HOW GOOD IS TOO GOOD?

Thanks to my wife, who brought this article to my attention this morning from the New York Times’ PLAY magazine, ‘Scary – Isn’t She’? It’s an article on a 12 -year-old girl, Jaime Nared who some say is too good.

Until this past spring, Jaime had been quietly going about her life, as unnoticed as a mocha-skinned 6-foot-1 12-year-old can be in predominantly white Portland, Ore. It was then that she found herself at the center of a controversy about sports and gender: she’d been kicked off a boys’ basketball team for being too good.

Hmmm…That’s a tough one. How can you kick her off the team?

Jaime is not just a phenom either. She is a student of the game.

Jaime has been studying basketball strategy, often walking around the house with her own notepad, scribbling X’s and O’s. Her long-term goals include playing in the W.N.B.A., playing in the N.B.A. and being the first female coach in the N.B.A. To that end, she watches pro and college games as frequently as possible, sometimes decoding the moves with her father and then practicing them in the gym.

But, I can just hear the pundits now…”Oh this poor girl is missing out on being a young girl!”

And, is she being penalized for being too good?

So now Jaime, her kewpie-doll ponytail bouncing, is playing with Abraham’s top high-school girls, much to the chagrin of many of their parents, who are protective of their daughters’ court time. But what’s she supposed to do? She can’t play with boys her age. She can’t play with girls her age. She’s as tall as anyone on the team except Kailee (who turned 14 last month) and one other player, and she has a great court sense and strong ball skills — though, to be honest, the fast-paced game of the more muscular postpubescent girls seems to take a lot out of Jaime. Out on the court, she played aggressively, like she always does, but her age showed: she looked mentally drained. Abraham offered so much advice, at such close intervals, that he sounded as if he was coaching Jaime by remote control. “Back up, Jaime!” “Toes on the 3-point line, sweetie.” “Hands up. Up! Toes on the line!”

Jaime, keep on ballin’ girl!

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!