Basketball hoops for every ability


 

Recently I found my son and his kids in the driveway playing basketball, something they love to do. But this time there was an adjustment. I was curious to see three separate hoops in place. The regular one was for Dad, the middle one was for the 6-year-old, and the small one for the 3-year-old. That way they could each participate, to the level of their abilities. Brilliant,
Matthew Kenison
!
I love the imagery. You can't expect a 3-year-old to have the strength and ability to throw a ball at a 10-foot rim. But she can occasionally make a basket with a smaller ball on a 3-foot rim! And the boy in between, though he has a strong arm and great aim for his age, clearly has a more equal opportunity at 5 or 6 feet.
It is human nature to compare our own abilities to the performance of others, and to emphasize feelings of inadequacy when we fall short compared to them. But often the problem is that we haven't had the time to grow, to develop, to gain strength or experience like another person has. All of us start with lesser abilities; all have the opportunity to improve them. Some start with greater gifts and abilities, or a greater passion - and achieve greater proficiency. In some cases, we choose not to focus on a particular skill or issue - instead we find a different goal to work on. That's perfectly appropriate as well!
Also, as a child grows and develops, you wouldn't want him to continue to use the smaller rim, even if he is more comfortable with it. He needs to force himself to "step up" to the higher level if he really wants to develop meaningful skills. Likewise we sometimes need to push ourselves out of "comfort zones" in order to learn and grow.
I #GiveThanks for the reconition that sometimes I am shooting at the lowest hoop - and that's OK. I am grateful for the chance to aspire to better achievements, improved performance.

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