Week 1

A Pick-Up Game Hiccup

It was a warm Saturday afternoon in Brunswick, Georgia, and Will wanted one thing: a pick-up basketball game. Since the neighborhood parks did not have courts, Will usually rode his bike around town with his friends Dexter and T.J., searching for someone with a hoop. That day, the three boys needed one more player for two-on-two.

They stopped at Chip’s house first, but he was not home. Terry answered his door dressed for family pictures, and Donnie said he was grounded. Just when the boys thought their game was ruined, T.J. suggested they visit Keyshawn. Will was surprised because he thought of Keyshawn as a football player, not a basketball player. Keyshawn’s father and brothers were known for football, and Will had never seen Keyshawn play basketball, even during P.E.

When the boys arrived, they discovered that Keyshawn did have a new basketball goal. There was only one problem. The old goal was still lying across the driveway, connected to an iron pole stuck in a heavy block of cement. Keyshawn’s family had already dug around the pole, but they could not pull it loose.

Keyshawn asked the boys to help. Soon, nine people were pulling together: the three friends, Keyshawn, his dad, one of his dad’s friends, and three older football players. Keyshawn’s dad counted to three, and everyone pulled as hard as they could. The goal moved only an inch or two before dropping back into the hole. They tried again, switching positions and pulling from different angles, but the pole would not come out.

Then Will noticed a two-by-four board leaning under the carport. He remembered a science lesson about levers. A lever could help lift a heavy object when it rested on a support point, called a fulcrum. Will suggested placing one end of the board under the goalpost and using the edge of the hole as the middle support. Then everyone could push down on the other end.

Keyshawn’s father agreed to try the idea. The group placed the board carefully and pushed down together. This time, the heavy goal lifted out of the hole much more easily than anyone expected. Before long, the old goal was gone, the new goal was set up, and the boys finally played their game.

While they played, Keyshawn praised Will’s idea. Will joked that the moment proved brains could beat muscles, although having both was even better. By the end of the day, Will felt proud. A simple science lesson had helped solve a real problem and saved the basketball game.