Lessons from Little Dribblers

Earlier this week, I had a student in my office for behavior issues.  He was having a rough start to his day, so I called his Dad to talk with him.  In the course of the conversation, Dad reminded him that his first basketball game was on Saturday and warned him that he might not be playing if his behavior continued.  After I hung up the phone, I told him, "I really want to see you play basketball.  I'll come to your game Saturday.  I sure hope you are able to play."  His behavior was great the rest of the week.

On Friday, I called his Mom to verify the game time and location.  She said he'd been talking about me coming to his game for the last two days.  So, this morning, I went to the game.  When I got there, his game had not started yet.  In fact, he wasn't even there.  "Oh, no.  He didn't get to play," I thought.  Fortunately, games were just running long.  As I watched the kids on the court, I began to recognize Northside students among the players.  In fact, many of the players were my kids.  And, they were quite talented for 6 and 7 year olds.

After the first game, several of the players came into the stands to give me a hug. They were surprised I was there.  Honestly, I was surprised how many played Little Dribblers ball.  I was able to watch the second game, when the student from my office played.  They won 12 to 0.

As I sat in the stands, I was reminded of the fact that kids have so many different sides to them.  At school, we only see a few of those.  It takes stepping out into their world to see the rest.  Kids who struggle in school just to stay focused were running down the court, handling the ball and shooting with ease.  They were in their element.  Many of the kids I saw playing are also the ones I have seen regularly in my office for behavior issues.  They weren't misbehaving on the court.  Instead, they were working together as part of a team.

This experience reminded me of a couple of things.  First, it is important to get to know our kids.  Really get to know them.  By connecting with them outside of school, we can better connect with them in school.  Second, each of our kids has talents.  Sometimes those are not academic.  But, if we can identify those talents, maybe we can use them to help these kids do better academically.  Finally, kids need to know that adults care about them.  By showing up, we let them know that we care.

Going to the ball game took about an hour out of my day.  The results will last much, much longer.