She’s Callin’ the Shots

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SVistaMy nameless friend  is in a unique situation. She is a Latina basketball coach of a predominantly Latino boys junior varsity team in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley. I hope I don’t get in trouble for using her as my focus today. It was just hours earlier that I was watching her boys annihilate a crosstown rival to the tune of nearly 40 points. Running the lanes, full-court pressing the entire game and heeding every word that came from the sideline. And at first mentioning, a player listening to a coach is par for the course. But if you think that, you either don’t understand the demographic I sketched in the first paragraph or you nodded off. Don’t let the year 2010 fool you; it is still difficult for women in this world to lead men. You and I both know that it’s not due to inability but usually an unwillingness on the part of males to be led by women. Now couple that with the teenage boy factor and a culture which, according to my Latino friends,  is not traditionally known for empowering women to lead males even if those males aren’t old enough to vote.

I look at my friend and remark, “There needs to be a feature story, documentary, case study, etc. done on her exploits.” She teaches a core subject at the high school where she coaches yet makes time to mold these young men. And I can hear the counterarguments now saying that men need to make men of boys. You’ll get no dispute per se but rather an addendum. If someone knows the sport, as my friend does and can balance discipline with grace which she also does, that individual is coaching material. The game affords lessons of its own and if there’s a piece missing in the character of many young men today, it’s a healthy respect for both authority and women.

I admire the women willing to brave atypical roles like that of a boys basketball coach. Healthy authoritarians with sound ethics and a love for constructive molding are in short supply. Exemplary models are even more rare. When I watch my friend coach, it reminds me that her job is not to be a man nor to epitomize manhood. She is a woman with a woman’s paradigm. She’s a mom herself with all of the nurturing characteristics that accompany motherhood. She’s in the lives of her boys for a reason only God knows. I can’t even speculate. All I know is that she’s good at what she does and every time they play, she has prepared them to execute the details commensurate with true competition and victory.

Have You Forgotten Why You Play?

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Rowley Park

Million dollar contracts in a down economy, misunderstood gun possession, gambling debts, recruiting fiascos, etc. line the news wire but what does that stuff have to do with basketball? We used to go over to my sister’s grandfather’s house in Gardena, CA and watch Mike Tyson pay per view fights that lasted 60 seconds. That was cool and all but even more inviting than that was the quarter mile walk, or so, to Rowley Park around the corner from my sister’s grandfather’s home.

I had a rubber basketball that was junior sized meaning that by age 11 I had outgrown it. It was one of those balls with the stamp autograph on it, in this case “Dr. J’s”. And it was funny to me because Dr. J was wrapping his career up by the time I developed an affinity for basketball. I don’t even like the Sixers. In fact, I was in a Laker town man, raised on Showtime hoop a la “Cap” and “Magic”. But I was just glad to have a basketball of my own and the freedom to shoot around at a park . The best scenario was getting to the park, having the court empty and nobody watching. Then I could disappear into my own basketball world and pretend I was in the League, on my favorite team with the ball in my hands at game’s end. With only seconds to spare, I beat 1, 2, 3 defenders spin left and step back for a jumper that goes up and…if it clanked off the rim I was fouled.

I wasn’t playing to be known yet. I wasn’t thinking about Daddy Warbucks-like cash. I mean, every poor kid dreams of having money but I don’t think I ever played a game of hoop as a kid without a smile on my face. And by the time I was a college basketball player, I’d lost most of the youthful exuberance. I was a cold and desperate young man, mad at the world for not giving me what I thought it owed me. I’ve learned since though or at least recalled why I play. I play for fun because most days, now, I do it for free. And no one does drudgery for free. Maybe sports is so business, so bottom line, so Mark Cuban that we’ve forgotten why we play at all.

A Necessary (Re)Introduction

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I haven’t opened up a real can of worms since I was about 12 years old when I used to bait my own hook out on the lakes with my grandparents. But I remember well that opening the can meant going back to it whether the Blue Gill are bitin’ or not. With that in mind, I return to the subject of yesterday’s post – this business of University academia as mixed with collegiate athletics.

Enough about the problem of athletes wanting the piece of the pie alluded to in the theme song of that 70s classic sitcom “The Jeffersons”. We know that recruits from Dade to Los Angeles County want it. Raise your hand if you like poverty. That’s what I thought. But back to the “worms” and the nasty stuff they keep ’em in over at the fish and tackle shop, I don’t know how to attack the problem. What I know is that the NCAA will likely never sanction the payment of amateurs. By the same measure, it will never and I mean never ever ever ever shy away from the lucrative scaffolding it has created for how universities can use sports to fund expansion. I was naive enough to direct my initial frustrations at the NCAA upper echelon. But few movements are spurred top down. If I want kids to stop expecting kickbacks for their participation, I must find a way to communicate the truth about the intangible value of education. And it’s that methodology that escapes me.

