We've been hanging around the Boys and Girls Club in Ewa lately, every Saturday morning for the past six weeks to be exact.

Our younger girl has been playing basketball for one of the Kapolei teams in the PAL league and that's when they had games. Saturday was the last game and I'm kind of sorry that it is over.

She was on a winning team, which is always nice, but that's not what I think is so great about it. It amazes me what an incredible opportunity this is for the kids. Sitting in the bleachers at each game, I can't help but marvel at all the positive aspects that come together as these 9 and 10 year olds play a good old fashioned game of basketball.

The coach was awesome. Presented with a group of kids performing at mixed skills levels, he helped each one hone present skills and foster new ones to make them better all around players. He also emphasized team work, teaching these kids to work together and to honor all team members for what they bring to the court.

While they did win almost every game, he did not make that the goal. He could have put only his best players in each game in the spirit of competition. Instead, he created a balanced mix, giving each member of the team a reasonable amount of play time and teaching valuable lessons of sportsmanship and tolerance across the board.

Some of the kids were excellent players, even at age 9 or 10. As I watched them run across the court and pass the ball and make baskets, I couldn't help imagining that for one of these kids this might be the beginning of an amazing journey that leads to a professional career. Some day we might hear him or her say, "I started at the Ewa Boys and Girls Club."

But even if that does not happen, I am always impressed by how much there is to learn from participating in team sports. Not only is it good physical activity, but it teaches concentration and control and cooperation.

We all know this, but it feels so good to see it in action, especially for my kid.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 2:00 pm and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.