Mark me down for the assist

In ten minutes, we are leaving for Sammy's weekly basketball practice/game. For the second year in a row, I volunteered to coach the team. For the second year in a row, I have been assigned as the "assistant coach."

Now, I'm not complaining, exactly. Chad thinks I'm crazy to even try and coach at all--what with 4 kids and one on the way, a full time job, and about a bajillion other commitments and daily activities to keep track of.

But I love basketball. I devoted years of my life to it, spent countless hours perfecting my hook shot and my free throw, spent even more hours thinking and dreaming about the sport. I was kind of a freak about it.

I started playing when I was 8 on the exact same courts my little boy now takes his first tentative shots on. I played every Saturday until I was 12, then joined the junior high and high school teams and played every day for 6-7 months the next 6 years. Then I chose my college, in part, based on where I could keep playing the game I loved and played another 4 years. Then I joined the men's after work leagues for the next 2 years, even though I was the only woman on any team and struggled to play the power forward/center position which was the only job I'd ever had at my lifelong gigantor height (6 feet is not a center in most men's leagues).

And now they assign me to the assistant job. The guy I'm assisting wore cowboy boots to the last practice.

So games start at 5 and that's an awfully early time for my darling morning duty hubby to get home by. Which means I have to rely on my 8 year old to watch her 2 sisters. Which means I'm distracted during games, to say the least. And I am 6 months pregnant so my attempts at demonstrating certain moves are, hmmm, how to say it, somewhat comical and unwieldy (though these kids--99% 5 and 6 year old boys--are most certainly getting the gist). And, in fairness, I also end up holding a cranky queen on my hip half the time as well. So, from a broader perspective, I really am much better suited to the assistant role.

But still. If I can ever get any of my girls to play, I won't take such an assignment quite so lightly. For now, I'll bide my time. Mark me down for the assist.