A Perfect Dunk
Written By Ruth Holmes

Timmy loves  to play basketball. He and his orange basketball are inseparable. He  takes his basketball with him everywhere he goes,  to the store, to school and to the park. Timmy even sleeps with his basketball. Where he goes his basketball goes too.

Timmy  bounces his basketball every chance he gets.  He tosses  the ball up in the air and then almost catches it.  He  bounces the ball off a wall and then tries to grab it. He  even tries to walk and bounce the ball at the same time. Timmy is always trying something new .  At the park when he sees older kids playing basketball he watches them and imagines he is also playing. The big kids make it look so easy. 

Some days he sits and watches the older kids play. He imagines he catches the ball as it flies through the air and then  runs and quickly dribbles the ball on the court, dodges the other team players, ducks, twirls around, jumps really high ,  stretches his arms, reaches as far as he can and then  easily dunks the ball into the basket.  A perfect dunk ! He hears cheers as the  crowd roars. Hurray, hurray !!!

But today it didn’t happen that way. Timmy is  little  and struggles to hold and catch the ball. Sometimes just keeping his eye on the ball is hard. The ball is big and round and his arms are just not long enough. Timmy eagerly  bounces the ball and  reaches for it but before he can grab it the ball bounces away.. his legs aren't fast enough either. His coach gently  tosses the ball to him but Timmy misses  the ball, he just isn't coordinated enough…”yet” Timmy thinks to himself… Sometimes the ball bounces right over his head and rolls away.  Sometimes the ball conks him on his head and then bounces away. “That's okay” Timmy thinks, “let me try again”. Timmy is only four years old but he already dreams of the day  he will made baskets too. Timmy knows he will get better.  

Everyday after breakfast Timmy runs outside to play with his basketball. He  bounces it and tries to catch it, but it rolls away . So he runs after it and tries again.  Again he  bounces it and tries to catch it but it rolls away again His coach always tells him “practice makes perfect”, so Timmy plans to practice and practice. He thinks to himself “today I’m going to practice and dunk the ball.”, “I’m better than I was yesterday “.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, Timmy practices. He will not give up. Even on days when the  ball doesn't come close to the basket, Timmy thinks to himself. “I’m better than I was yesterday”. Timmy just knows deep inside his heart that one day he will toss the basketball right into the basket. He just has to keep trying and believing in  himself that it will happen.

Timmy thinks,” I’m better than I was yesterday”

Other kids see him bouncing the ball and running after it and they laugh  and tell him to give up….but not Timmy. He waves at them and continues to bounce the ball and catch it. He won’t give up.

Timmy knows he is better than the day before.  He is storing up all his practice inside of himself until he makes his perfect dunk. Now he catches the basketball sometimes. And he thinks to himself, “I ‘m better than I was yesterday”.

Pretty soon, Timmy is bouncing and catching the ball most of the time. But when he throws the ball it doesn’t go high enough to make a basket. Timmy knows he will make it one day. He just won’t give up. And he  thinks to himself “ I ‘m better than I was yesterday “.

Day after day, week after week, month after month Timmy practices bouncing the ball, catching the ball , running after  the ball and throwing the ball . Timmy just loves playing with his basketball. For him practice and play are the same thing.  Each day he gets a little bit better.

Timmy doesn't  notice but he  is growing, he is getting taller and more coordinated. He is stretching. His legs are longer and his arms are stretching just a little bit . Now when Timmy throws the ball, it goes a little bit higher.  When Timmy bounces the ball he can catch it sometimes.  It seems that Timmy is becoming better and better. So Timmy keeps  bouncing and catching the ball. And the other kids keep laughing at him. But Timmy just smiles and thinks to himself, “ I’m better than I was yesterday “.

One morning,Timmy just knew today was the day. Something good was going to happen to him today. He was going to make a basket, a perfect dunk. Timmy walked outside and looked up at the sky and felt the warm sunshine  on his face. His whole body tingled. The sun was high  in the sky. It was a beautiful perfect morning.  So he took a deep breath and then another. “Yup” he thought, I feel great.

With his decision made, Timmy grabbed his basketball and bounced it . He caught the ball, ducked, dribbled, ran down the court, jumped and threw the ball toward the basket hoop.  Then Timmy looked up and watched the ball  almost as if it was in slow motion fly high up in the air, slowly curve toward the hoop and gracefully drop right into the basket ! A perfect dunk ! Wow. !!

Timmy  jumped up and down . He was so happy. He grabbed the ball and threw it again and once again he made a basket. Timmy thought to himself. “I knew I was better than yesterday.”

Timmy could now bounce, dribble and make a basket. Timmy thought “ I am better now” and I never gave up !