Rebound

I'm a big believer in athletics and the lessons that can be taught metaphorically through physical activity.

Today I want to go over something that I am looking forward to, and I hope that my words might help others that might be a bit depressed to have a bit of optimism.

I want to talk about rebounding.

In athletic circles, rebounding is most associated with the gathering of a missed attempt.  It is essentially who is going to be in position to take control while if, just for a moment, the game is up for grabs.

Rebounding is widely viewed as an essential indicator for successful play.  The more opportunities you get, the more likely you are to succeed.  It involves effort, skill, and an understanding of team positioning and space.

In my brief basketball career, I always had a knack for the rebound.  Sure I was taller than most of my peers, but I also was taught early on by my Grandmother about what it really meant to go get the ball. 

She was a shorter woman who had played in high school in a small town in Iowa, and one of the most important lessons she talked about was how even though she was small, she had every right to go get the ball.  So whether it was diving on the court for a loose ball, or being physical and maybe putting a bit of an elbow in the bigger bully's back, you can go get what you want, no matter who you were.

For me, rebounding became about going to get something that I wanted.  Early on, I didn't have any particular skills for dribbling or shooting, so my first few games the only thing I ever bothered with was rebounding.  Get the rebound, pass to the kids who had been playing basketball a bit longer and let them shoot.  Once my own skills caught up, I realized that if I rebounded the ball, I was able to start my own fast breaks and my skills as a runner and jumper would become more in play.

Now, I'm 36.  I can't jump as high and rarely play.  But every now and then, maybe at a pick up game in a park, I will get that urge to leap high into the air, pluck the ball and slap it, letting everyone know I can take control over the game.

Right now, the world over, we all need to have that rebound.

We need to channel our efforts into a collective movement that completely supports one another during these times, and that can take control over the future.  We need a determined and obvious effort to make sure we take care of a real crisis and come out on the other side better for it.

For sure, some of the circumstances surrounding this rebound will be out of our control. Just like rebounding a missed shot, the carom is difficult to predict exactly.  The spin of the ball and the exact trajectory of a shot mirrors the unknown trajectory of this novel coronavirus. The disease may come back.  The government or employers may make mistakes.  The exact movements will not be known.

That is why we must adhere to the most fundamental rule of rebounding. Positioning.

In a sport like basketball, for example, as soon as a shot goes up, both teams attempt to "box out" the other, physically pushing their bodies in-between an opponent and the ball to ensure better position.  If you've ever watched an extremely competitive game, the aspect of rebounding is taken so seriously and physical that fights can often emerge from the scrums.

I believe we need to push to test for COVID-19 everywhere, and as often as possible, to put ourselves in the best position to succeed.

I want us to go back to doing the things we truly want to do. 

I am depressed/anxious, and I'm not enjoying the life I'm currently forced to live during this pandemic. 

However, I also don't want to die, or be the cause of a loved one's death.

The only way to reconcile this for me is a test.  Proof that I don't have it OR that I've already had it and have an immunity.  I also believe it is in the interest to all of us that this test is made free or as affordable as humanly possible given how essential it will be to our workforce.

If we put ourselves in that position, we can effectively box out the virus.  We will put a test in-between the virus and our lives and begin to gain control over our health once again.  We will have been able to secure our opportunity for a future.