Basketball Kid

A bunch of kids were playing basketball, dribbling, running, passing, bumping, shooting, blocking, having fun.

A lone kid sat on a bench beside the court, watching. Why wasn’t he playing? Perhaps he did not know them? Perhaps we was not good enough? Perhaps he did not have good social skills?

When I was in high school, we had to play soccer everyday (school rules). Usually the two best players were appointed captains, and they took turns to choose players for each side. I was always one of the last to be picked because I was so poor at soccer. I believe if the captains had the option of refusing to take someone they didn’t want, they would. But they didn’t, fortunately.

Over the years, my love for soccer grew, and I kept on playing, through university, while working in the USA, in Canada, and in Hong Kong. I still play once in a while and I am usually not the worst player on the field. But I still remember the feeling of being the one nobody wanted.

I had to go home and could not find out what happened to that kid. But I did say a prayer for him.