R
ecently, as I watched my
son Nathan play basket-
ball for his high school
team, I was starting to
feel sorry for myself and for him.
His team was facing adversity
on the court and he was playing
in a hostile environment—it
was the opponent’s home gym
filled with their supporters, and
Nathan’s team was trailing for
three quarters of the game. As
for me, I had been dismissed
from my job earlier in the day. A
career position that I held for 14
years was the victim of corporate
restructuring. I had seen this
coming and was prepared for it as
I had experienced the same thing
14 years earlier, but, just like a
punch in the mouth, the blow is
never softened because you were
expecting it.
As I watched the adversity on
the court that my son was expe-
riencing, I recalled the events
earlier in the day. Packing up
everything in a box and bidding
an emotional farewell to a great
group of colleagues with whom
I’d had the pleasure of working.
During the drive home, I kept
telling myself that just like last
time, I will find work again in a
short time—I am confident in
my experience and abilities and
believe in myself. It was a mantra
I repeated to myself during a
trying day, but self-doubt wassticking its foot in the door. Then,
it hit me. This is the same mantra
that I tried to instill in my son
and my daughters.
The basketball game entered
the fourth quarter with Nathan’s
team still trailing. I saw the de-
termination on his, as well as his
teammates, faces as they fought
back to not only tie the game, but
then go ahead by three points.
Then, a player from the other
team made an unbelievable shot
to tie the game up again. With
a tie game and seconds on the
clock, Nathan found himself with
the ball and with skill and confi-
dence, he proceeded to make the
basket with a defender hanging
all over him. The other player
was called for a foul. Nathan’s
restrained celebration after mak-
ing the basket, the joy on his face,
the cheering from the crowd, the
silence on the other side of the
gym—it was a moment
that would make any
parent proud.
As Nathan
stood at the foul
line preparing
for a shot that
would put his
team up by
three points, I
saw the focus
and determina-
tion on his face,
there was no roomfor self-doubt. Let me tell you, if
you don’t play basketball, making
a free throw in a hostile gym, is
equivalent to making a 12- foot
putt in golf with a foghorn in your
ear. Nathan was able to tune out
all the distractions and nail the
free throw with such skill, it was
as if he had done it a thousand
times. Later he told me he didn’t
know how he did it because he
had lost all feeling in his right
arm from being thrown to the
floor earlier in the game. After
he made the free throw, his team
was able to hang on and stop the
other team from scoring, winning
the game and moving on to the
tournament finals.
As I sat there, my heart burst-
ing with pride, it dawned on me.
I had taught him perseverance
in the face of adversity, and he
had just taught me the same
lesson. That brief moment of
self-doubt and feeling
sorry for myself
was blown away
by the actions
of my son on
the basket-
ball court.
He will play
in the finals,
but it doesn’t
matter if he
wins or loses,
at this moment,
we both won. ■We teach our kids life-lessons, and, if we’re lucky,
they return the favour by Paul Diamond,Niagara Falls, Ont.
A Lesson in Life
& Basketball^
IST
OC
KP
HO
TO
27