Friday Night Youth Wauchope Basketball
For all the basketball fans in Wauchope, there is a spectacular game of basketball happening Friday nights and you don’t even need to pay for tickets to watch. These games are part of the Wauchope Uniting Church Friday Night Youth Program and if you are game, they will even let you join in. This was the situation on Friday night just gone, when I found myself playing basketball for the very first time.
17 Again For A Night
Don’t get me wrong, I bounced a ball around the half court in school and I recently watched a few videos on youtube with my son to help his game play in the under 11s …. but I had no idea when I was watching those videos, that I would be drawing on that knowledge in a few short weeks to save face with my new Youth Group teammates Tristan, Dylan, Tyreek and Will.
When I wandered into the stadium these young men were shooting hoops like I used to at school so naturally I joined in. What I did not realise was we were playing for ‘teams’. Soon after, thanks to an incredibly lucky basket from me, I was in the game.
I was a short kid and as an adult I still only stand 5’11. While none of these 15 - 17ish kids are giants, I found myself looking up at most of them. Suddenly it was game-on.
I spent the first quarter learning my new teammates names. You need to know your teammates names so you can call for the ball or call to pass. Tristan appeared to be our unofficial (or possibly official and I missed it) captain. Tristan generally started with the ball and worked it down court. There was a lot of hard passes and fast running in that first quarter. I felt like a deer who accidentally wandered out onto a freeway full of speeding lorries.
It was obvious I was out of my depth but it was brilliant fun. You know those adrenaline experiences you can sign up for where you get to go full tilt in a rally car or a race car with a professional driver. This was kind of like the basketball version of that. Every boy on the court had some serious skills while everything I know about basketball I learned last week watching youtube videos.
No Half-Time, No Umpires, No Scoring. Just Full Out Basketball
One thing I absolutely loved was there were no umpires and no scoring that I could discern. The guys would pound up and down the court with a ‘winner takes all’ level of attack that had me staying well clear to the left but it did not seem to matter who actually won overall. I certainly had no idea which team scored the more points but it was possibly our opposition - they were seriously good too.
Will told me that Tyrell (from the other team) was selected to go to the USA to play basketball and he certainly looked the part with authentic looking apparel. I would like to say my defence slowed him down as I would run up to greet him and he would blow past me like Matrix. To be fair to me, one guy against the guy with the ball generally never wins but my enthusiastic grin and the fact I was there was something. Eventually Tylee (also on the opposing team) gave me some tips on defence and Tristan had me mark one of the other teams players which made me feel pretty official.
With my front row, fully immersive basketball game vantage point, I watched impressed as almost every player on the court took possession of the ball and then put away an impossibly long three pointer. That’s how these Youth Group boys roll. Take the shot from twenty feet out. Boom, it’s in the basket. Drop the mic.
The absence of an umpire was also a plus in my mind namely due to the many fouls I was likely committing whenever I was lucky enough to get the ball. I actually did score a two pointer fairly close to the net, early in the game, but my sense of victory was slightly dampened by the fact that to score, I had inadvertently blocked then stolen the ball off my teammate Tyreek. I had failed to notice when Tyreek switched sides five minutes into the game once everyone realised I didn’t really count as a real player that my team was going to get crushed without a little shuffling. Once I saw Tyreek play, I was glad he was on our team. The guy was formidable.
Suddenly Things Got Serious
As the game play continued, shirts came off and things started to get really serious. A little kid called Matty hailed me from the sideline.
‘You got a six pack?’ he asked me. ‘Bet you $10 you don’t’ ha, ha.
All too soon 9pm rolled around, gameplay wound down and I reflected on how I had spent my Friday evening. There are so many things I could have done in place of meeting up with the Youth Group and playing a game of basketball but absolutely nothing I can think of would have been half as fun.
It was so great that the guys welcomed me into their game and while I would not say I’m ever going to be able to play on the same level as these rising young athletes, I think they appreciated me turning up and that seems to count for something with these guys. So thanks guys (and Rachel) for having me along to Friday Night Youth. I’m going to hit the practice court and I will be back…. In the meanwhile, can anyone recommend a good physio?
Want to Get Involved?
If you want to play, turn up @ the Wauchope Stadium around 8pm Friday nights. Younger kids have separate game play to the main game. If you are interested in volunteering with Wauchope Uniting Church Friday Night Youth Program, contact Youth Development Worker Rachel Rhodes via Facebook.
Story: Paddy McCann
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