when i say i played basketball i mean i remember sitting on a bench for one game. i don't know why just one. maybe it was because there was only one school in bella coola. the funny thing is i still can't fathom who we would of played. getting to bella coola by road was not something for the faint of heart because of the gravel road on the side of the mountain. likely easier to get to bella coola by boat or water plane.
i remember a crowd, a layup and not getting to play which likely was a good idea by whoever happened to be the coach at the time. i don't exactly remember their being a coach or other players. i do remember having my feelings hurt that i didn't get to play like any young person would. i was like 6 or 7 or 8 years old at the time. i had no idea really what the heck basketball was at the time.
i just did everything related to athletics i could. i was always the guy who signed up for all the events in track and field. i don't really remember why. it wasn't like my parents pushed me one way or another in terms of sports. it was generally up to me as long as it didn't cost a lot. how it is for every family i image. money determines what subset of sports you can do. not everyone can afford to jump horses. all you needed were shoes to run track. i suppose the same could be said of basketball if you already had the basketball.
the strange thing about balling back in the coola and my one glorious game on the bench is that is the only time i remember ever touching a basketball when i was really young. i wanted to play hockey. that was my only dream. every saturday i would watch hockey night in canada to see the oilers play. i was going to be wayne gretzky, not a basketball star.
what is one of your earliest memories of sports? do you remember it in detail or is a lot of it blurry like mine?
