I’m writing from the end of the kindergarten basketball season.

Practice started way back in November. We didn’t play a game till January. That’s a lot of free throws for 5- and 6-year-olds. There were ten kids on our team: seven boys, three girls, and two bald coaches.

Against my better judgment, I agreed to be the head coach of my son’s basketball team, aka the “Sharpshooter Stallions.” I’d assisted other parents before, but being the head coach was something I swore I’d never do.

I’d already served my time. I’d donned the whistle. And back when I was coaching, I was dealing with highschoolers, pimple-faced boys in shoulder pads and helmets. I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to handle little kids. I feared I’d let my competitiveness get the best of me, and it almost did.

It happened during the championship game, long after we’d endured those long cold winter practices. That’s when I first told the players my only two rules:

Play hard and have fun.

I made the kids repeat them to me before every practice, before we did the Red Light, Green Light, Purple Light Drill. In case you’re wondering, it was a dribbling drill. And yes, “red light” meant stop and “green light” meant go, but when the “purple light” flashed, it was time to dance.

And dance they did.

One kid did the worm, right there on the three-point line.

It was beautiful and fun and everything I didn’t think it would be times ten. It also helped that we won. Winning makes everything so much easier. There was no parent drama. No complaints about playing time or fits thrown on the bench.

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I’m not sure how he got down from there. I didn’t wait around to find out. I sprinted back inside, all the way to my room, and locked the door.

I don’t think I’ll be falling off our new trampoline any time soon. It has a net and a properly secured pad. It’s even staked into the ground. My kids haven't asked to box, but we do jump a lot.

I’d forgotten how fun it is to jump. It’s a heck of a workout too. The one thing the new trampoline isn’t good for is the view.

Thanks to the massive, 10-foot-tall safety net, it’s hard to see the lake through my office window. Mount Nebo, Dardanelle Bay, all that beautiful water, has now been replaced by a web of UV-resistant polyester.

Though my view has changed, it’s not all bad.

If I’m patient, if I can remain undetected until the kids get home, then I’ll get to watch them make springy memories of their own.

Or who knows, I might just join them.

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