More Than a Game

Posted by LisaV | 0 comments

It seems that when we are young, we have lots of dreams and plans for our lives. As we get older, those dreams tend to fade, making way for our children’s dreams to become our aspirations for the future.

I have a son whose dreams didn’t always reflect mine. A kinesthetic, creative learner, he marched to the beat of his own drum. If asked what his favorite school subject is, he comes up empty, though he’s interested in many of his own pursuits.

The one thing that drives our 13-year-old is basketball. He’s played other sports, but his first love is shooting hoops. With hard work and natural athletic ability, we wanted to give him an opportunity to chase that dream to its utmost. Though I never expected any of my children to love sports so much, I find that I can’t take that dream away from him. As we watch him practice day after day, we find that we believe in the dream as much as he does.

For our son, basketball is about chasing a dream, utilizing God-given potential, finding his way, and providing hope for the future. It’s what he’s good at, when he feels like he’s failing at school (which he’s not). These dreams cannot be placed on him from his parents; they can only come from God. I’m reminded of the scene from Chariots of Fire where Olympian Eric Liddell’s sister urged him to give up running to focus on missionary work. Eric replied, “God made me fast,” and he used running to glorify God.

The night before our son’s second tournament this season, our two boys and I watched the movie More Than a Game about LeBron James and his teammates growing up. Basketball became their family, their life, their journey from boyhood to adulthood, their character development, their lifelong friendship, and LeBron’s ticket to stardom. They played as a team of brothers.

I see that in our son’s team. The starters have been together since third grade. There’s a chemistry on the court that developed off the court. They often play better together than they play individually. Our son’s bringing his individuality to the team this year, as this is the first time he tried out for tournament play.

My husband was out of the country at the time of this tournament, so our two boys and I rode with another family. Their team played four games in five hours, the first game with nine players (one was injured) and the next three games with only seven players because two had other commitments. The remaining players had to step up. Our son stepped up his game that day.

During the first tournament, our son played it safe, not scoring any points. As I watched, I thought to myself, “Is this the end of a dream?” All this turned around in Whitefish Bay, as I watched him cast off his hesitation and play his game. They won a close match in the first game, defeating a team they had barely beat in the first tournament finals. The second and third games were easier defeats, and then it was time for the championship game. The head coach let our son start in this game, his first time this season. He scored 10 points against Sheboygan and his team never gave up, but it was not enough to win with seven tired players.

At the conclusion of the championship game, their first loss of the season, tears flowed from our teenager’s eyes. It took me back a bit, as I hadn’t seen this display of emotion before, at least not by him. I had seen other boys cry at the end of their losing games and kind of wondered why. It is different when it is your son, but later I realized it was a good thing. It showed that he had passion for the game, that he cared about it deeply. Basketball is more than a game to him, and because of that, it’s more than a game to me as well.

From the time he made 64 regulation baskets in a row in first grade to his opportunity now to play on the seventh-grade tournament team, his dream is becoming a reality. From the first tournament to the second, he improved his score by 24 points, had some sweet moves, and later told me he wasn’t afraid anymore. And that, to me, is more than a game.

Lisa Van Dong has been teaching her two sons since 2004 and attempts to incorporate study, work, service, and play into their homeschooling days. She takes an eclectic approach to homeschooling and enjoys reading, writing, editing, and essential oils. Lisa blogs publicly at Pockets of Time and privately at Scooter and B.