The Club You Wish You Were A Member Of

We have a 30' x 20' basketball court at our house, it's been there for twenty years. I opted for the court over an above ground swimming pool thinking the court would provide my three boys with an opportunity to excel at basketball . None of them excelled at basketball or even came close, but they had fun. 

We've had some very memorable games of H-O-R-S-E and some other variations using some unmentionables. There have also been some very competitive two-on-two and three-on-three games, but the one basketball activity that separates our court from all the others is... The Club.

In order to join The Club you had to make a thirty-two foot shot from the top of the deck, which was six feet off the ground and six feet behind the backboard. It was a long, elevated, baseline shot that had to be executed to perfection. In addition to the distance, the backboard created an obstacle. The shot had to just miss the edge of the backboard to have a chance. Too far and you'd front rim it. Until you had a few shots under your belt, there were a lot of air balls and bouncers off the backboard.

Over the years anyone who came over was asked if they wanted to join The Club. We explained the shot, the history, and recounted the current membership. It was a legit club, but there was no dues, no meetings and no monthly newsletter. Just an agreement that after making the shot, you were in The Club. 

I was the first one to make the shot and I started The Club. My boys all took turns shooting and eventually they all became club members. At one point we had two basketballs and with a rebounder or two, you could rapidly feed anyone wanting to join The Club. When we had more than one shooter attempting to join The Club, we required a line where each potential member took one shot and then moved to the end. 

We had one kid who joined The Club on his very first shot. Most Club members took at least 15 shots before they hit, while some non-members go thirty and can't find the rim, never becoming members. There was a certain swagger Club members had that non-members didn't, and that was never more obvious than when non-members came to our court to play. 

Now that we're in the process of putting on a Sunroom with a smaller deck, we have a dilemma. The shot will get eight feet closer and a foot more behind the backboard. This time though,  there's thirteen feet from the railing to the stairs and there could be different levels of Club Membership. I'm going with stairs (hardest), middle, and railing.

As soon as the work is complete and the weather heats up, we're gonna start a new club with new members. I'll be updating the list...