FOR THE FIRST TIME

          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.”