Below the 8-Foot Rim: Hoops, Dreams, and a Season Inside U8 Rec Basketball will be available on February 18.
You can pre-order the eBook now or wait for the paperback on the 18th.
Some say it’ll change your life. Not everyone, but some.
When I was in junior high, I had a basketball coach who smelled a lot like Vick’s VapoRub would smell if Vick’s VapoRub also smelled like it had smoked a pack of Marlboros. Once, in the summer before my senior year in high school, two friends and I got pretty drunk on some Foster’s Oil Cans with this coach but that’s a story for another time.
Anyways, this coach spoke with a deep, raspy delivery, and he was full of go-to sayings.
Guys, it’s like (insert name here) en fuego after anyone had strung together a few makes in a row.
Kelly, it’s like I give you a lot of latitude, but when you put a running left-handed hook shot off the top of the backboard, well, that’s where I gotta draw the line.
It’s like… the rocker step is gotta be your best friend on the basketball court.
But his best line he saved for whenever one of his teams lost a game.
After a 20-0 regular season, our team lost in the semi-finals of our conference tournament. Standing in front of us in the locker room, he surveyed our sad, sweating faces. He looked into our forlorn stares - the dashed hopes of a bunch of fifteen-year-olds - and tried to mend our pained hearts. He ran his hand across his head. Nodded, for a beat, then spoke:
Guys, it’s like we play this team ten times at a neutral site, we win nine of ‘em. They just beat us today.
The point of this story, though, is not what happened next for our team but what I learned happened the year before when that year’s team had played a particularly good squad out of Toledo. They had lost… by a lot of points… after trailing most of the game by many more points.
As told to me, Coach gathered everyone in the locker room. Then, after a few moments of silence, he finally spoke:
Guys, it’s like we play this team ten times a neutral site…well, I don’t think we win one of them. They’re that good.
Friends- Below the 8-Foot Rim is available starting on Tuesday. It was such a joy to write. I hope you enjoy it, too.
We love you, and we’ll see you when we see you.
🏀Have any words of wisdom from a memorable coach? Go ahead and share in the comments. Would love to read!
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