I want to share something I saw last week at a Monroe Middle School basketball game.
Once in a while, we see something during a sporting event that shows why sports can be a great part of our lives - true life lessons. I, along with about 150 others were able to see such a display at MMS last Thursday afternoon.
Unfortunately, sports sometimes has become all about the "me" or "I" - someone making sure they get their stats. I probably have been to more than 2,000 basketball games and I've seen it way too often. But what I saw Thursday is a memory I will share with others and take with me and feel very fortunate for having been a part of.
It took place in the eighth-grade girls basketball game that I and Mark Haggerty were officiating. The game was just about over and well in hand by the visiting Milton team. Monroe had the ball with time winding down in the game. They came down to take one last shot before the final buzzer. With about 15 seconds left, one of the Monroe girls took a shot. It was missed and rebounded by a girl from the visiting team who was directly under the basket. The young lady could have grabbed the ball and started down the court to maybe take one more shot. She didn't. She saw another young lady also under the basket, a player from the other team, the home team. Someone who maybe wasn't as physically gifted as some of the others but was out there trying as hard as she could; someone who had a big smile on her face and enjoyed just the fun of being out there running with her teammates.
We all expected the girl from Milton to maybe pass it to a teammate or dribble it down the court. Instead, she passed it to the Monroe girl, the so-called enemy or other team. Why? Because she wanted the girl from the other team to score or have fun trying. The girl from Monroe shot the ball, but missed. The same girl got the rebound and gave it to her again! This time the shot was pure. The ball went into the basket just as the buzzer sounded! All the girls on both teams and the whole gym cheered loudly for the girl.
I'm not sure if this young lady had ever scored a basket before, that's not the point. The point is the girl from the Milton team put someone else before herself. We just don't see that too much anymore in the sports arena - unselfish acts, putting others before ourselves. To me, this is a memory that I will have to go along with all the other great ones.
I went home that night and couldn't wait to tell my family about what I had witnessed, a truly special memory in sports. It won't make any headlines or stat sheet, but in my opinion it was a highlight - SportsCenter material, Top 10 plays.
Great job, Milton girls, and this young lady's coach, parents and community can be very proud of her. There were no losers in that game; the girls were all winners!
Once in a while, we see something during a sporting event that shows why sports can be a great part of our lives - true life lessons. I, along with about 150 others were able to see such a display at MMS last Thursday afternoon.
Unfortunately, sports sometimes has become all about the "me" or "I" - someone making sure they get their stats. I probably have been to more than 2,000 basketball games and I've seen it way too often. But what I saw Thursday is a memory I will share with others and take with me and feel very fortunate for having been a part of.
It took place in the eighth-grade girls basketball game that I and Mark Haggerty were officiating. The game was just about over and well in hand by the visiting Milton team. Monroe had the ball with time winding down in the game. They came down to take one last shot before the final buzzer. With about 15 seconds left, one of the Monroe girls took a shot. It was missed and rebounded by a girl from the visiting team who was directly under the basket. The young lady could have grabbed the ball and started down the court to maybe take one more shot. She didn't. She saw another young lady also under the basket, a player from the other team, the home team. Someone who maybe wasn't as physically gifted as some of the others but was out there trying as hard as she could; someone who had a big smile on her face and enjoyed just the fun of being out there running with her teammates.
We all expected the girl from Milton to maybe pass it to a teammate or dribble it down the court. Instead, she passed it to the Monroe girl, the so-called enemy or other team. Why? Because she wanted the girl from the other team to score or have fun trying. The girl from Monroe shot the ball, but missed. The same girl got the rebound and gave it to her again! This time the shot was pure. The ball went into the basket just as the buzzer sounded! All the girls on both teams and the whole gym cheered loudly for the girl.
I'm not sure if this young lady had ever scored a basket before, that's not the point. The point is the girl from the Milton team put someone else before herself. We just don't see that too much anymore in the sports arena - unselfish acts, putting others before ourselves. To me, this is a memory that I will have to go along with all the other great ones.
I went home that night and couldn't wait to tell my family about what I had witnessed, a truly special memory in sports. It won't make any headlines or stat sheet, but in my opinion it was a highlight - SportsCenter material, Top 10 plays.
Great job, Milton girls, and this young lady's coach, parents and community can be very proud of her. There were no losers in that game; the girls were all winners!