It’s a mystery because to value something as abstract as education it must be transferable in one’s mind. For instance, honing the skill of written language gives you potential to possess a voice far louder than someone unpolished in the discipline. If you can communicate, you can write grant proposals to build more playgrounds in your city, use email/text message/Instant message to chill your friend out whom you offended in fifth grade or eloquently express legitimate concerns to our own Head of State, Mr. Barak Obama himself. I value that kind of stuff but what if you don’t? From the ability to think critically in pressure situations to team leadership to the maneuvering of unfamiliar social frameworks college is often a war of attrition that pits athlete vs. conventional wisdom. But I don’t know how to tell a starving athlete to think percentages and probability instead of like a man who would spend a $100 7-Eleven gift certificate on lottery scratchers.

If you have insights on this, I’m listening because remember, this revolution begins with the very recruits in question not in the Dean’s office. I’m only 34 and I watch the whole world reel in fear when money stands to be lost. “It’s the way of the world and money makes the world go ’round.” Since I’m already Christian and counter cultural, I’ll go “yard” and admit that I hate that addage. Money is a tool meant to be used for the improvement of society. Says who? Says someone more credible than any of us. The university that worships money by cheating to recruit may as well be a 19th century American plantation for claiming to offer a free education to kids who receive nothing of the sort. I need help. Who will help me build character in young people so they can develop the courage to turn the system against itself by internalizing the value of education. We can start the revolution with simple things like helping kids from impoverished backgrounds find safety in their communities. Maybe safe kids learn better. I’ve heard that kids who aren’t hungry work a little harder in the classroom too. Oh, and then there’s that parental influence component. If you don’t like exploitation in so-called amateur athletics, join me by sharing ideas on how to build a genuine appreciation for the value of an education. After all, if you could give yours back to the university would you do it?

Business Swagger Sold Separately

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It’s unfair to stir the problem pot without posing solutions but I can’t resist.  Shall we begin with the latest in a series of scholar-athlete type infractions that are under National Collegiate Association of Athletics (NCAA)  investigation. I’ll spare you the monotony of news review suffice it to say that the University of Southern California has sanctioned itself due to violations that involve former Trojan O.J. Mayo, now a member of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. In our land you can’t be both amateur and professional at the same time any more than you can be both a Lakers and Celtics fan. Long story short, Mayo is alleged to have taken money from a booster member while at USC for his “One-and-Done” year. Long story shorter, to quote Snoop Dogg, “Now this type of thing happens all the time…”

This we can be certain because aside from personal anecdotes from friends who have played Division I basketball, there’s a really good documentary that recounts the dominance of the University of Miami Football program in the 1980s. And it substantiates both the claim and perhaps even the need for monetary compensation of collegiate athletes. The issue is not how coaches and players leave university sanctions in their wake. That’s as old as sports it seems and simply put, not cool. But what of the exploitation of an amateur? Can we call what happens to Division I athletes exploitation or does such labeling border on defamation? I know this: collegiate basketball is big business and success brings in lucre from sources ranging from TV to ticket sales and apparel.

So my honest question is, “What happens when you invite say, young poor studs, to come play at a school backed by vested alumni and opportunistic investors?” Save you the time. Today’s stud does what most would when the diamonds shimmer. He asks to get in on the show whether he’s within his rights or not. After all, even those Miami Hurricanes from the 1980s knew they had something marketable – TALENT.  So back to my original question of how you adequately compensate the scholar-athlete. Don King is quoted as having said, “I could have a $1 million check in my hand to give to someone off the streets. They’ll say, ‘To hell with that. Give me $10,000 in cash.'” If King is right then a four-year scholarship is the analogous check because most kids now don’t plan to stay and if they do, college hoop may as well be a job because it’s the largest stage on which they’ve ever been. Dilemma Dilemma. Kids bring in millions to get an education that’s priceless. But we all know what priceless means to an impetuous young athlete. And if the kids aren’t buying the “incalculable value of earning potential ” speech, can we really expect the NCAA to trade its pro-like atmosphere for past preparatory innocence?

