Hippity-Hooping

Seven for Seven GAME NINE

SEVEN FOR SEVEN
Game Nine

It was a fantastic night on the courts yesterday! I managed to score 14 points for our team. That’s seven baskets, the most I’ve ever contributed since I joined the team! I was aiming to get seven, particularly, for two reasons; so I could use ‘seven for seven’ for the title of this email, and to beat my last game’s score.

The game started out slowly for me. I couldn’t seem to get myself set up properly to even get my hands on the ball much less try and score. Things changed half way through the game, though, when Sara told me to stay at the opposing basket and she’d dribble down and pass the ball for me so I could get a shot in. We did this time and time again, and time and time again I continued to score for our team! I missed a few, as we all do, but the practice certainly paid off. I went home elated.

It seems every experience on the court provides me with an education, and last night was no exception. The first week of playing I had learned about traveling, when the player runs with the ball without dribbling. The following week I had learned not to double dribble, which is when a player stops dribbling, then continues on again without passing the ball or making a shot first. Last night I learned how important it is to keep both feet planted when in possession of the ball, and that you cannot change the pivot foot. Once established, it must remain on the ground at all costs.

I also learned something I had already known, but when the opportunity arose, I made the mistake, anyway. I have to laugh at myself whenever I think back on it, but when I had knocked the ball out of an opponent’s hand, and it went tumbling to the ground, my main concern was to keep the ball out of the reach of the opponent, so I kicked it. Boy didn’t I get teased for that one! Even the referee had to hold her hand to her mouth and laugh. “This isn’t soccer, you know!” I know! I know! As soon as I had done it, I had a good laugh at myself. I was taken back in time to when I was ten years old, playing some sort of ball game in the backyard with my friends, using my foot to kick it away from the other players. No one ever called a penalty against me then! It just seemed like the right thing to do, even though I knew it wasn’t. What a laugh!

I played very aggressively last night and was able to keep the opposing team from scoring many times throughout the duration of the game. This is the first time I didn’t get tired during play, and I only sat out once. Since there were seven of us, and only five players are allowed on the court at any given time, substituting is essential. I used to look forward to time off, since it gave me a chance to catch my breath, but now I actually hate it and feel cheated when it’s my turn to sit out.

Oh, I also had a violation called against the pants I was wearing, which have pockets. Due to safety purposes, no pockets are allowed. I wasn’t told this until after the game, but I guess that means I now have to find a new pair of shorts to wear before next Wednesday’s game.

All-in-all, I find playing basketball a real riot. Because it’s so fast-paced, I find it terribly exhilarating, exciting, and, actually, downright fun. I’m learning all the time, getting in there in spite of myself and giving it a real go. It’s enjoyment I had never pursued in this way before (In the past, I always found my pleasure in riding horses, playing music, writing stories and poetry, acting on stage, drawing and painting). What a hoot! Cathe on the court. That’s the new me.