A Basketball Carol

As the story goes, Ebenezer Coach was watching a basketball game on TV with his family when he observed a player travel.  “Bah turnover”, he said.  A few minutes later, after an offensive rebound and subsequent put-back, he replied, “bah, box-out”.  Though it turned out to be an exciting game for the majority of the family, Ebenezer was always negative and uttered his last “bah, humbug” before heading upstairs and going to bed.

Immediately upon entering a deep sleep, he encountered the Ghost of Red Auerbach, who reminded him that basketball is a team game best performed when all players are fundamentally sound and operating as one.  Do not coddle your stars (they’ll thank you later), but teaching is best done through positive rather than negative reinforcement.  And with that advice, he faded in to the distant past.

Next to appear was the Ghost of Phil Jackson.  He was preaching patience and the need to not be so negative when dealing with today’s players.  Different generations often require unique approaches.  “The best way to get a horse to drink from the water is to have them believe it was their idea in the first place to go there”, opined the Zen-master.  The map to the watering hole may turn out to be curve-linear, but the end result will be more rewarding.  With those thoughts, he, too, then vanished into the night.

The last vision presented to Ebenezer startled him.  It was a bit hazy, but he could see that a man was prowling the sidelines of a youth basketball game and berating referees over phantom non-calls.  He was yelling at his players and being critical of the outcomes even when they attempted to do the right thing.  He could see the unhappy looks on the parent’s faces as the coach continued his overbearing ways.  What poor sportsmanship, thought Ebenezer.  Where on Earth did he ever learn such behavior?  Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of this vision only served to clarify the apparition.  Try as he may, there was no denying it.  There, on the sideline, was the Ghost of Basketball Future…….his own son!

His restless night was broken by the alarm clock signaling his wake up call.  

Wiping the sleep from his eyes Ebenezer Coach thought to himself, “yes, that was a wake up call indeed”.