Coach Shabaka walked through the gym, high-fiving and giving pounds to each player. When he saw Denham, his face broke into a wide grin. Nigel watched as Coach Shabaka greeted Denham’s mother and siblings, then slapped hands with Denham like they were old friends — two open hand slaps, a back slap, a front clasp and a hug.
Coach don’t greet me like that, Nigel thought, mean mugging Denham.
“Sup, Coach,” Nigel heard Denham say. “Glad to be here. We going to do something special this year. I promise.”
“That’s what I like to hear! Denham, welcome to the squad. We’re glad to have you!” Coach Shabaka yelled.
Most of the boys stopped shooting and focused on Coach Shabaka and the new player. Coach Shabaka blew the whistle and motioned for everyone to meet at centre court. The assistant coach, Coach Rodney, gathered the players trying to take last-second shots so that Coach Shabaka had the team’s full attention.
“Okay, boys, look around,” Coach Shabaka said. “This is our squad! This is our family. This is our championship team! We just have to go out there and prove it. Are y’all ready?”
The boys looked around the gym at each other, nodding.
“We ready, Coach!” a few of the boys replied in unison.
Coach Shabaka walked around the boys. “We have a few different players from last season, but the philosophy is still the same. Play lockdown defence and score easy. That’s what we do. If you don’t play defence, you don’t play. Period. Okay, boys, let’s get started. Coach Rodney, please get them warmed up.”
Coach Rodney blew his whistle and told the boys to run a few laps around the court single file. Then he ran some light drills with the team and had them stretching in a circle around him at centre court.
After checking his cellphone for the itinerary, Coach Shabaka joined them. “This is what we do every practice. You come in here first thing before you start chasing each other around, hoisting up three-pointers and half-court shots. I want you to go as close to the basket as you can and make three of the easiest shots possible. Then move back a little and make some mid-range shots, then shoot your long-distance shots. All right?”
The boys all nodded. The new ones looked confused.
“Can anyone tell me why I want you to take easy shots before trying to make difficult ones?” Coach Shabaka said.
Kash smiled and spoke before any of the other boys could raise their hands or respond. “It’s because the more easy shots you make, the easier it makes the hard shots.”
Coach Shabaka nodded in agreement while pointing at Kash with the index fingers of both hands. Right hand in front, left hand behind, switching them back and forth in rhythm as if it were a dance move.
“Oooowwweeee!!! I love that answer. Say it again, Kash!” Coach Shabaka demanded.
Kash repeated the reply while Coach Shabaka did his finger-pointing boogie. The boys all giggled as they watched Coach bouncing as if reggae music was playing.
“All right. All right, settle down,” said Coach Shabaka “Let’s get back to business. So after shoot-around, we’ll run some drills. Then we stretch to complete our warm-up. Okay? Each practice I want one of you to lead the team in stretches. We’ll switch to a new person each week. Any volunteers for next week?”
“I got that, Coach,” Nigel said, quickly throwing up his hand.
“Excellent. Thank you, Nigel. Now, before we start practice, I think we should introduce ourselves. I once heard a wise man say that when teammates know each other’s names, they tend to play better together, so we’re going to get to know each other a little bit. We’ll go in a circle. Tell us your name and what you want to improve in most in basketball this season. So I’ll start. I think most of you know, I’m Coach Shabaka. This year I want to get better at helping players such as yourselves to achieve your goals. To my right, this guy here, with the whistle hanging from his neck, is Coach Rodney.”
Coach Rodney introduced himself and what he wanted to get better at. “I want to improve my communication skills so I can one day become a head coach,” he said.
Next to him was Omari, who said he wanted to become a better three-point shooter. Nigel said he wanted to improve his defence. Amritpal said he wanted to improve his dribbling. As the introductions went around, most of the boys began repeating what the others had already said, until they reached the last one in line.
He held his chin, looking at the ceiling as if the answer would fall onto his head. “My name is Denham and . . . And I want to learn to become a better leader. Both on and off the court.”
Coach Shabaka said to Coach Rodney, “I knew there was something I liked about this boy. That’s an excellent answer, son,” he said to Denham. “I’ve never heard that answer before. You are going to achieve great things . . .”
Nigel leaned over to Omari and whispered, “Look at this guy. Trying to suck up already, on the first day.”
Omari whispered back, “I know, right? Like, dude, c’mon now.”
The boys snickered as Coach Shabaka continued. “All of you are destined for greatness. Not just in basketball. Each of you has something special to contribute to society, and one day soon you’ll know exactly what it is. However, right now, what we’re going to do is run some sprints. I want to see what kind of shape you’re in. On this team we run, and we run a lot. We outrun every other team. So line up on the black baseline against the wall and, on my whistle, sprint as fast as you can to the other wall and back. Ten times! Everybody up!”
The boys all groaned as they rose to their feet.
“Do I need to make it twenty times? Hurry up, let’s go!”
The boys rushed to the baseline to await the signal. Nigel sized up the competition. He loved to win races when other kids underestimated his speed due to his weight.
TWEEEEET. The boys dashed off the line like a team of race horses trying to earn top prize.