Kids These Days...
A surprise on the basketball court
I have not expected much of teens these days, what with their early exposure to the world via phones and their secretive social media lives, but I wasn’t even aware of this disdain until the other day when I was at the park with our six year old.
A group of four pre-teen boys slunk past the basketball hoop where I’d been trying in vain to teach my daughter how to dunk. They eyed us off so I said, “We’ll be five more minutes then it’s all yours.”
First surprise, the largest boy of the group smiled, made eye contact with me then said in a polite and still unbroken voice, “That’s okay, don’t rush.” Wow, I thought, what a sweet kid.
Then they placed themselves at a table nearby carrying on like a group young guys, the odd swear word escaping their mouths as they attempted to show off to one another. Oh, I thought disappointed, that earlier moment was just a show.
After five minutes had passed and we really should have been leaving the court, my persistent girl was glued there, desperate to sink the ball at least once in this half hour standoff. I didn’t think she would so I started packing up, bracing myself for tantrums and pep talks in the car. But at the last moment she sunk it, and I whooped!
Spontaneously that group of boys who’d seemed too cool minutes earlier clapped and cheered loudly for her too.
They watched as she determinedly went for her second hoop then missed, then third and final sinking it again to a chorus of cheers from those kind pre-teens I’d underestimated.
I left that court with a mixture of feelings, shame I’d expected so little of those boys and because I’d doubted the ability of my girl, and hopeful because here was proof that despite it all our kids are alright.
As printed in Village Voice