I really wanted to play basketball at the park this morning. I’m not good at it at the best of times, and today was more disastrous than usual – in some ways. In the end, though, I overcame back pain, potential embarrassment, and bright sunlight to get what I wanted from my morning. Here’s the story.
Why I Wanted to Shoot Hoops
I didn’t need the exercise per se; I’d gotten in my run, and was sure to take a walk to pick up my son later in the day. But I felt like being on the court. I feel relaxed and calm there; there’s no pressure to achieve anything in particular, and there’s no time pressure. I can do what I want, move my body a bit, and sometimes feel coordinated or even athletic. I’m a good kinetic learner, and I find that I can concentrate on phone calls or audio lessons when I’m moving, whether walking, shooting baskets, or hitting a tennis ball against a backboard.
My Usual Routine
The courts are at a local park about a mile from my home. One basket is in the shade; the other two are not. I only shoot, never play in a game. I don’t think I’m good enough for anyone to want to play against me, and I don’t know that I’d want to anyway. I’m too afraid of getting hurt.
Usually I’ll warm up by shooting for 10-20 minutes at close range from various angles. Then I’ll do 10 minutes of left-handed lay-ups, and 10 minutes of right-handed layups. I’ll do 10-20 minutes of shooting from the sides of the court, and then 10-20 minutes of alternating sides from along the sides of the key. I may finish with more shooting from various angles. The structure may sound neurotic, but it’s just how I am. I usually have a plan.
Today’s Laughable Situation
Today wasn’t one of those days when I felt coordinated, much less athletic. To start with, my upper back has been hurting on the right side for a week. I’m right-handing. The pain makes me unable to swing a tennis racket, and shooting a basketball with my right hand is painful. The result was that today was a day to practice my left-handed shooting.
To make matters worse, the court in the shade was busy. My court was in the sun. It wasn’t terribly hot, but due to the angle of the sun, I was only able to shoot from one side of the court. Unfortunately, that side was the right side. My left-handed layups caused me to choose between looking directly into the sun and not looking at the basket while shooting. Not only did that make me miss most of my shots, but I started blindly putting my arms up to protect my face so that the unseen ball didn’t hit me on a rebound.
Finally, there was the issue of my “ma’am” hat. For 30 years, I wore a baseball cap outside to protect my eyes from the sun. This spring, I moved into a more protective sun hat with a wide brim all the way around. Instantly, people started calling me “ma’am” and asking me if I was my son’s grandma. I like wearing it to play basketball because it has a chin strap and doesn’t fall off, not to mention that it helps protect my eyes.
A Successful Outing
Picture the scene. A middle-aged woman wearing running clothes and a sun hat is awkwardly throwing a basketball in the general direction of a basket, and putting up her arms after shooting in fear of being hit by the ball.
The best part is that I got what I wanted. I was on the court for about an hour. While playing, I phoned a friend and listened to a language podcast. I even got to wave to a couple of basketball players who are regulars at that time in the morning, and I saw some tennis players who play daily on the adjacent courts. I had minimal pain, and felt happy.
I don’t by any means encourage anyone to move through pain. I do encourage people to find safe and pain-free paths to achieve their goals, even if it means being creative and modifying your original plan. Especially important is to do things for yourself without worrying about whether some stranger is looking to see whether you’re shooting right-handed or left-handed, shooting air balls or making swishes, or wearing basketball shoes or a “ma’am” hat.
What’s your funny or proud story about doing what’s best for you without worrying about what other people think?