Basketball Memories

I recently got a family membership to a local gym so that my wife and I can start to get into better shape and to allow us more time to spend with our son at an indoor pool.  The thing that excites me most about this is that I am now playing basketball regularly again, something I have missed out on for at least the past 5 years. 

I started playing basketball when I was in the first grade and played competitively through high school.  My best friend and I would spend most days during the summer playing basketball at my house or at local parks.  If we weren’t playing real basketball then you could probably find us playing it on whatever video game console was out at the time, most likely Super Nintendo and then later Nintendo 64.  As I got into high school the competition improved and I was still an average player on the varsity team.  I started most games but was never much of a scoring threat, although would consider myself a pretty good jump shooter.  Below you'll see a pair of Kobe Bryant shoes i wore that at the time I thought were great and still think they are unique, but I don't know what I was thinking in getting them or what Adidas was thinking in making them. 

When I went to college I did not try out for the team, which at the Division III level had both a varsity and junior varsity squad.  Instead, to quote Lebron James, I decided to take my talents to the intramural league that the school had to offer.  This was great because there was not nearly as much pressure to perform and it was mostly for fun.  Normally I would say that I thrive under pressure, but apparently when it comes to basketball less is more.  I found myself shooting many more shots than I would have taken in high school and scoring at a much higher rate.  I must also mention that I even got a fast break dunk, which for me being only 6’1” on a good day, is one of my more memorable highlights. 

In college if there was not an intramural league going on my roommates and friends would go to the gym, which was open most nights, and play pick up games for a few hours.  Getting caught up in my studies and with my girlfriend at the time, later to be my wife, I eventually played less and less basketball.  The funny thing that I noticed was that if I had not played in two weeks or more, it seemed like the next time I played I would shoot the lights out.  I guess all those years of practicing in my backyard until the sun went down paid off for my muscle memory.  

Now that I have access to a gym I still have to find time to fit it into my daily schedule, which currently involves spending time with my wife and kid, working a full time job, working another part time crisis job that puts me on call one night every other week and a full weekend every two months, as well as trying to take care of household chores and other miscellaneous things.  Oh and don’t let me forget my precious video games!  That alone could eat up several hours in a week, or even a day if I allow it.  So since I am a bit of a morning bird, I have decided to wake up at 5am everyday which lets me get to the gym by 5:30am where I can then play basketball for an hour before heading home and getting ready for work. 

This routine has been great for my energy level.  I am fairly energized during the day despite waking up earlier than normal and by 10pm I am definitely ready for bed.  In the past I would sometimes push myself to stay up late at night to get my video game fix, since during the day it is hard to fit it in between family time, and in doing so would end up staying up later than I would like only to be tired in the morning.  Now I look forward to going to bed so that I may wake up and go to an open gym where currently it has been just me, my basketball, two hoops and the shiny gloss of the hardwood court that seems to be waiting for me to arrive.  And if any of you have ever played basketball competitively and gone through grueling early morning practices on the weekends you will agree with my next comment…there seems to be nothing like walking in to a quiet gym in the morning to start your day, except maybe a peaceful golf course but I’m sure I’ll talk more about that another day. 
Images taken from http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1680&bih=955&tbm=isch&tbnid=YTiIBf0_rHq5eM:&imgrefurl=http://www.execustay.com/furnished-apartments/baton-rouge/tuscany-villas/index.php&docid=wCTu97IXHDmB_M&imgurl=http://www.execustay.com/furnished-apartments/baton-rouge/tuscany-villas/property_photos/BatonRougeFurnishedApartmentIndoorBasketballCourt-368x277.jpg&w=368&h=277&ei=N5ERUP7PHsShiQLYmYDIBg&zoom=1, http://www.consolepassion.co.uk/products/super-nintendo/games/nba-live-96, and http://capitalbrand.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/r-i-p-jordan-brand-air-jordan/ respectively.