Basketball for Short People

I haven't thrown a basketball around since I was in high school gym class, which I violently hated. So what is Benny in love with? Basketball.

Here's one to file under "What POSSIBLE qualification do you have to teach your child THAT?"



Several times in the last few months, when we go to the playground, Benny has gotten very interested in the basketball games going on, and has even gotten himself invited to join in a few. Of course, he is hopeless at it. He's tall enough to ride on Space Mountain, but not tall enough to get a basketball up and through a hoop.

So, he needs to practice dribbling and shooting, I assume. I'm about as skilled in basketball moves as I am in ballet. That is to say, not at all skilled. And our resident tall man in the family isn't exactly the team sport type either. I cannot pretend and I cannot lie. We are hopeless at basketball.

Here's what I know, from high school gym class:

1. You have to dribble.
2. You can't grab the other guy.
3. When shooting, bend your knees.

And that's about it. I know there are positions on the team like right wing and forward ho and quarterback, except probably not those. I know that points can be made by persuading the ball to go through the net. Free throws? Three pointers? Everything else is filtering in from vague memories of watching the Detroit Pistons win the World Series when I was a kid. What? Not the World Series? The Stanley Cup then? No?

So, you get that our family is a little sports-retarded. But we are, in our defense, willing to flump around on the basketball court and try.



In other news, the 57th Carnival of Homeschooling is live, and my post about the opera was included. It is always an interesting collection of homeschooling blogs, and this week is no exception.