Dear Basketball.

Dear Basketball,
Thank you.
Thank you for being the common ground on which he built his most significant friendships. Friendships that stood the test of time and have transcended to every aspect of his life.
Thank you for giving him and his brothers something to giggle, compete, and fight over in the front driveway. Thanks for being the one activity we all could agree on and for countless hours of togetherness.
Thank you for being his timeline. The timeline on which he gauged every surgical recovery. “We should be out of the hospital in time to at least go watch try-outs next month.” “The last tube should be out in time for you to start practicing with fall ball.” “By the next tournament, you can start playing with the brace.” “By next season…” “By next game…” You were the motivation. The prize at the end.
You were the hope…the hope of playing again that kept him going long enough. Long enough for him to grow to understand that life is so much bigger than basketball.
So thank you.
Thanks for giving him a playground in a childhood that was riddled with hard stuff.
Thanks for teaching him to show up on time and show up for his friends. Thanks for teaching him to be coachable and to find his voice. For teaching him to win and lose with grace, to work hard, to see the floor, and be faithful in the stuff no one sees. Thanks for teaching him to throw the extra pass and to lead with your life. Thanks for teaching him to give it your all, with your head up, and your mouth mostly closed, and then at the end of it…go eat with your buddies.
Many thanks, basketball.
He’s solid and strong and his eyes set well beyond the court’s white lines now.
Thanks for being a part of building one of the coolest people we know.
Sincerely,
Quincy’s Mom
(on Senior night)