Humble Basketball Tiger Mom

Bryce attends a few basketball clinics & camps a year. A lot of parents of the campers view their child as exceptional player or player with potential. I have never viewed him as an exceptional player but I’ve viewed him as a player with potential.  What has been amazing to me is, only a handful of these kids attending clinics/camps may or may not play basketball in high school.  For the longest time, I really didn’t know where Bryce’s skill level was and I wasn’t sure if he had enough skills to get him ready for high school ball either.  As I watch Bryce & I watch the other kids he works out with or plays against, Bryce has skills & athleticism.  He has potential.

It’s taken me a long time to acknowledge that.  Part of me didn’t want to because I didn’t want to be disappointed.  Part of me didn’t want to brag and then later on, have it thrown back in my face.  Part of me was also in denial for a long time.  In my heart, I knew but I didn’t know.  I’ve been to enough (club ball) games/tournaments in the last 2 years and have seen parents put their kids on the pedestal. Some of these parents are crazy & obnoxious.  Some of these parents get into it with other parents of the opposite teams and with the refs too. I don’t put Bryce on a pedestal.  I don’t view him as a future NBA player. I don’t have a nickname like Franchise or “Baby-Bryce” (meaning him being biggest kid of the 2019 bunch).  I will admit I am a basketball Tiger Mom.

Yes I yell.  Yes I scream. Yes I’ve gotten warnings from the refs.  Yes I’ve gotten ejected.  In fact, I had very first ejection from a game just last week.  (I found out later it wasn’t supposed to happen. The stupid ref mistakenly thought I was a parent of the opposite team. That team had 3-4 warnings.  Our team had no warnings). I am hard on Bryce and I yell at him from the stands.  I am not afraid to speak my mind when he messes up while playing on the court. My expectation of him on the court is like a Tiger Mom getting on their kids about their grades/school/life, etc. Work hard and put out 1000% (yes 1k) with no mistakes.  Lecture him before or after the games, make him eat, drink & sleep basketball.  Make him practice and work out 24 hours a day/7 days a week. There's no time for video games or doing anything else unless it's basketball related.   Ok ok I'm exaggerating.

Tonight, when I went to watch the last hour of the clinic, I watched Bryce play hard. I watched him catch his own mistake, change his game face, rebound the ball and go up for a basket.  Right after that, he darted out from a screen, cut off a pass from an opponent & picked up the ball.  He cut through the middle and made another basket.  After the clinic was over, the director approached us and advised us that the coach & athletic director from the local prep high school wants to meet & talk with us tomorrow (last day of clinic).  They would like Bryce to attend their high school on a scholarship & offer financial aid. 

I learned I can’t make him a better player if I am a basketball tiger mom. I have retreated to being a lot quieter in the stands. I don’t yell from the stands at as much as I used to.  He plays hard, puts out 150% (I’ll take 150% since it’s at least 100%, right?), makes little mistakes and learns from those mistakes.  He practices and works out 5-6 days a week while maintaining a 3.0 GPA.  (Last year, his grades were horrible.  Every quarter was a nail biter.)  At the same time, I wasn’t enjoying the game. I was stressed, I was constantly looking for imperfections and missing out on great plays.  It’s not to say I don’t yell anymore.  I still do.  Instead of yelling at Bryce, I yell at the refs for bad calls. I yell during the games over turnovers.  I yell from time to time at Bryce when he gets lazy on the court. I yell at him to change his game face when he’s mad or disappointed.  Once a Tiger Mom, always a Tiger Mom. (Someone's gotta put them refs in their place-even if it means to get ejected! )

When parents say positive things about plays that Bryce make,  how fast he is on the court, or when I hear “Wow, that kid looks great!” there is no words I need to say.  It just confirms that Bryce has potential and has athleticism and skills.  And that kid they're talking about?  That's MY kid and I am very proud of him.