Hope

Celebration in the hope of a new day.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Middle School Girls Basketball

Have you ever watched a middle school girl’s basketball game? Wow, what fun! It is far more entertaining than wasting an afternoon watching those overpaid prima donnas in the NBA any day.

By the way, do you know origins of the meaning of prima donna? It is actually a term used by opera companies referring to the lead female singer, generally a soprano. “Prima donna” in Italian is “first lady” and represented the prime female role. Legendarily, these "prima donnas" (prime donne in Italian) were often regarded as egotistical, unreasonable and irritable, with a rather high opinion of themselves not shared by others. Funny how this term started in use referring to females. Mmmmmh, I guess I will save that for another blog.

The lead man in an opera, usually a tenor, is called the “primo uomo.” “Primo Uomo” in Italian means “first man.” Primo uomo does not seem to have the same kind of connotations or secondary meanings around the term like “prima donnas” when referring to females.

Interesting.

However, let’s get back to girls basketball. These teenage girls just play with reckless abandon, racing up and down the floor, diving for balls, whacking each other, showing brightness of skill and pure relentless determination. The scores are low; there are lots of fouls and traveling calls, and plenty of missed shots. However, there is never a moment where you can expect the unexpected to happen. It is just pure fun to watch.

My daughter, Clara, never touched a basketball until she tried out for the team. Her determination and athletic abilities from soccer got her on the team. However, the coach told her she now needs to learn the play the game. Clara plays basketball like it is soccer; hip-checking, pushing, shoving, and running over people. In two games, she almost fouled out both times. And she played less than half of each of those games! The coach told Clara that if they called everything, she would be out of the game in less than five minutes.

Clara is improving though. She earned a starting position in the next game this coming Saturday and we are proud of her. She just needs to remember not to throw her hips into the other girl to steal the ball.

Whether you have a teenage girl or not, do yourself a favor and just go watch a middle school girl’s basketball game. It will be a treat. You will never go back to watch an NBA game again!

Cheers,
dale