The Invisible Nate Robinson

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nate-robinson

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson has probably been invisible much of his life because, keep it real, he stands a mere 5 foot 9 inches and weighs 180 pounds.  This is not to mention the fact that, prior to last night, he had posted 14 consecutive “Did Not Plays” (DNPs) in the midst of rumors he would be traded to a new team. But after dropping 41 points in an overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks, Robinson is proof of a 6ixth Man quality I learned while playing college hoop – “Even When You’re Not Playing, You’re being Watched”

Equate not playing to insignificance because that’s exactly what it translates to when you’ve been a marquee factor before and now are relegated to a non-contributing role. From uttermost to “guttermost” the fall from grace can be rapid and humiliating. And I’ve learned and am learning that it’s in that time that you’re typically scrutinized the most. Stephon Marbury used to play for this same New York Knicks organization and got to a point similar to that of Robinson’s. But when the DNPs mounted, he checked out mentally, mouthed off publicly and sealed his fate as a New York Knick.

There’s a storm however that every professional must whether and by professional I mean someone who takes their work seriously enough to not squander it. I had heard that Robinson’s coach told him to “hang tough” during the rumblings and he did just that. He scored 11 points in the overtime period and looked anything but rusty last night. Guys who get DNPs usually end up MIA (missing in Action). Mental toughness is found lacking and before long “invisibility” drives the player to a state of anger-based behavior that proves cancerous. Nate Robinson is the symbol of patience and professionalism on this second day of 2010. Talk about putting the past behind you. I guess today really is the day of salvation because its choices are all that lie in your control.

What if there was no New Year’s Eve?

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calendar2010

Most people scoff at religion when it intrudes on their personal lifestyle but few malign the bliss of an ensuing new year. New Year’s Eve conjures up a sensitivity to culmination. I mean, people get pretty inspired as the days grow closer to January. Promises are made and resolutions are decreed with noble intent and why not? New implies change doesn’t it? Something as simple as a day on the calendar, two years separated by a mere 24 hours means so much. The notion that a second chance could be eminent evokes hope from many on some level. So, what if there was no New Year’s Eve?

What would be the last straw for you and for me? How would we know that today is that day I change or at least begin altering minor aspects of my life away from destructive practices? How would we know to stop and examine our lives with reflective eyes? Time is an incredible marker for us. Time is reflected in pains you have now that didn’t used to be there. Time also rears its head as seasons in life change. Some began the year married and are now divorced. Some began the year halfway through 8th grade and now they’re well acclimated to high school life. Others have spent this year blaming others for their mistakes or perhaps being childish.

Whatever the reflection on this past year yields, one truth remains. Time is a marker, a litmus test and an opportunity for evaluation. Without time, how would your vision be established? How would you know that your wife is that much closer to delivering your child? We need time and we need time to move us from dormancy to participation. We are time sensitive creatures because our time on Earth is…well…dare I say, LIMITED.  So since I’m always talking about lessons I’ve learned from playing basketball, not playing basketball, growing up, etc then  I reckon this is also one of my greatest tutors. Time itself as orchestrated by God has been a great impetus in my life for change. 2010 begins soon but it is but one number in the perpetual cycle of life reminding you that, “Hey, you’re better than that. Let’s work on being better.” Let’s find the source, the truth, the singular wherewithal to not explain away our responsibility to know ourselves and offer ourselves in right service to the world outside our window. Happy New Year. May it result in something both new and valuable

“Play Your 6ixth Man”

Reputation in Dollars

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How much is a reputation worth? I’m not sure a price exists. That’s why people bankrupt themselves quite literally to maintain it. How people think of us is translatable to wealth, relationships, playing time on a sports team, credit of course, etc.  According to Dictionary.com,  character is:

the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing”

The problem with developing these features, however,  is that we take days off from the them. Some days we struggle with traits like honesty, dependability, patience and such. We tend to take “plays” off the way an athlete might when fatigue sets in during a game. But development ceases when routine is broken and that’s why character is a buzz word with multiple meanings in 2009. But I think I’m on to something. Everybody cares about their Rep. We’re socialized to do so and yet programmed to act as if we don’t care about the opinions of others.  For superficial and genuine objectives, people spend a lifetime flirting with character in as much as it is connected to reputation because your Rep is currency that spends worldwide.

A teenage boy says to his girlfriend, “Why can’t I have friends who are female? Don’t you trust me?” Even the boy values reputability though he may not intend to master the traits that provide its substance. He knows that with reputation, he has access to the girl’s heart and without the “roaming charges”, if you can dig what I’m sayin’. A free agent in the National Basketball Association knows that reputation is synonymous with gainful employment in a profession where the minimum salary for veterans is around $1.2 million. Reputation has universal appeal and as long as it can be used to push the importance of the aggregate traits, I’m all in. So what have I learned? I know that when mentoring, where all my horror stories about growing up in the ‘hood fail, it’s about time to rely on something palatable to all walks – Reputability and its fundamental ingredients.