Tryin' It Out

The life of a wannabe-baller can be pretty exhausting and very hectic. I’ll make no secret of it; I, like many others, like to emulate my favourite players when I play basketball whether it is Paul Pierce’s swagger, Kevin Garnett’s (KG) intensity, Ray Allen’s professionalism, Kendrick Perkins’ determination, Rondo’s confidence, Glen Davis’ laid back personality or Shaq’s fun-loving attitude.

Last week, my basketball club held try outs in selecting teams for this season. In between tryouts I was kept pretty busy by my routine of daily training and keeping a healthy regime including a diet that left me feeling somewhat like a horse.

I have to give my trainer, Tali, a massive shout out.  We’ve been training since April and to say that I feel significantly healthier and in better physical shape is a major understatement. Honestly, I was of the school-of-thought that a trainer was someone who would just try to keep you motivated by shouting inspirational messages (for example, “FAILING TO PREPARE IS PREPARING TO FAIL!!) while they instruct you to carry out an exercise that you would have been able to do own your own without the cost.

I was proven wrong after two weeks into training where I was shown that working hard might be hardly working in making progress. It’s not just a matter of training hard; you need to train smart.

It’s similar to buying a pair of shoes; sure you can get a nice looking pair of shoes. They look the part, act the part, hell; they even smell the part for a little while. At first they look great as you do your thing on Saturday night. But after a week, those shoes are going to become painful as they become uncomfortable and an inconvenience. You need a pair of shoes that enable you to undertake activities at your full potential. A pair that you can run in, turn in, side step in, jump in. A trainer helps you reach this.

I like to be well prepared for basketball so I like to make sure that I have plenty of energy by eating well throughout the day. Protein is essential. For breakfast, the standard four weetbix with honey, banana and sesame-seed powder hits everything that a morning breakfast should be. I’m a big believer in a good amount of carbohydrates in the form of pasta along with a lot of water and vegetables; my typical day includes a carrot, tomato and cucumber. Stay away from the sugars! Having protein after any workout is crucial in allowing the body to recover muscle and tissue.

When I arrive at basketball whether its practice, scrimmage or game day, I like to be well equipped. My sports bag includes several shirts and towels, as I make no secret that I like to sweat it out during play. Man, you ain’t workin’ if you haven’t got your sweat on! Along with a dozen shirts and towels, I have my shorts, headband, my KG kicks or sneakers, socks, basketball, plenty of water (occasionally a sports drink for marathon sessions), and my notorious and in my opinion, highly coveted Celtic-green IPod with headphones. I can’t stand earphones and that metallic sound they have. It’s just nasty, particularly if you like your beats like I do. My music library covers a lot of genres from folk and rhythm, reggae, rock and pop to jazz. My IPod is definitely predominately hip-hop though.

I like to get in my zone during warm-ups by listening to something that gets me a little amped up and juiced for when I’m on the court. The usual suspects are Gang Star, Public Enemy, Madvillain, Little Brother, NaS, The Roots, J-Dilla and occasionally Jay-Z and Wu-Tang. Sometimes, I like to tone it down a bit with a little R&B/Soul such as Marvin Gaye, The Spinners, James Brown or my favourite, Curtis Mayfield. It all depends on my demeanour for the game. Sometimes I feel like getting funky like Joakim Noah. Other times I’m a bit more determined and intense in feeling like cracking some heads ala KG. I realise they are bitter rivals but that’s what makes them so endearing in that they are so passionate and competitive for the game. As much us Celtic fans resent Joakim Noah, we would love him if he wore green.

In most of my trials I feel offense is wrongly favoured more than defense. For the most part my offensive play is slowly becoming more consistent. Some nights I’ll get twenty points, other nights I’ll stink out the joint by shooting 2-8 in scoring 4 points along with 4 turnovers. More importantly, on most nights I’m satisfied with my D with the occasional missed rebound or rotation. I always value my defense over offense any day of the week. Offense wins games but defense wins championships.

Sometimes things just don’t go your way and as the late and great coach John Wooden said “Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” One thing that should be consistent is effort. 90% of basketball is effort. I always run and hustle regardless of the situation. Running, communication, setting screens, diving for loose balls is hustle and shows your heart. You may not be having your best performance but hustle shows that you are willing to scrap for any of the pieces that will help your team.

Hustle is underrated. It doesn’t show in the box score but it is the most important aspect of any sport. It’s not only team building, it’s also character building.

Look at Kendrick Perkins, one of my favourite players. He gets no respect and is very underrated. Perk gets no recognition for how important and vital he is to the Celtics success. You want proof; just look at that game 7. Add myself to the school-of-thought that had Perk been there for game 7 Celtic Nation would be celebrating number 18. I’m still not ready to go into specifics but I know that if Perk was there, a half time lead of 6 would have been much greater if Perk had been there in cleaning the paint of easy layups and any loose rebounds.

What’s my point to this? I don’t really have one. I can just offer my view point that basketball has served as an inspiration to not only trying to improve my game but also my overall health. I’ve been motivated to exercise more, eat better and think positively.

As basketball legend Bill Walton offered, “Basketball is a glorious celebration of life, of health, of everything that’s good.” It’s just one of the many themes that sport can offer. I know I can never be KG or Perk but it’s a lot of fun trying to be.