Saw some stuff about the Turkey women’s basketball team the other day. Wasn’t really following the scores or anything, but just seeing them play, the hustle, you know? It sparked something.
It got me thinking, I haven’t actually picked up a basketball myself in… well, longer than I’d care to admit. Used to play a bit, just messing around, nothing serious. Seeing that energy made me think, why not just go shoot some hoops? Just for the heck of it.
Getting Back Out There
So, first thing was digging out my old gear. Found my ancient sneakers buried in the back of the closet. Surprisingly, they still fit, kinda. Then the basketball… remembered I had one somewhere. Found it in the garage, totally flat and cracked. No good.
Had to make a trip to the store. Didn’t need anything fancy, just grabbed a basic rubber ball off the shelf. Felt weird buying one after all these years.
Next step: finding a court. The courts closest to me are always swarming with teenagers, way too intense for what I had in mind. I remembered there’s this older, quieter court over by the park, the one with the rusty chain nets. Decided to head there.
Hitting the Court (Sort Of)
Got to the court, thankfully empty. Started dribbling. Felt super awkward. My hands just didn’t remember what to do. Tried a few shots. Clank. Air ball. Another clank. Felt pretty foolish, honestly.
But I kept at it. Focused on just the motion, the feel of the ball. Did some basic layups, just walking them in. Tried some free throws. After about fifteen minutes, one actually went in. Swish. Felt surprisingly good!
- Dribbling practice (mostly fumbling)
- Shooting (lots of misses)
- Simple layups
- Trying free throws
Spent maybe 45 minutes out there. Wasn’t trying to impress anyone, wasn’t trying to achieve anything specific. Just moving, shooting, being outside. My arms started to feel it, my legs too. Out of shape, for sure.
Packed it up when I started getting properly tired. Walking back, felt that satisfying ache in my muscles. Didn’t make me a basketball star, didn’t really change anything profound. But it was good to just do something physical again, something simple. And it all started just from seeing those women play on TV. Funny how that works.
