Six year-olds attempting to play a real basketball game. Nearly passed out from laughing so hard and so frequently.
Was in the building to watch my grandson's sixth grade-level basketball team. We arrived about an hour early so had the opportunity to watch two games of first grade-level action. Those teams play on goals on either side of the regular court so that two games can be played at the same time and they don't have to run so far. The goals were cranked down to be only eight feet high instead of the standard ten feet. The coaches for each team can wander around on the court with them. No matter where the ball goes, about three-fourths of the kids playing are within five feet of the ball. They might dribble with one hand, then both, then pick it up and run with it a little, then dribble some more, then try to throw it to anyone they recognize. Someone's parent would yell out to them, so they would stop, turn and look at the parent for a few seconds. That didn't work out to well when another player was in process of throwing them the ball. There were plenty of attempted shots that didn't make it eight feet above the floor. Funnier yet were those shots where the kid was directly under the rim. One team had one girl on it. All in all it made for a great time for the spectators.
The sixth graders played a somewhat normal style of game but still with quite a bit of leniency in order to keep them playing. I felt so sorry for one player on the opposing team. It was obvious that he had never touched a basketball until a few weeks ago. He was 18 to 24 inches taller than the other players, but had no talent for the game. On offense, he would stand near the basket and wait to get a rebound and shoot it back. He might have had 20 such rebounds but only made his shot one time.
This is a community with many nationalities present. A Japanese couple were seated nearby as their son was on my grandson's team. Most of the time as they called out encouragement or guidance to their son, they did so in Japanese. Sometimes, they would switch to English in mid-sentence. A young Chinese player on the opposing team scored a basket then imitated a few NFL running backs celebrating scoring a touchdown. He ran in a big semicircle as fast as he could with his head and chest protuding as far forward as possible as he held his arms out wide to his side.
One young fellow had already been schooled in how to be a showoff for no good reason. He was fouled while making a shot so was awarded two free throws. Like most others, he dribbled the ball a few times before picking it up and looking toward the basket. But, then, he took the ball in one hand and brought it behind his back and then around again to the front...twice. Then he eyed the rim again for several seconds before shooting a shot that didn't reach the rim....both times.
They're a blast. I once "coached" my sister's 7th grade B-ball team. 😀
I cannot recall the exact age my son started. I was scorer for quite a few games. A game was a success if a team got into double digits. Full court and standard basket height.
I took him to see the New Jersey Nets. As we watched the pros go end to end in like three strides and two dribbles I said to him, "just doesn't seem fair that you play on the same size court".
Paul in PA
