But this winter he has actually been on a basketball team that finished off the season undefeated (10-0) and is now 2-0 in the tournament. His team, The Bullets, will play in the Championship game on Saturday against a seriously stacked team with matching warm ups with their numbers on them! I wish I could tell you that Big C's is a basketball team made up of an amazing group of really talented players. But it's not. It's actually a team with three standout players, a few decent players, some brand-new-to-basketball players and no coordinated warm up outfits.
We're all real proud of Big C, who runs the court with his bright red cheeks, huffing and puffing, stopping every now and then to inhale some of his asthma medicine. He's not a top scorer. He hasn't made a bunch of free throws. But, he is the all time steal leader on his team -- a skill I think he has perfected by being big brother to Hannie B and RedDog.
There is one little boy on the team who was the only player to not score all season. Two weeks ago the coaches put a plan together to get this kid down at the basket all by himself with the ball so he could make his big shot. The team followed the plan. The boy missed the basket. They followed the plan again . . . three more times, before this little boy made a shot that went in. As soon as the ball fell through the net, every member of that team -- players on the court, players on the bench, coaches and parents included, jumped up and down screaming his name with joy and congratulations. I thought the kid might fall over from shock.
In this moment that was all about the "least celebrated" member of the team, I realized Big C is once again on a team with lots of heart. They may have a perfect record, and that could all change on Saturday, but the thing is this: a group of 10 and 11 year old boys and their coaches wanted to give the one little guy who hadn't yet had "a big moment" his moment. And it was wonderful. I love this team.
Tomorrow we'll all be chanting Go Team! Go Bullets! Go Big C! Won't you join in?
9 comments:
Don't you just ove it when coaches are in the "coaching game" for the right reasons? Your post made me cry...and I'm not even pregnant! We'll be cheering for Big C's team! Sounds like the beginning of a Disney movie!
Big C and the Bullets! Sounds like a rock group to me. And believe me, these guys do rock. In yesterday's game, there were shots going into the basket that could have been launched from Bay Village, Ohio. But they went in nonetheless.
Fun to watch. Big C reminds me of some young guy named Kernal Ken, when I was 3 years older than he is now. But I learned how to rebound and score, in that order, enough so that I was able to play (briefly) for Bobby Knight when he coached at West Point.
Big C is getting better every time I see him.
Go team! Go Bullets! Go Big C!
Big C is the Michael Jordan of our family right now, at least in the eleven year old category.
Hip, hip hooray for the Bullets!
This is such a nice story. I love it when teams come together for the love of the game, not necessarily to win. I am so excited the for the little boy to score. That is awesome and something he will always remember!!!
Big C does remind me of a young Kernal Ken especially in that picture. He has a great team and an even better set of coaches.
Best of luck Big C and Bullets have fun tomorrow and never forget how you feel now. Rah Rah Go Team
What a touching story Sam. Thank you for sharing it. Your right that whole team is full of big hearts.
GO BIG C!
Boo - Ba - Licious! I admit it, I teared up a little. Sparcam, your comment made me laugh out loud!
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