Synergy

We arrived at the gym Saturday morning to watch my kids Naimah and Idris play their 11am basketball game.  We walked into the cold gym  curious to find out the team that we would play on this day.  As the other game finished, we looked on the sidelines to see the team walking in.  They had at least twenty kids with a couple of really tall girls! Our team slowly drifted into the gym eyes focused on the huge size and height of the other team.  The coach walked over to me and said” We need you to coach today.” I called all five of the players into the circle and said ” Lets get out there, work hard and have fun!”  We all put our hands in together and said,”Go Titans!”  We marched down to the other end of the court to practice layups, and jumpshots plus go over tips to remember in the game like three seconds, spacing , and playing tough defense.  We practiced until the referee blew his whistle for gametime!  I called all five of the players including my children in a sacred circle again to get them excited about playing hard and having fun.  We gave one last Titan, and they walked on the court ready to play against some pretty tough odds.  We had five and they had two maybe three units of players rotating in and out.  They scored the first two or three baskets, then one more of are players came late to give us six.  We scored a couple of baskets, and started to play some tenacious defense. My daughter with little to no experience hustled for loose balls, she got a steal, and took some great shots!  My son became the field general, making amazing shots,and passes, while electrifying the crowd. One female on the team had never made a basket, but she was always so close.  She started the game by missing her first three shots.  She settled down, and finally hit her first shot of the season.  Her face lit up like Katie Perry’s firework song. Suddenly, she let go of nervousness and ushered in a wave of easy confidence.  The game went on, our players hustling for every loose ball and playing tough tenacious defense.  The coach and I cheered, and after each carefully crafted time-out we slapped high fives and continued to encourage their heroic basketball efforts.  Halftime came and the game was tied.  Our players stepped up their intensity like never before in the third quarter.  We continued to steal the ball, make amazing passes, and play a game with so much enthusiam and energy.  Our girl continued to pour in buckets, rebounds, and blocked shots.  My daughter shot up and down the court moving side to side with her hands up.  My jaw dropped as I watched my nine year old son play like Lebron James and Majic Johnson who weaved in and out of traffic like a maniac on the 405 freeway.  Our swingman with a cool mohawk made big shots when we needed them.  Our slightly un-coordinated Asian player awkardly started hitting shots too!. We took a ten point lead going into the fourth quarter.  It seemed that victory would be a reality, however exhaustion kicked in like a mule. The other team continued to sub in fresh legs to play against our resilient six! They made a strong charge to get within a basket with under a minute to go.  I became struck with so much excitement that I could not sit still.  This game as I realized symbolized life.  We had many fears in the beginning based only on appearances ,the surface. However, we helped them just relax and play, and just see what happens. This allowed them to stay focused on the game, make mistakes, and enjoy everything. We all became one force and with this united effort an invisible force seemed to be there pushing us through this entire experience! All that flashed through my mind as this game came to a close.  Our girl named Paris who continued to make baskets was fouled.  She walked to the line and sealed the deal. We won! This game will stay etched in all our minds. Just show up in life, you never know what could happen! There is an invisible greatness in every moment.  Go out and discover it! The secret is in the synergy that is within us all. Let synergy shine like some Armorall!

Make It Move!