Team Nyamuk

A couple of Sundays ago I got to Kramat Jati to coach my basketball team.  There were a whole group of little kids already there playing soccer, so I threw them a couple of balls while we waited for the others.  Pretty soon they all had one and I showed them some ball handling drills.

Then the other kids arrived, so they sat on the side and watched with big wide brown eyes.  Most of them had no shoes on, but I couldn't leave them out.

They all came back the next week with slightly more suitable footwear - and they are proving already to be among the most readily coachable of the kids.  They listen well - and they try things without worrying too much how they look.

The second photo is of the 2 guys who listened best and worked hardest last week.  They each got a (slightly used) basketball to take home with them.

They remind me of a kid - now a young man - I coached in Australia.  They are a similar age and similar size to Bud - when I first coached him for the Diamond Valley Eagles bottom age U12s.  I had the pleasure of coaching Bud for 3 or 4 years - the last time in the U20s.  

There are other coaches who, no doubt, taught him more than I did, but I always got a buzz when I saw Bud do the fundamentals well - and when you could see evidence that he could think on court.

Bud was / is a little guy who plays the point.  It helps to be big in basketball - but your head and heart still matter more.

PS  Nyamuk means mosquito.