Back to school has always been one of my favorite times of the year. While it marks the first official end of summer – something I don’t necessarily relish – it also brings around a whole world of new beginnings.
New shoes. New Outfits. New Backpacks. The anticipation of a new school year.
But also…a fresh uniform…striped fields…the sound of a basketball bouncing and the smell of the freshly refinished hardwood floor.
Whistles that have been hanging silent all summer finally finding their way back around a coach’s neck. Parents unfolding lawn chairs they swear they put away just a few weeks ago.
And kids…kids who somehow grew three inches since school let out.
Across Arkansas this week, athletes are walking into their first practices of a brand-new season.
Some are excited.
Some are nervous.
Some are wondering if they still remember how to play.
Some are wondering if they belong at all.
And every single one of them is starting in exactly the same place.
Practice.
Not a championship. Not a playoff game. Not Senior Night.
Practice.
The funny thing is…nobody wins the first practice.
There isn’t a trophy waiting at the end. Nobody hangs a banner because everybody survived day one of conditioning, or what feels like day 5000 of conditioning.
Nobody earns a state championship because they had a great August.
The first practice isn’t about proving anything. It’s about preparing for everything.
I remember that feeling. Even though it was our “job” to stay in the groove all summer with conditioning and shooting, walking into the gym after a summer away always brought a mix of coming home and apprehension.
Wondering if my shot would still be there…if I had done enough during the offseason…would Coach think I had done enough in the off season…
Because here’s the truth every athlete eventually learns: The season doesn’t begin on opening night. It begins long before anyone is keeping score. It begins in ordinary practices.
In line drills.
In stretching.
In learning names.
In figuring out who encourages teammates…and who hangs their head when things get hard.
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The first practice tells you almost nothing about how the season will end but everything about who you are and who you will become as a team as the season progresses.
I’ve seen kids struggle through the first week of practice and become incredible players by the end of the year. I’ve seen the most naturally talented athletes lose their spot because they lost their fire and stopped putting in the work. And I’ve seen teammates who barely played become the heart of a team simply because everyone knew they could be counted on.
The first practice doesn’t reveal talent nearly as much as it reveals attitude.
The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized life gives us first practices all the time.
The first day at a new job.
The first board meeting.
The first day of school.
The first time you volunteer.
The first time you decide to get healthy.
The first conversation after deciding to repair a relationship.
None of those moments determine the outcome, they simply mark the beginning. What really matters is what happens after everyone else goes home.
The showing up.
The consistency.
The willingness to keep coming back when the excitement wears off and the work begins. Because that’s when seasons are really built.
Not under Friday night lights. Not in championship games. Not when everybody is watching. But on ordinary afternoons…when nobody is keeping score.
Maybe that’s why nobody wins the first practice.
The victory isn’t in what happens that day.
The victory is deciding you’ll come back tomorrow.
And the next day.
And the day after that.
Because championships are never won in the first practice. But they can absolutely be lost by deciding it wasn’t important.
And that’s how the ball really bounces.
Read more from How the Ball Bounces with Bekka in the archives at www.mysaline.com/bounces.
About the author: Bekka Wilkerson is a lifelong lover of all things sports. Raised in a super athletic household it was no surprise when she too began to love sports at a young age. It seems like from the time she could walk she had a softball bat in her hands, but her true athletic passion came from all things Basketball. That love served her well as a Bryant High School Lady Hornet and ultimately earned her a full scholarship to play at the University of Central Arkansas – among many other adventures.
These days Bekka can be found running around Saline County with her husband, Speedy, or chasing one of her grandsons. She is also the Executive Director of The EMpact One Foundation, a Saline County Nonprofit Organization that helps young people stay connected to extracurricular activities through tuition assistance and equipment provisions.
Reach out to Bekka with questions and/or ideas about things you want to see in this column at [email protected] and learn more about The EMpact One Foundation at www.empactone.org.
