My 7-year old daughter is playing Upward basketball. I like the program for the most part...it's positive and encouraging. They look to get the kids involved, even the ones who don't really understand what is going on. When a kid makes a mistake, they'll stop and try to explain what happened. They pray with the kids, they try to help them remember what is important, they teach the idea of sportsmanship.
Of course, there is always the problem of parents who live vicariously through their kids, who act at the games like they have serious money riding on the outcome. Because Upward is an outreach program of some sort for the church that sponsors it, they allow kids to be involved who may come from homes where Christian values are not encouraged. And occasionally this will mean that there is always at least one Vicarious Vic in the crowd.
So my daughter is one of those kids that needs some encouragement. She's a bit of a slow adapter...she's played two seasons of soccer and the first year she really didn't get it. If she kicked the ball, that was good...but by last year there were times where she looked like Gareth Bale flashing down the wing. Not always, of course, but she generally understood what was going on: 'if you have the ball, try to score it in the other team's goal...pass the ball to your teammates...if the other team has the ball, try to kick it away.'
When she started basketball, then, we knew that there was going to be a learning curve for her. She hasn't played much, and though her coaches look like they know what they are doing and are encouraging the kids to have fun, she's a bit behind. On defense, she knows to put her arms out and try to do something that looks like guarding whoever she is matched up with. But on offense...not so great. Though we have worked with her on dribbling, it's not a sure thing yet. If she has the ball in the open court as if she is a point guard, she will take 3-4 dribbles and stop, not quite sure what to do. If she somehow comes across the ball in a crowded spot, she's likely to just pick the ball up and run with it. Even at her level, that's still not allowed. Her shooting is more like an overhead throw. Some of the other kids her age are much more advanced...they can dribble, stop, and shoot and pass. But for Elizabeth, she's just not quite there yet...next year she may be Chris Paul with the ball, but for now, she's got a lot of work to do.
So last Saturday she had a couple of incidents where it was obvious she was out of her depth. One time she ran with the ball. But the guy in the row behind me who was videotaping every minute of the game for posterity's sake, when his daughter is the next great star, had a play-by-play account of everything that she (and other kids) did wrong, and he was not shy about expressing them. "Oh, come on ref...she's travelling. Jump ball! You gotta be kidding me." Remember, these are 7- and 8- year old girls.
As much as I hope that my kids enjoy sports, I want them to keep some perspective about it all...and this will not be easy with Vicarious Vics around.
