When I played basketball as a freshman in Quapaw, Oklahoma, I complained to our leading scorer (Steve "Poodle" Roberts), that he was hogging the ball and shooting too much; most of the team felt the same way. I'll never forget what he told me as it was a great life lesson. He looked at me and said: "If I only shot the ball when I thought I could make it, I wouldn't have any fun."
I reflected on this later and realized that I wasn't passing the ball around out of generosity, I was mostly passing the ball off because I didn't think I could make the shot. I was waiting around for more of a guarantee that my shot would go in so the crowd would cheer and not be upset that I missed it. Instead, Steve was running around seeing what types of shots he could make for the fun of it.
I took this wisdom with me, as I learned the value and fun in taking more shots in my proverbial life. Thanks, Steve! By the way, we called him "Poodle" because he had extremely curly hair that would basically turn into a white man's afro by the time the game was over. :)
I reflected on this later and realized that I wasn't passing the ball around out of generosity, I was mostly passing the ball off because I didn't think I could make the shot. I was waiting around for more of a guarantee that my shot would go in so the crowd would cheer and not be upset that I missed it. Instead, Steve was running around seeing what types of shots he could make for the fun of it.
I took this wisdom with me, as I learned the value and fun in taking more shots in my proverbial life. Thanks, Steve! By the way, we called him "Poodle" because he had extremely curly hair that would basically turn into a white man's afro by the time the game was over. :)
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