Hoop it up

A few happy basketball thoughts while I try to get over the fact that LeBron isn't coming to the New York Knicks ...

About a month ago, we decided to get the boys a basketball hoop. Michael had already taken two basketball classes at the local YMCA, and we figured he'd enjoy a hoop of his own ( Of course, Peter's going to enjoy it too, but he'll probably needs about another year of maturity before he'll be ready to learn how to dribble and shoot. At this point, he gets a little frustrated when he tries to play, and doesn't really take instruction well. ).

Of course, getting the hoop, and getting the hoop ready were two different things. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most mechanical person in the world ( Well, I do understand all the mechanical principals ( After all, I do have a Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering ), but I'm really all thumbs when it comes to working with tools. ), so putting this thing together took the bulk of a Saturday ( It also didn't help that the parts in the box didn't match the list of parts in the instructions. I eventually figured out that a 5/16 inch nylock nut was missing from the set of nuts in the box ( There was some completely random nut of a different size in its place. ) After doing some research into what a nylock nut actually was and figuring out where I could get one, I went out and bought the nylock nut the same day.). However, getting that hoop together was definitely worth the effort. Michael was SOOOOO excited when he saw the hoop. He immediately wanted to head outside to play. He stayed outside until he hit 100 shots ( He kept a running count as he hit each shot. ).



Here's Michael with the hoop on the day I put it together ( Note: I set it up at the minimum height of 7.5 feet. It's important to keep the height of the hoop low when kids are first learning. Not only does it help their confidence, but it gets them into the habit of shooting with proper form rather than heaving the ball a basket that's way too high for them to reach easily. Speaking of proper form, take a look at the photo below. ).


I know it's a little bit blurry, but just take a look at that perfect form. Gee, it looks like the guy who taught that kid how to shoot really knew what he was doing.

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( Pausing to pat myself on the back repeatedly. )

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You can't imagine how gratifying it is to watch your kid enjoy a hoop, a bike, or any other kind of "some assembly required" toy, knowing that your own sweat and effort went into putting the toy together.

It all felt even more gratifying at 6 AM the next morning. Michael crawled into bed next to me and asked when we could go outside to shoot baskets. He's been shooting hoops at every opportunity ever since.

About a week ago, I thought it would be good for his basketball development to play a game with me. Of course, we wouldn't play a real competitive game, but I though it might be good practice for him took take shots and play defense with a least a tiny bit of pressure. So, I had to set up the rules of the game in such a way that we could "compete" to the extent that it wouldn't be completely obvious to him that I was throwing the game ( BTW, whenever either of my sons gets good enough to legitimately beat me at something, it will be one of the proudest days of my life. ). So, I set up the games with the following rules:

1) I couldn't steal the ball from him.

2) I couldn't raise my hands above my shoulders to block any of his shots.

3) I had to make all my baskets on the bounce. Any "shot" of mine wouldn't count unless it hit

the ground first - thus Micheal had ample opportunity to block all my shots.

4) All my shots would be worth 2 points, but Michael could get 3 points for a shot if he was shooting from more than about 5 feet away.

Making baskets on one bounce was actually a little harder than I thought it would be ( It's been more than 20 years since I used to win games of HORSE shooting shots like that. ), so we actually played to a legitimate 0-0 tie for a while. However, I eventually got the hang of hitting bounce shots again, and I found that he really couldn't get his shots off quick enough to keep me from blocking them or severely altering them, even if I didn't raise my hands above my shoulders. So, at that point, I had to engage in the subtle art of throwing a game to your kid without letting your kid know you are throwing the game.

It's not quite as easy as you might think. I imagine the techniques I used were similar to the techniques used by crooked college basketball players involved in the point shaving scandals of the 1950's. You need to miss shots by just a *little* bit, and be just a half-step slow on defense. You need to do just enough to lose the game.

I tried to make the game as close and dramatic as I could. We were playing to 15, and I got the game to the point where I had a 14-12 lead and the ball. I dribbled the ball a few times and then directed a bounce shot directly into Michael chest as he stood just outside the 3 point line. As he turned to take his shoot, I moved towards him and swiped my hand towards his shooting hand a split second after he let his shot go. I then looked up a prayed the shot would go in ...

SWISH! ( Well actually, more like THUNK, BOUNCE, THUNK, BOUNCE, SWISH, but the important thing is that the shot did go in. ).

Michael 15, Daddy 14. Game over, smiles all around. I gave him a high-five and a hug and we headed inside to have some ice cream.

It's nice to be a Dad! :)

Rich