Basketball Is Important But Family Is Most Important Of All

I've been involved playing and coaching basketball for over 20+ years.  I've been on championship teams and winless teams.  I've watched some of my teams win by 30 and also lose by 30.  So you can say that I've seen just a lot of basketball related things over the years.

This week, something happened which I had never seen before though.  A teammate of mine that is playing with me on a summer league basketball team told me they had to leave the team to return home for some family things they needed to address.   To put it into context, the teammate is not just departing the team but also quitting their job to move back home.  The reason for departing is very personal and I won't repeat the reason here.

Knowing the reason why the teammate had to move, I understood why the decision was made.  Out of many people, I was probably one who understood just how tough this decision was.  This teammate is a lot like me.  They love basketball and it's their way of having fun and getting away from the stresses of life. Having to give basketball up (at least here is this area) is a tough choice but one that had to be done.

However, this move illustrates just how important FAMILY is in the overall scheme of things.  All of us have our hobbies and it's great that we can enjoy them.  But family trumps everything and sacrifices have to made.  I've been learning this lesson in recent months.  Due to some personal family things I've had to deal with, there's been some sacrifices that I've done on my part.

Our team had a miserable game tonight as we lost by 30.  While I wasn't too thrilled with the team's performance, I talked to my teammate for a while after the game.    The game was forgotten as I let them talk a bit about their situation plus I offered my thoughts and support for them.

To be honest, I am being very generic here in calling this person a "teammate" but I now consider them a friend.  We haven't know each other that long but we've had a lot of experiences together, especially our Spring Basketball league championship that we won back in May.

This teammate / friend isn't leaving just yet so this isn't a farewell.   But as I blogged back in May, the championship gave us some lifetime connections.   So even if this friend has to depart from us for now, I am certain I will see them again in the future.