Last Saturday my son Cory and I attended the Orange Bowl Classic Basketball Tournament. We had been nine years before, but hadn’t gone to it since. This year we were enticed by the prospect of both of our schools participation. My alma mater Florida Atlantic University would be playing the University of Miami, and University of Florida Gators, where my son attends, were to face the University of Richmond.
There are fewer finer things in life than spending the better part of a day hanging out with Cory, unless it’s watching live sports with Cory. In the relaxed holiday atmosphere that surrounded the tournament, both the hanging out, and watching sports took place. While neither of our teams fared well that day, some of the things I saw on the court in terms of the way the game was played troubled me. What troubles me more, is these same basic characteristics are present in other sports as well. What troubles me greater still, is these central principles transcend the arena of sport.
In the first game, my FAU Owls employed the art of the Statue of Liberty jump shot. When a player released the ball, he watched it majestically in flight, admired its arc, only to see it miss its mark. One of the elementary aspects taught at a very early age was to follow ones shot in the event the shot failed. That way, there would be perhaps an opportunity to take another shot if the player was fortunate enough to get his own rebound. Not only was this strategy absent, it seemed that the concept was entirely foreign to the FAU players; to make matters worse, the players supposedly in position to rebound, did not” box out.”
“Boxing out,” means to hinder an opposing player from gaining inside position by physically restraining said player without fouling. Time after time Miami players found themselves free to recover an errant shot without an FAU player, ANY FAU player, encumbering their movement. Boxing out is one of the first things taught to an individual who’s attempting to play the game of basketball for the very first time. It was sad indeed to see the lack of these rudimentary facets engaged by the players. Not surprisingly, Florida Atlantic lost. Coach Mike Jarvis noticed what I did as well. In the newspaper the following day he commented, “Our boys need to put a butt on other guy. That’s what god gave you one for.” He was referring to leaning into an opposing player in order to box out.
The saddest part of the second game was the lack of a take charge player; a player who’s willing to step up in the clutch; the player who wants to shoot the ball when their team needs a basket. The Florida squad was loaded with individual talent. You could tell much of this talent was still untapped. Once this talent was brought out, no fewer than four players may one day have an opportunity to play at the professional level. However, until any one of those four players decides it is they who will reach down inside of themselves, muster the courage and confidence to call for the ball when a timely basket is needed, this will be the highest level they will ever play at. Even in the Major Leagues, cornerstones of sound baseball have gone by the way of the horse and buggy.
The idea of blocking ground balls with one’s body is so alien; you’d think every player was more concerned with preserving their faces for a future in product endorsements. The all too familiar sight of an infielder waving his glove sidesaddle at an oncoming grounder, like some sort of spheroid matador, is commonplace. If the ball does undeniably elude this type of nonchalant attempt, there is little ridicule or scorn. Using two hands is no longer necessary to catch a flyball. The gloves are now so oversized, there are able to shag a basketball if one is hit the outfielders way. Choking up on the bat to make contact in a two strike situation is nonexistent. Football is not without its apparent eschewing of tried and true methods.
Not a game goes by where I don’t observe a defensive player attempting to tackle the player with the ball by using his arms only. What happened to the axiom of “hit’em low” thereby entangling the legs of the opposing player, in order to bring him to the ground in the most efficient manner possible? No, players today must show how strong they, while also demonstrating their incompetence. Does this behavior cease? Is there a good old fashion tongue-lashing by the coach? No, this has become part of the game. This is just the way things are done now. I say BULLSHIT!
All of these examples, and many more not cited, from all these sports, have taken hold. Is the reason behind this metamorphosis much deeper than just a lack of work ethic, or a poor one if one exists at all? Or is there a bigger force at work?
Some of you might think me the frustrated athletic father. However, I believed when rearing Cory, that exposure to as many things as possible was the way to go. Give me a diverse well-rounded kid any day. With that said, yes I exposed to him every sport; sometimes in large doses. Regardless, I felt is necessary to teach him each sport from the ground up. Let Cory know the rules, the proper way to execute, and the end result, with practice, will be ultimately the desired one. I believe this is missing from today’s sports culture.
How often do we witness flash and dash over substance; running before walking so to speak. Tricks of the trade are taught before anyone knows anything about the trade. I am of the opinion that each sport suffers for it. Why apply yourself to learning your craft when you can skate by on athleticism alone. This notion fits in nicely with Cory’s observation that a large percentage a pussies, and my view that to hell with the standard of mediocrity that so poisons our society; a topic I’ve railed about in past blogs.
Why hone your skills to such a level of excellence when pretty good will be rewarded? Those who wish to excel are widening a gap so vast, that it’s becoming harder to tell if they represent true greatness, or is everyone so far behind and happy in their status.
Is Lebron James or Kobe Bryant the next Michael Jordan? I’m more concerned why there are so few next Larry Birds; men of limited talent, but achieved greatness because they made the most with what they had. And if they didn’t have it, they learned every other aspect forward and backwards to make up for sheer ability.
Derek Jeter has always had the ability, but worked hard to be better still at every part of the game of baseball. Peyton Manning can’t run, but he can outthink anyone on the football field. He practices with his receivers long after everyone else has gone home.
Derek Jeter wants to be up when there are two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the winning run on third.
Peyton Manning wants to lead his team eighty yards down the field for the winning score with only a minute left in the game.
Jordan, James, Bryant, and Larry Bird wanted to take the last shot to win the game. Bird used to say he was the only one he trusted to make that shot, that’s why he took it.
Say what you want about George Bush, or Barack Obama for that matter. They wanted the ball with the game on the line. Doesn’t anybody from this next generation my son deems to be weak want the ball with the game on the line? Don’t they want to learn the fundamentals that will ensure better performance regardless of innate ability? Aren’t they sick of complaining about losing, and realize it takes effort to lead, much less win? Maybe if they ask Santa he’ll bring this quality to them for Christmas. Maybe they just don’t care enough one way or the other.
Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
Happy Holidays!
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