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If you had to choose one word to describe Kevin, it
might be "slow." Kevin was born that way. When the
doctors told his parents that he had Down's Syndrome,
they cried for a few days. However, Kevin was a sweet,
happy child and his family loved him very much. His
bright smile and big heart also won him plenty of
friends outside his home. One day, the pastor at his
church, Randy Jessen, told the children that he was
putting together a boys' basketball team. Kevin was
eager to join the team and his parents encouraged him to
do so. Pastor Randy, the team coach, welcomed Kevin into
the team. Soon, basketball became a center of Kevin's
life. He loved shooting baskets. While the other boys
practiced dribbling and lay-ups, Kevin only shot
baskets. He had a special spot near the free throw line.
He threw the ball again and again until it went in. When
that happened, Kevin would raise his arms and shout,
"Look at me, Coach !" When Kevin's father saw his
son's keen interest in the game, he put up a basketball
hoop at the side of their house so he could shoot
baskets at home. So, on many evenings, the neighbors
would see Kevin and his family shooting baskets
together. The day before their first game, Coach Randy
gave each player a bright red jersey. Kevin wore his
jersey almost every day. One Sunday morning, the church
service was even interrupted by Kevin's excited voice:
"Look, Coach !" He lifted his sweater to reveal the red
jersey. Nobody minded the interruption; the church knew
Kevin and loved him. I would like to be able to tell
you that the team did well. Actually, they never won a
game that season – except for the night it snowed and
the other team never showed up. At the end of the
season, the boys played in the inter-church tournament.
As the last-place team, they drew the unfortunate spot
of playing against the first-place team – boys who had
not lost a single game all year. The game went as
expected, and near the end of the fourth quarter,
Kevin's team stood nearly 30 points behind. It was then
that one of the boys called time-out. "Coach," he said,
"this is our last game and Kevin's not made a basket. I
think we should let him make a basket." The team agreed.
Kevin was instructed to stand at his special place near
the free throw line and wait. He was told that when he
was given the ball, he should shoot. Kevin was
ecstatic ! He ran to his spot an waited. When the ball
was passed to him he shot – and missed. Number 17 from
the other team snatched the rebound, dribbled down the
court for an easy lay-up. But a moment later Kevin got
the ball again. He shot – and missed. Number 17
repeated his performance for another two points. Kevin
shot a third and fourth time with the same result. But
then the other team seemed to figure out what was going
on and the next time they snatched the rebound, they
threw it to Kevin ! Kevin shot .. and missed. But now
every rebound came to him and he threw and threw toward
the basket. Both teams had circled Kevin by this time
and all of the boys were shouting, Kevin ! Kevin !" The
crowd took up the chant. Soon, everyone in the gym was
shouting for Kevin ! Coach Randy was sure the game
should have been over by this time and he glanced at the
clock. It was stopped at 4.3 seconds ! The timekeepers
were standing by their table shouting with the crowd,
"Kevin ! Kevin !" The world had stopped for Kevin. He
shot and shot and, finally, one of his shots took a
crazy bounce on the rim and .. went in ! Chaos reigned!
Everyone stood and cheered as if one boy had
single-handedly won a world championship. Kevin's arms
sprang up in the air and he shouted. "I won ! I won !"
His team escorted him off the court, the clock ticked
down and the game was over. That day an undefeated
team retained their perfect record. But everybody won.
Everybody ! Because everybody had participated in a
crazy conspiracy of kindness, a simple act of mercy,
that was so powerful, that I'm sure all of heaven
rejoiced. |
