In
a small town called Atelaska, there lived a skinny young boy who loved
basketball with all his heart. His name was Dexter. He lived alone with his
father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.
Practice after practice, he eagerly
gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got
absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and
hardly ever played. Even though he was always on the bench, his father was
always there cheering, and never missed a game. This young man was still the
smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to
encourage him but also made it very clear that he did have not to play
basketball if he didn’t want to. But the young man loved basketball so much and
decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice,
and perhaps he’d got to play when he became a senior.
All through high school, he never
missed a practice or a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years. His
faithful father was always in his side, and always with words of encouragement
for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the
basketball team as a “point-guard”. Everyone was sure he could never make the
cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he
always put his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided
the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.
The news that he had survived the
cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his
father. “Father! I made it,” shouted Dexter. His father answered, “Good son,
that’s my boy.” His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets
for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice
during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.
It was the end of his senior
basketball season, and as he got into the practice shortly before the playoff
game, the coach approached him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram
and became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father
died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his
arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son.
And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”
Saturday arrived, and the game was
not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a
silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker. As he ran into the
courtside, the coach and his players were shocked to see their faithful
teammate back so soon. “Coach, let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said Dexter.
The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst
player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally
feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go
in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the coliseum could not
believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing
everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed,
blocked, drove and tackled like a star. In the last minute of the game, he put
up a three-point basket to tie the ball game. His team began to triumph. In the
closing seconds of the game, Dexter intercepted a pass and ran all the way for
the winning lay-up. The fans broke loose. His teammate hugged him unto their
shoulders. “Such cheering you never heard,” he whispered silently.
Finally, after the coliseum had
emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed
that Dexter was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him
and said, “Kid, I can’t believe it. You were fantastic! I was amazed; tell me
what got into you? How did you do it?” He looked at the coach, with tears in
his eyes, and said, “Well, you know that my dad has died, but did you know that
he was blind?” The young man forced to smile, “Dad came to all my games, but
today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him that I
could do it.” Then he remembered, his father has always told him, “Never say
die, and tomorrow is another game.”
