Basketball Twists And Turns...

Watched my second grandson Kai, 8, play his last game of a week long summer basketball camp this morning. After many drills, his group of ten scrimmaged each other. He's a great little dribbler and outside shooter and is following in his older brother's footsteps in natural ability and desire. Kalin is 14 and 6'2" - and has already been recruited by several local high schools.

Kai's coach this week was the camp's director and ironically had been the coach of my youngest sons, Sean and Conn, when they were trying out for high school ball at this same school almost 10 years ago. It was also this same coach who had these guys doing deep knee max weight squats for training - something we thought unorthodox - and which eventually resulted in both of them blowing out their knees. Sean has had three knee operations since because of it and eventually got into pain pill addiction for several years before getting clean and sober, celebrating five years this Saturday. He has to attend 12-step programs almost every night to maintain his sobriety. Conn just recovered from his second knee operation a few weeks ago.

I've never said anything to that coach. Not sure what it would have achieved. But there he was teaching basketball to a second generation of Currans, my daughter Megan's son, Kai. Kalin made his decision to go with another high school largely because this man was coming back to coach at the high school where all my kids attended and where Kalin always thought he would play. Not anymore, sadly. The tradition is broken. But he needs those knees.