The player pulls up for a shot, the ball bounces off the rim, and a defender gets the rebound. From the sideline the coach yells out “Good try, now let’s get back on defense, get a stop, and get the ball back.”
All of the sudden the coach hears “Coach I need help, I don’t know what to do.”
He turns around to find Rachel standing there, one of the players who was supposed to be sitting on the bench waiting to reenter the game. She had walked up while he was walking back and forth yelling out encouraging feedback to the group of girls currently on the court.
“What do you mean Rachel?”
“I can’t score.”
“Yes you can, you’ve already made two or three mid range shots today.”
“Yes, but that was before my defender realized I could shoot from that distance. Now she is closing out on me and I am unable to put up a shot. What do I do?”
“Put it on the floor and drive in for a lay-up.”
When Rachel didn’t respond and just stood there looking at the coach like she was confused about what she just heard, he said “If the defender closes out on you start dribbling, go around her, drive towards the basket, and shoot a lay-up.”
After that she looked at the coach like he was crazy, said “ok,” and went back to the bench.
A few minutes letter the whistle blew and both teams made player rotations.
Rachel was back on the court and within a few possessions she got open near the right side of the free throw line and one of her teammates passed her the ball. She caught the ball, squared herself to the basket, and her defender immediately closed out on her to prevent her from shooting. Without hesitation Rachel put the ball on the floor, drove past her defender on the right side of the lane, and went in for a lay-up.
After the ball went through the basket the coach starts yelling “Just like that! Great job Rachel!”
When the next player rotation took place and Rachel came off the court the coach went over to her and said “Great job driving to the basket! Now each time you get the ball on the offensive end of the court if your defender closes out on you put it on the floor and drive in for a lay-up. However, if they play off you and the basket is within range shoot.”
Rachel did exactly what the coach said and had a very good game.
After the game was over Rachel walked up to the coach, shook his hand, and said “Thank You! I have never driven to the basket before.”
“What do you mean you have never driven to the basket before?”
“I have only been playing organized basketball for a year now. I was on my 9th grade team last year as a center and sometimes forward. My responsibilities were to get rebounds and set screens for the guards.”
“You are very good at rebounding, setting screens for the guards does open you up for that nice mid range shot you have, but I think you also have good enough skills handling the ball where you should be looking to drive to the basket more often. You should use all of your skills and look to grow more. While playing here at Yes I Can basketball I would like for you to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and work towards building new skills just like you did today.”
“Yes coach, I will do my best.”
Throughout that season Rachel worked very hard on every drill she was put through and always gave a hundred percent. She was easily one of the hardest working players on the team and it showed because she got better each and every week.
After the league was over that fall she went on to play with her school JV team for the second year in a row. During the school season her Yes I Can coach stopped by one of her games to see how she was doing.
During their conversation after the game the coach asked her how things were going.
“Pretty good, I am playing well and guess what, the majority of my points are coming from driving to the basket.”
The coach just smiled.
After the school season was over Rachel again participated in a Yes I Can league and worked hard to further grow her skills being a great example for the other girls on her team.
In 11th grade Rachel tried out for and made her school varsity team and at one point was selected to be one of the starters. A very proud moment for her, her family, and her coach from Yes I Can.
There are so many great lessons to learn from Rachel and what she was able to accomplish. To have never played organized basketball before the 9th grade, make her school team each year, and be a starter on the varsity team inside two years is pretty impressive. It was a testament to her hard work, dedication, and willingness to step out of her comfort zone.
To me her story goes to show that you can do anything if you want it bad enough and you are willing to put forth the effort it takes. It also confirms my belief that –
“It doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you finish.”
and
“When you show up is important, but not as important as how you show up.”
Willie Ryder - A Dreamer on a Journey 