Advantage Disadvantage by Yale Jaffe

wore their workout jerseys
blue-side out, the others showed white. Coach Battle greeted Jamal
and his dad.
    Coach Battle turned around and saw that the boys had
stopped their drills to look at Jamal. In an instant, his face
became flush and he yelled to the team, “WHO TOLD YOU TO STOP THE
CRIP LINE? All right, young men give me five minutes of suicides.
Let’s go!”
    Jamal was flabbergasted, especially when the coach
said, “Son, if you want to try out for this team, get your butt out
there and run some suicides!”
    He joined the other boys at the end line. They ran a
short distance and bent down to touch the free-throw line. Then
back to the end line, to the midcourt to bend over and touch the
line, back to the end line, to the far free-throw line, then back
to end line to the opposite end line and back, sprinting and
bending repeatedly for punishment and conditioning.
    At the end of practice, Coach Battle walked over to
Marcus and said, “He’s got potential and size but he needs lots of
work. He hoists his jump shots from his hips and his footwork is
clumsy. Marcus, I can help develop your boy but he has to be
committed to my team.”
    “That’s fantastic coach. Count him in.”
    “Not so fast brother. You need to understand my
expectations for this NAU team. We practice two nights a week and
Sunday afternoons during the school year. Games could be on any
evening or weekend. We go to two away tournaments during the
summertime. He must attend all team events – that is a big
commitment for both of you or whoever will be driving him. Parents
are allowed, even encouraged, to attend practices but cannot
interrupt the players or me. I ask that his teacher sign off on his
grade commitment. He needs at least a “C” average to be on this
team. Kerbe handles all of the kids’ fees, but if you or anyone
else comes to watch games or tournaments, you have to pay for
yourself. Jamal needs to respect his teammates and me. I will not
discuss his playing time during a practice or a game. If Jamal is
concerned about anything relating to team matters including his
playing time, he needs to make an appointment with me first. In
case the meeting with me proves unsatisfactory to your son, then,
and only then, I will have a discussion with you.”
    “I gottcha.”
    “Take this handout. It has my rules, philosophies,
practice schedules, games and tournaments for you and Jamal to
consider. If he still wants to be part of this team, call me before
our next practice.”
    “He’ll want to join-up, count on that Coach”
    “Just make sure. It could be a great thing for him,
but it most certainly is a huge commitment. Oh, another thing … if
he comes back tell him to bring his swimsuit."
    Marcus asked, “What does swimming have to do with
basketball?”
    “You’ll see.”
    Jamal was leafing through the handout during their
twenty-minute car ride back to their suburban home.
    “What do you think, son?”
    “Dad, this guy’s like an army drill sergeant. It
seems ridiculous. In addition, did you see how much better those
kids were? They have skills. I can’t play with them.”
    “Coach Battle says that you’ve got potential. He
knows you can become a competitive player. And the discipline stuff
- part of it is for team unity, the excessive stuff is just to
scare you. Don’t you want to get better?”
    “I think so, but…”
    “Look, in life you only get a few opportunities. I
know it. You know my history. Don’t toss it away out of fear. “
    “I’m just not sure it’s for me.”
    “What else are you going to do? This is your chance
to prepare to play high school ball.”
    “I don’t know if I want to …”
    Marcus could not comprehend his son’s reluctance.
Basketball meant so much to his own future when he was a teenager
even though he never had the opportunity to exploit NAU-quality
training. He was not going to let Jamal back out of playing on this
team under any circumstance.
    “Jamal, join the team.