a better feeling than it should be. whereas we usually leave the gym seperately, and quickly following a loss; tonight, we stood around chatting with each other for a few minutes. there were even a few smiles present. i know what you're thinking... it IS sad what i've become in my old age.
i only wish i still had a girlfriend.
posted by cm at 2/19/2006
<< Home