A Humbling Experience From Basketball

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**
I was never the athletic kid growing up and that always made me the odd man out, the last one picked in every event that has anything to with sports (besides running ofcourse). Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a weakling as I could hold my own in a fist fight but in terms of football (which was the most popular sport we were involved with), I was a hot mess so this shocking realization just made me loath the sport completely.**

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Nevertheless I still loved basketball even though I barely understood how the game was played, I just knew the players looked pretty cool and watching the anime Kuroko no Basketball made me love it even more but because of the height factor and how busy my teenagehood was, it was quite obvious I wasn't going anywhere with it. Even with the universe against, I still believed one day I was going to learn the basics and maybe become a below average decent player when the opportunity finally presents itself.

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So today I was totally bored at home and craved a little bit of excitement before the day gets dark. I remembered the basketball court not quite far from where I stay was recently being renovated and decided to go watch the players train. When I got there I saw that the court was filled with kids and teenagers practicing and the only adults in sight were the coaches. I was kinda disappointed as I wanted to watch the more advanced players but I decided to make do with what was available.

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I sat down on the sidelines and watched them hoop, dribble and through passes amongst themselves. They weren't bad but deep down I kept telling myself that I could hold my own with these kids despite having no official training whatsoever. As I was watching them do their thing, I saw a very familiar face waving at me from the center of the court with a huge smile on my face. He was one of my students from my days as a teacher who had always expressed openly his desire tmof becoming a basketball baller. I walked up to him and jokingly told him that he was a good player but I would absolutely demolish him in a 1v1 battle Royale. He accepted the challenge we immediately switched to battle mode. He gave me the ball to start things of and the moment I intiated the first dribble the ball was already out of my heads and in the net in seconds. We proceeded to the next round and I could not even properly tackle this boy who should over 10years younger than me without causing a foul.

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The game went on for almost 40 minutes and I could not score a single point even when he stopped attacking and told me to just throw the ball into the net from directly under the net. This boy dribbled so bad I had to tell him I allowed him to win to boost his self esteem to cover up the shame that was already known to everyone but the young lad. After the match I told him to keep practicing because he definitely has the skill and drive to become great. We parted ways and I left the home with the intention to head straight home after such gruesome lose.

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I learnt a valuable lesson today "Hard work will always beat talent" but in my case I neither have the talent or worked at all and that was why I lost to a child. I have finally given up on my dream of becoming a good baller, that ship sailed a long time ago and I wasn't on it...
I'll just focus on being a chief motivator maybe it will do some good to the youngsters with the intent of going pro😁😁😁.

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Thanks and cheerios
PS: All images belong to me

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