Being On The Team (again)

Last year, my role and commitment to the team was somewhat deficient. It’s very likely that my head wasn’t screwed on the right way. I guess not a lot of people go through what I’m going through with the team now. My first team was a winless team that could barely field in enough players to escape the possibility of losing by default. Being on a losing team for a number of seasons had its “perks” though. I played the entire game and I had the license to do just about everything on the court. At times, I played point guard on offense and center on defense. I got into foul trouble a lot. I got hammered numerous times through out the course of the game. I often drew the ire of other players for playing too physical. ME?! Of all people. I’m so lanky, I dunno why people twice my size often whine on how I push them around. Jeez.

But it was all good. Despite not tasting a win for a good number of seasons, it was fun to be “the man” for a while. There wasn’t a shot that I couldn’t take. I led the team in scoring in the majority of games played and I even had a 28-point game against the Admin team. They weren’t playing defense much, but they, 28 points is 28 points! Hehe

Then came a transition. I was suddenly surrounded by a better cast of players. Some of them were a lot better than me. They weren’t simply your average players. Some of these people had special skills (insane speed and athleticism) that I would never get even if I  practiced for eight hours a day. Fortunately, I was retained in the starting line up as the team’s small forward. At 5 feet 9 inches, I was a fairly tall guy at the three position. I was tall enough to grab rebounds and post up in the middle, but I also had the range to hit the three ball if they needed that.

But my role changed. I wasn’t in the game for offense - we had far better players for that. My role was mainly for defense and hustle. I’ve always taken pride for my ability to block shots and dive for loose balls - despite what my basketball buddies for 10 years would say *hey Emil, Coach Pop, Gilbert, Aius and Bong!*.  I was no longer scoring big. Gone were the days when you could almost always chalk in a double-figure game from me. It was no longer possible. I evolved into a gritty and wily utility player.

What was the perk of being with this team? Hell, we made the finals! I was a starter for a team that made the Finals (I didn’t say champions so we lost)!  I would be extremely idiotic to suggest that my team made it near the top because of my play, but my contributions as someone who started all games and played about 25 minutes a game helped, right?

Then came another change. I had to play for another team. They clearly had their systems ready and to my surprise, they were stocked at my position. The small forwards they have were far more athletic. I had a fairly long reach, but those of the already existing members were phenomenal. One ran like the court like gazelle while one had the strength of an ox. I couldn’t match those qualities.

I had to be successful somewhere else.

I had to be a shooter. No, a sniper that would literally blow the lights out every game. That is what the team  lacks to this point - a solid perimeter option to compliment the already eye-popping play of a Dirk Nowtizki/Tim Duncan play-alike at 6 feet flat (Jenus) , a human highlight reel of a shooting guard (Joguel) and one of the most efficient and unorthodox players I’ve ever seen (Geno).  That’s what I’m working on right now.

 If the last practice was any indication, I’m on the right track. I hit 8 of 10 threes in a scrimmage including seven in a row. Most were uncontested and almost all hit the bottom of the non-existent net. It felt to good that I’m sort of finding more ways to contribute to the betterment of the team now. Hopefully, the improvements continue. All of us want to win badly and hopefully, we’ll get to win more this year.

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