An Unexpected Holiday Gift. Martha Kennerson

roughly the same age as the boys, chased each other on large bouncy balls with handles. They all wore white foundation T-shirts, khaki shorts and tennis shoes, and laughed and played together as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

      In the corner of the room Keylan spotted the small, curly-haired boy he’d noticed earlier. He couldn’t have been more than five years old. The boy stood with a ball nearly as big as he was, bouncing it against the wall. It was a game of catch that Keylan remembered playing often himself; only he’d used two basketballs.

      Keylan tilted his head and smiled whenever the little boy lost control of the ball and would fall backward on the matted floor. The look of determination on the boy’s face made Keylan’s heart expand and he was filled with a sense of pride for the child whenever he caught the ball and stayed upright.

      He walked over to the area where they played, knelt down on one knee and introduced himself to all of the children. The boys that had been tossing the ball back and forth were excited to meet him, as were the three girls. Keylan figured it was more curiosity about his height rather than the acknowledgment of him being a professional basketball player. However, the small boy wouldn’t come anywhere near Keylan. When all the children returned to their games under the watchful eye of Coach Hooper and her assistant, Keylan tried to talk to the little boy. To no avail.

      He decided to take another approach. Keylan selected a basketball from the wire basket, laid his back flat on the floor and began tossing the ball he’d selected into the air with both hands. Before long he was joined on the mat by several of the children. Soon, all but the shy boy were on the mat, tossing their balls into the air. He stood back, holding his ball tightly to his chest and watching as Keylan tossed his from one hand to the other.

      “Hi, my name is Keylan,” he introduced himself, looking at the little boy while continuing to toss the ball in the air.

      The child remained quiet for several moments before finally saying, “I’m Colby.”

      “Well, hello, Colby.” Keylan tossed his ball again, keeping his eyes on Colby. “How old are you?”

      The little boy held up four fingers.

      “He doesn’t talk much. He’s shy,” one of the older boys said.

      Keylan caught his ball and sat up. “I see,” he replied before turning to face Colby. “Would you like to play a game? Maybe we can all play a game.” His eyes scanned the faces of the other children.

      All the other kids stopped tossing their balls, sat up and gave Keylan their undivided attention. Coach Hooper came over and stood next to the seated children. “What do you have in mind, KJ?” she asked.

      Keylan looked at the kids’ curious faces and smiled. “Do you guys know how to play basketball?”

      Two of the older boys began rapidly nodding like bobblehead dolls as they raised their hands, singing “I do, I do...” as they jumped up and down.

      “Wait a minute. Sit back down, please,” Keylan said.

      “Excuse me, KJ, but I’m not sure these kids are ready—”

      “Of course they are, for what I have in mind. Trust me.” Keylan gave her a confident smile. “Now, you two—James and David, right?” he asked, hoping he had remembered their names correctly.

      They both nodded. “Yep, I’m David.”

      “I’m James.”

      “Okay, you two will be my assistants.” Both boys clapped. Keylan looked up at Coach Hooper. “I hope you don’t mind a little extra assistance?”

      Coach Hooper laughed. “Not at all.”

      One of the girls said she wanted to be the cheerleader, while the other two girls insisted that they play. Keylan assured everyone that they could take any role they liked. He turned to Colby. “Do you want to play?”

      Before he could respond James said, “He don’t like to play with us...him too little.”

      “He like to play by himself,” David added.

      Keylan watched as Colby’s eyes scanned the faces of the other kids. He figured Colby was looking for some sort of encouragement from them. “Thank you, boys, but I think he’s just the right size and, if we ask him to play, he just might do it. What do you guys think?” Keylan asked, wanting the group to show some support. Some nodded and others shrugged.

      “I happen to think Colby can handle anything you have in mind,” Coach Hooper offered.

      “See, Colby, we all think you should play. So, do you want to try? It’s real easy,” Keylan promised. Colby nodded his head slowly as if he really wasn’t sure. “That’s great.”

      Keylan stood and all the kids looked up at him in awe; his height really appeared to fascinate them. He was only happy no one seemed afraid of him. Not even Colby, who was now standing mere inches from him, which, for reasons he couldn’t explain, made Keylan smile.

      “Coach Hooper, can you please get us five basketballs and three large tubs?”

      “Sure.” She walked away with a confused look on her face.

      “David, James, can you two please give Coach Hooper a hand?”

      Both boys jumped up and ran behind Coach Hooper.

      Keylan turned to the little cheerleader who was standing, practicing, and asked, “You sure you don’t want to play?”

      “I’m sure,” she sang, shaking her imaginary pompoms.

      David and James returned, both holding one side of a big blue tub with two basketballs inside. Coach Hooper was following behind them, holding the other two tubs. Keylan ran to offer assistance. The three tubs were placed in the center of the court ten feet apart. Keylan lined up three children in front of each bucket, approximately forty feet away from the bucket. Colby stood at the front of his line.

      “Here’s what you’re going to do. Wait, how many of you know how to dribble a basketball? Hold up your hands.” Every hand flew up except Colby’s. “With one hand,” Keylan specified, bouncing the ball with his right hand.

      Several hands lowered.

      “Okay, everyone put your hands down. Before we do anything, I want you to practice dribbling.” He held a basketball in his left hand and raised his right. “You’ll use your fingertips to control the ball as you bounce it.” Keylan walked around, showing each child his technique.

      “Nice job,” Coach Hooper cheered.

      Keylan looked over his shoulders. “Thanks, Coach Hooper. I’ve done this a time or two. Do you have a whistle I can borrow?”

      “Sure, you can have mine,” she offered, smiling as she removed the whistle that hung around her neck and handed it to him.

      “Thank you,” he said. The corner of his mouth rose. Keylan was just as excited about the game he was about to teach the kids as he would be when he played himself. “Please toss me a couple more basketballs.”

      Keylan caught the additional balls before turning his attention back to the kids. “Now, you’ll all practice dribbling...” he started to explain as he handed each child at the head of the line a ball “...until you hear me blow the whistle. When you do, pass the ball to the person behind you so everyone will have a chance to practice. Everyone understand?”

      “Yes,” they all said in unison.

      “Ready.” Keylan blew the whistle. “Go.”

      The first three children started bouncing their balls, two with their right hand and one with his left. Keylan smiled as he walked up to each child, offering assistance on their form.

      Colby was the only one that didn’t need assistance; his focus and ball handling surprised Keylan. But the bigger surprise was the connection he’d made with the child. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly but he knew there