There are many tournaments where nothing extraordinary happens. Your child’s team wins or loses. Sometimes they play well, and sometimes they perform poorly. Then there are times when something remarkable happens. I am talking about an event that occurs that makes all the practice, the driving, the hotels, and the lost weekends all worth it. Check that. Not only worth it but something that will live with you for a lifetime. This happened to me this weekend. I would like to share this story with you.
The Life of a Shooter
The story starts the weekend before. My daughter has a reputation for being a very talented three-point shooter. She is typically fairly consistent, but last weekend she began a severe slump. She was 0-8 from the three-point line. As she missed shots, her playing time decreased.
I have always told my daughter that shooters shoot. Even though you are missing shots, you still need to keep putting them up. Thankfully, she plays in a program that supports this philosophy. We have been through slumps before. It is always mentally taxing to me as a parent and to my daughter. She starts wondering if she has lost her touch. I always remind her that she can’t control if they go in, but she can control how much she practices. During the next week, she was able to shoot until she made over a thousand shots. Undoubtedly, the following weekend will be better.
Same Old Song and Dance
In game one of the next weekend, she was able to get eight three-point shots up. She missed every one of them. She is now at 0-16 over her last four games. The little voice in her head was getting louder and louder. In game two, she finally hit a three-point shot in the second half. You could see a bit of relief in her eyes, but she hit the shot during a 30 point blowout win. The three-pointer did not have any significance.
After that game, I reminded her that, if she is not shooting well, she can always play good defense and focus on getting offensive rebounds. This is always sage advice, but in the mind of a shooter, it does not ease the pain.
Breakthrough
It was the last game of the evening. We were playing our in-state rival. The first half came and went. My daughter went 0-3 from the three-point line. The second half starts, and our team begins to fall behind. With 10 minutes left in the game, we are down 17 points. She now shoots and misses another two three-pointers. She is now 1 for 22 over the last five games.
The game continues, and we begin to mount a comeback. With four minutes left, we have chipped away at their lead, and we are now down five points. The ball gets kicked to my daughter in the left corner. As she goes up for the shot, I stand up in the stands. BANG!!! She buries the shot. I screamed out a satisfying “YEAH.” I think I scared the person sitting next to me.
We are now down 2 with 3:45 play. The game continues. The clock is ticking away. Three minutes left. Two minutes left. We give up a layup. We are now down four. The clock is now down to one minute. My daughter comes off a screen and gets the ball at the top of the key. BAM! She hits it again. We are down 1 with under a minute left in the game.
The other team works the shot clock down and takes a shot. Missed. Thirty-nine seconds left in the game. We come down and move the ball around the perimeter. We shoot a long three with 12 seconds left. Miss! We get the rebound. Our shooting guard dribbles to the right elbow and stops. She pivots. 5-4-3. She shoots. It misses right, but my daughter gets the rebound and puts it in. We are going crazy. We are up by 1. The refs put 0.4 seconds back on the clock. The other team puts up a desperation shot and misses. WE WIN!!!
Conclusion
The lows of being a basketball parent are excruciating, and the highs are exhilarating. I am glad that she found her stroke at the right time. It made for a great night. The next morning they had two more games, and she shot 5 of 11 from the 3-point stripe. You got to let your child know that they need to keep the faith in themselves and the only two things that they can control: Attitude and Effort. They can’t force the shots to go in. They must stay focused on their practice routine and taking good shots during the game. Good things will happen.
I hope you enjoyed my personal story about my daughter. It is one of those moments that I will never forget. Please subscribe to my site to get reminders of new posts and special events.