More Than a Game

June is the month for summer basketball. Today I refereed two games at a local high school summer basketball tournament. Top teams from the northwest. My first game was pretty good. Both teams played well we called a good game.

The second game was also a good game and again the kids played well and we did a good job. The second game has me thinking though.

During warm ups before the game I was checking out the players and I noticed something about one of the players. He was probably 16 or 17 about 5'7" and appeared to be in pretty good shape. He also had only one hand. His right hand was missing. He went through pregame drills and when the game started he was on the bench. He came in during the second half and played pretty much the whole half. The kid could play. He wasn't the best player on the court but he was far from the worse. Maybe at first most of us on the court saw him as the "one handed" player but after a few minutes after he stole the ball, lead a fast break and handled the offense like a seasoned vet, we saw him as a kid trying to make the team.

It was one of those moments that transcends the game. I have no idea about anything about this young man. I don't know his background, his parents or his story. What I do know is that today is his teammates, coaches, fans, other team and coaches and three referees  know is that he can play ball. Today he was a ball player, nothing more or nothing less. Not a one handed ball player but a ball player. Period.