I've been playing a lot more basketball lately. I've always liked to play, but my nagging injuries seem to be disappearing, so I can push my legs a little bit more. Also, I recently stopped for a few weeks, and my jump shot seemed to magically disappear. Vowing that I didn't want this to happen again, I figured I'd make it out to the courts more frequently.
Even if my usual basketball crew doesn't show up, I'll just go shoot around for a bit. It's decent exercise, and I like doing it. However, that means that I don't have to go to the centrally located courts that my basketball friends prefer. If they're not around, I'm free to frequent some of the other courts closer to my house. So I do.
As I've realized, these particular courts seem to attract much more interesting characters. I'm not there to gawk, but my basketball adventures have suddenly gotten a lot more interesting. Heck, sometimes the adventures come to me. Last time I was there, a mentally handicapped teenager who likes to watch by standing on the court approached me. He didn't cause any trouble or anything, but he stood a few feet away and just stared. It was a little unnerving. I actually offered him a chance to shoot the ball, but his guardian said he didn't want to. Still, he meant no harm, so it was fine.
The really amusing part, though, comes when there are groups of people. I was minding my own business when I noticed a teenager shooting around. He seemed to know what he was doing, but he was by himself just shooting some baskets. Eventually, his younger sister and his mom showed up to chat with him for a while. He gave up the ball, and let his mom shoot the ball (his sister was too young). I didn't think much of it, until I noticed that she didn't have sneakers on. No, mom was rocking a pair of wedge heels (side note: finding the proper name for those things was no trivial feat). Still, there she was, dropping in jumpers from the elbow (second side note: knowing that terminology makes me feel slightly better about having to Google "women's heels").
It gets better, though. The son figured that he was sharing the court with a bonafide basketball player, so he asked her to do layup drills with him. If you're not familiar with the motion, a layup involves running at the basket and jumping off of one foot. It's not something I would attempt if I wasn't sure of my balance, or if I didn't trust my ankle to hold up when I landed. I'm guessing the kid didn't entirely realize what he was asking, because I doubt he was trying to get someone hurt. Not surprisingly, the mom deferred.
Still, that's nothing. My absolute favorite scene on the basketball courts involves four older guys who were on an adjacent court one morning. For a while, they were just shooting the ball around. It looked like they were just looking for some exercise, so I didn't think much of it. Suddenly, I heard all sorts of laughter. They had moved on from plain old shots, and they were now standing somewhere around half court. Instead of just throwing the ball as hard as they could, though, they were heaving hook shots. The motion doesn't really give you fine-grain control, so it's usually used when you're relatively close to the basket. These guys knew it, too.
Still, there they were, four guys well past retirement age giggling like school girls while throwing up hook shots from half court. I'm pretty sure they missed every single one of their attempts, but they were having a grand old time. I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw this. I'm fairly sure I've goofed off with my friends in a similar manner before, but not with nearly as much gusto. I'm talking kid-in-a-candy-store levels of enthusiasm and joy. I was actually jealous for a second. Think about it, when's the last time you experienced that much pure, unabashed joy? They were having so much fun that they missed every single shot, and it didn't matter one bit.
So, I've decided on two things as a result of this:
Even if my usual basketball crew doesn't show up, I'll just go shoot around for a bit. It's decent exercise, and I like doing it. However, that means that I don't have to go to the centrally located courts that my basketball friends prefer. If they're not around, I'm free to frequent some of the other courts closer to my house. So I do.
As I've realized, these particular courts seem to attract much more interesting characters. I'm not there to gawk, but my basketball adventures have suddenly gotten a lot more interesting. Heck, sometimes the adventures come to me. Last time I was there, a mentally handicapped teenager who likes to watch by standing on the court approached me. He didn't cause any trouble or anything, but he stood a few feet away and just stared. It was a little unnerving. I actually offered him a chance to shoot the ball, but his guardian said he didn't want to. Still, he meant no harm, so it was fine.
The really amusing part, though, comes when there are groups of people. I was minding my own business when I noticed a teenager shooting around. He seemed to know what he was doing, but he was by himself just shooting some baskets. Eventually, his younger sister and his mom showed up to chat with him for a while. He gave up the ball, and let his mom shoot the ball (his sister was too young). I didn't think much of it, until I noticed that she didn't have sneakers on. No, mom was rocking a pair of wedge heels (side note: finding the proper name for those things was no trivial feat). Still, there she was, dropping in jumpers from the elbow (second side note: knowing that terminology makes me feel slightly better about having to Google "women's heels").
It gets better, though. The son figured that he was sharing the court with a bonafide basketball player, so he asked her to do layup drills with him. If you're not familiar with the motion, a layup involves running at the basket and jumping off of one foot. It's not something I would attempt if I wasn't sure of my balance, or if I didn't trust my ankle to hold up when I landed. I'm guessing the kid didn't entirely realize what he was asking, because I doubt he was trying to get someone hurt. Not surprisingly, the mom deferred.
Still, that's nothing. My absolute favorite scene on the basketball courts involves four older guys who were on an adjacent court one morning. For a while, they were just shooting the ball around. It looked like they were just looking for some exercise, so I didn't think much of it. Suddenly, I heard all sorts of laughter. They had moved on from plain old shots, and they were now standing somewhere around half court. Instead of just throwing the ball as hard as they could, though, they were heaving hook shots. The motion doesn't really give you fine-grain control, so it's usually used when you're relatively close to the basket. These guys knew it, too.
Still, there they were, four guys well past retirement age giggling like school girls while throwing up hook shots from half court. I'm pretty sure they missed every single one of their attempts, but they were having a grand old time. I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw this. I'm fairly sure I've goofed off with my friends in a similar manner before, but not with nearly as much gusto. I'm talking kid-in-a-candy-store levels of enthusiasm and joy. I was actually jealous for a second. Think about it, when's the last time you experienced that much pure, unabashed joy? They were having so much fun that they missed every single shot, and it didn't matter one bit.
So, I've decided on two things as a result of this:
- If I'm not meeting up with people, I'm going to keep going to these courts. I'm not missing out on any more amusing anecdotes if I can help it.
- Heaving half court hook shots with some friends after the age of 65 is now on my bucket list.
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