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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
It's hard to write about your own progress in an objective way because
it's easy to sound conceited or
self-aggrandizing, especially if you
made considerable progress in a given skill. As for basketball,
I can
only assess my own progress by way of statistics such as points scored,
numbers of rebounds,
steals and blocked passes and shots. Another way to
assess your own progress in a given sport is by
the anecdotal feedback
from friends, coaches, and co-players, both positive and negative. So I
feel like today's
basketball session was pivotal, another "defining
moment," as my friend would say.
| We had six players total, so we went into the auxiliary gym today,
which is slightly smaller than the regular gym, so our fewer numbers
would be accommodated by the smaller space. We can still get a good
cardio session by running full court, and we can get the fast breaks and
long passes that would be missing in a half court game. Our total
session consisted of six games to fifteen, and one to twenty-five.
During the one to 25, the one we call our "championship game" for
the morning, I actually scored 19 of our team's points. This level
of performance may be a "career high" for me. |
| I seem to have gotten the hang of
beating the opponent to the basket, so the pass comes to me
either overhead or as a bounce pass. If I can handle the
ball correctly, taking it to the hoop was the logical
conclusion. I was finishing these shots with more frequency
today, so the points were adding up. |
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I have to admit that I did surprise my fellow players, even those on
my team. On one play,
I was given the ball "down low," close to the
basket on the edge of the paint. I dribbled, stepped
forward and gently
lobbed a hook shot directly into the hoop. The crowd roared with
excitement!
Just kidding, but the players were amazed and it felt good
to be appreciated.
The challenge here is that the successes were achieved in a game of
three-on-three.
Our Monday-Wednesday-Friday games have become the more
competitive because greater
number of players are now arriving on those
days (it used to be the Tuesday-Thursday cycle).
So the greater test
comes tomorrow, when the pace is stepped up, there are more bodies on
the court,
and there is incentive to play smarter and harder, namely, to
stay on the court by being on the winning team.
So it will be harder to
get a touch on the ball or make the shot once the ball is in my hands.
Still, it felt like I was physically doing more of what my fellow
players were doing all along -- scoring and being successful.
The
overall effect is that success leads to confidence-building, which
results in more success.
My current weight is hovering at 178, so I'd like to break this plateau
in the near future. I did get some lifting in over the weekend,
but it
feels like it will be a long road back to where I was back in September.
That's OK, because I need motivation to continue
exercising through the
cold winter months. I used to be willing to run in any weather, but
those days are over. As long as we have
school, I'll be running hoops in
the gym, even if no one shows up. But on days when school is cancelled,
I'll focus on strength
training in the gym.
Stay healthy,
George
georgecassutto@hotmail.com
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