(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska -Basketball has always been my favorite sport. I played it in high school, covered it in college, then coached it for a decade.

My career as a player is way over and has been since we lost in the regional tournament (in Kayhi’s gym) a long time ago. I’ve since accepted the unavoidable truth I’m not what I was, and what I was, wasn’t all that special. That became evident my freshman year at the University of Arizona when the best my buddies and I could muster was good, for the middle intramural league.

I’m a once or twice a week guy now and I’m fine with that. City League (or Adult League, Men’s League, Can’t-Let-It-Go-League, whatever you want to call it) is purely for recreation so it’s been easy for me to stay competitive, but maintain perspective.

It’s one of those things you have to come to terms with then you decide how serious you want to take it going forward. You should take it serious because you are on a team and it’s understood that the point is to compete. However, the point is to have fun while competing and hopefully staying out of foul trouble.

So when you hit the floor, you try to get after it without exhausting the tanks too early.

You have those moments when everyone is running downcourt and rather than follow you sort of think, “well, there they go.”

Or on defense when you’ve been out there for a while and the shooter has the ball and you’re the closest one but unfortunately your feet, which felt like they were in mud after the first ten minutes, now feel like concrete. The guy shoots, and you hope that a cross-wind which doesn’t exist in a closed gym miraculously kicks up so the team doesn’t suffer for your inability to close out and challenge the shot. When it sails over your head and swooshes cleanly through the net, you say, “My bad” and chastise yourself for being lazy.

But then there are times you make the right decision and you get caught up just like the old days. You call cutters, you deny cutters, box out, chin the rebound, hit the outlet and run the floor with purpose. In fact, you sprint to get level with the ball, but make it to the key just in time to see your teammate make a layup. You retreat downcourt, realizing you used up quite a bit of energy during that flashback. You regret it.

Of course the next time down, a guy dribbles off his foot. Loose ball! There’s no scout in the stands taking notes on your skill, coachability or dedication, but something about the past tells you to get on the floor. So you do and the rest of the day your left knee feels off. It doesn’t hurt, you don’t limp, but something happened when you dove for the basketball the opposing team ended up getting then scoring because your carcass was still on the floor.

When all is said and done, win or lose you slap some hands, or give a couple sets of knuckles to the teammates before you retreat home for water and dinner. You’re proud because for the third game in a row you reached double figures in scoring and if you added your turnovers and fouls together, you’d have a double-double.

You eat like Blake Griffin that night then go to bed, hoping tomorrow you’re not so sore you walk like you just had your hip replaced.

Jeff Lund ©2014

Jeff Lund is a Teacher, Freelance Writer, living in Ketchikan, Alaska
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @alaskalund
Contact Jeff at Email – aklund21@gmail.com

http://www.jlundoutdoors.com

SitNews ©2014
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

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