The Good Shooter vs. the Great Shooter
Sometimes you learn a lesson and the lesson is so clear that you can’t even believe it.
Last night I played basketball for my team, the Paxton Police (long story). I arrived late for the game since I had a Fellowship Church life group I was committed to (and had an amazing time at), but I eventually arrived with 7 minutes left in the 1st half. We play two 20 minute halves.
I went in the game with fresh legs, and immediately shot 1 for 4 in the 6 minutes I played in the first half. I didn’t feel bad considering I hadn’t warmed up, in fact, the ball felt pretty good rolling through the hands. The second half started and I shot worse than the first. I missed my first 5 shots really bad. This got me down, so I decided to pass up any shots that came my way for the rest of the game.
Someone on our team called a time out with 10 minutes to go and during that time, my fellow player, affectionately referred to as “coach” (I believe he was a coach for one of the Wachusett Regional High School teams) looked me in the eyes and said this: “Marty, good shooters stop shooting when they’re off. great shooters keep shooting, because eventually, they’ll be on.”
At this point, I didn’t know which one I was, so I thought about it for a while as the game began again. Then I decided to shoot. Then I shot again. And again. And again. It matters very little at this point whether I made them or not. Because THE point is the words.
If I was a coach, there’s no way I would tell someone to do something I didn’t believe he could do. I would tell them to do what they do best maybe. But if someone was going to shoot the ball with 10 minutes left in a close game, it better be someone I know can shoot. And then I have a choice to allow them to hold back, because after all, they are off their game – or to convince them that they can shoot the ball, and they CAN make the shot.
Your words are empowering today. You have the choice to bring someone down and to tease them about their difficulties, or you can convince them to keep going and eventually, they’ll hit their sweet spot. I believed at that point that the team believed I could make my next 4 shots down the stretch, so I shot it. When I believe in myself, that’s one thing – that’s good. But when I have a team that believes I can do it…
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i wish you were around cherie more – she gets mad at me for using a sports illustration with every talk I give.
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