Rebound

When we started the girls basketball program at a local charter school we had eleven girls come out for the team. That was the good news. The bad news was only three of them had ever played on a basketball team. I knew from prior experience that it takes a long time to develop most basketball skills, except one, rebounding. Rebounding is one of the most important parts of the game. The more rebounds a team gets, the more possessions they have. The more possessions they have the more shots they can take. That increases the probability of scoring more points. 

To reinforce the importance of rebounding to the team I did three things. Every practice I wore a t-shirt that had the word rebound on the front. When they looked at me they were reminded of the importance of rebounding. We also kept team rebounding stats. If the other team out rebounded us, our team had to run extra laps the next practice. That increased their motivation. Finally the numbers showed them that when we rebounded well we usually won the game.

 At the first practice of the season I asked the players which one would be the best rebounder. They usually said the tallest girl. I told them it would be the player who wanted the ball the most, because rebounding well is mostly about desire. Nature ability helps along with learning a few skills, however it’s mostly about effort.

When my daughters  were small I wanted to be a good Dad and prepare them for life. The problem was not knowing what the world would be like when they became adults because things change so quickly. I decided one of the most important qualities for them to have was resiliency, being about to bounce back from disappointment.

The word rebound literally means to bounce back. It doesn’t take being an adult very long for life to knock you around, some more than others. Being able to bounce back is critical. I told daughters and the players, things in life don’t always go the way you want, so rebound well.

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.