diskusbooks Chapter 7 Playing basketball can make you taller
Chapter 7 Playing basketball can make you taller
Today's PE class was quite interesting; both Class 1 and Class 3 of Grade 7 had a class together.
The PE teacher stood ramrod straight and shouted in a booming voice, "PE representatives from both classes, assemble now and report your numbers!"
Upon receiving the order, the two sports committee members acted swiftly and quickly, arranging the team in the blink of an eye and shouting their numbers.
The sports representative of Class 1 stood tall and spoke in a loud voice: "Report, Class 1 has finished assembling and counting. There should be 54 people, and there are 53 people present. One person is absent today."
Wu Weidong, the sports committee member of Class 3, responded loudly without hesitation: "Report, Class 3 has completed the roll call. There should be 55 people present, and there are 55 people present."
The PE teacher nodded in satisfaction and said loudly, "Class, today we're going to learn how to play basketball systematically. Many of you in our class love playing basketball and are quite good at it."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "Let's warm up for ten minutes first, practice dribbling and ball handling. These are the basic skills for playing basketball well. Once you have a solid foundation, you can play the ball smoothly. After practice, the two classes will be divided into boys' and girls' groups, and each group will play two 10-minute friendly matches. So we need to quickly select at least five boys and five girls to play. Does everyone understand?"
"Understood!" the students responded in unison, their voices echoing across the playground.
"Now, the teacher will explain in detail the key points of dribbling and ball handling." The teacher said as he picked up a basketball to demonstrate.
"Look, when you're dribbling the ball, you don't use your palm to dribble it. Instead, you spread your fingers naturally and use your fingers and the base of your fingers to press and control the ball."
"While dribbling..."
"At the same time, you need to keep an eye on your surroundings with your peripheral vision, and not just stare at the ball..."
"Alright, everyone, start practicing now. The boys will compete first."
Speaking of Yuan Baoya, during her years of working, after becoming the human resources manager of a company, she took on a tricky task by chance—organizing a women's basketball team.
At the time, she knew almost nothing about basketball, but she had no choice but to grit her teeth and learn.
Perhaps it's the good physique she developed from dancing since childhood, with excellent body coordination and explosive power. In just two weeks, she went from not being able to even dribble the ball properly to becoming a key player on the team, leaving everyone astonished.
Now, practicing dribbling and ball handling is like reuniting with an old friend; she picks it up very quickly. Among a group of female classmates, her skill stands out remarkably, like a crane among chickens.
When Class 3 was selecting team members, the female students unanimously nominated Yuan Baoya. She didn't hesitate at all, and with a smile on her face, she was eager to try and show off her skills.
Practice time ended, and soon the boys from both classes selected their players for the match.
In the midfield jump ball, Wu Weidong, the tall center forward from Class 3, easily jumped to seize the initiative and passed the ball to striker Deng Qian.
Deng Qian quickly went down to the basket, jumped and shot, scoring the first 2 points.
Class 1 inbounded the ball from the basket. Point guard Li Deshan steadily controlled the rhythm and organized the offense, quickly scoring a basket.
The boys played with more discipline, advancing and retreating, and the players' positions were relatively spread out. The ten-minute game ended quickly, with Class 3 leading by 2 points and winning by a narrow margin.
The PE teacher stood on the sidelines, summarizing and commenting: "Overall, everyone performed well in this game, but we need to strengthen our offensive awareness, improve our passing coordination, and grab more rebounds. Wu Weidong and Li Deshan were particularly outstanding today. Wu Weidong is tall, agile, and quick-reacting—a natural-born center; Li Deshan's ball control was rock-solid, his dribbling was sharp, and his playmaking ability was superb. He gave everyone a great start; keep up the good work!"
"Now, girls, get ready, the competition is about to begin!" As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the boys erupted like a pot boiling over, laughing and clamoring for a good spot to "watch the show."
The girls' competition begins.
In the midfield jump ball, Xiao Yu, the center forward from Class 3, seized the initiative and passed the ball to Yuan Baoya.
Yuan Baoya received the ball, quickly dodged the defender, and came to the basket. She made a layup and scored, earning the first 2 points.
"Wow, not bad!"
"Not bad! He can even do a layup in three steps, that's interesting." Many boys in the audience shouted.
Then Class 1 inbounded the ball from the basket, but the girls were inexperienced and their positioning was messed up. They didn't get away, and the defenders rushed in to grab the ball. In the chaos, the three players got together and what started as a ball-grabbing game turned into a hair-pulling incident.
Two to one, the ball was snatched back by Class 1 and passed to the nearest player, who then rushed forward very quickly.
"Damn, dribbling the ball is fast!" The boys burst into booing laughter.
"Girls playing ball is so much fun, it's really exciting!"
"Beep~" The PE teacher blew his whistle.
"Class 3, serve from the sideline!"
One of the students from Class 1 deliberately caused trouble, rushing forward and shouting, "Here, here!"
The Class 3 players didn't realize what was going on and actually passed the ball over.
The boys watching burst into laughter, almost to the point of tears.
Yuan Baoya couldn't smile at all. She took the initiative to intercept, suddenly accelerating and stealing the ball from the right.
Before the defender could catch up, he shouted "Xiaoyu, catch the ball!" and passed it to Xiaoyu, the tallest player closest to the basket.
With her height advantage, Xiaoyu successfully received the ball, then made a jump shot, the basketball grazes the rim and goes in, scoring another 2 points.
Afterwards, the girls from Class 1 adjusted their tactics, adopting man-to-man defense, and the two sides became locked in a stalemate, with no further goals scored. Ultimately, Class 3 won the girls' basketball game by 4 points.
The PE teacher smiled broadly and encouraged the girls, saying, "You girls did a great job today, very hardworking! If you're interested in basketball in the future, study hard in PE class and practice more in your spare time." With that, he waved his hand, "The rest of the time is free time."
The teacher walked up to Yuan Baoya and asked curiously, "Have you ever learned to play basketball before?"
Yuan Baoya scratched her head and replied with a smile, "I've never formally studied it. I just watch the adults in the compound play ball, and when I'm free, I just dribble along and play around."
Speaking of which, Yuan Baoya's mother once mentioned that Yuan Xiaopang, the neighbor of her maternal grandmother, grew very tall quickly playing basketball. She wanted Yuan Baoya and Baoguo to learn from him, but the two children were unwilling, and as a result, they were not very tall.
Yuan Baoya is 1.55 meters tall, and she also has some doubts in her mind, always wondering if playing basketball can make her grow taller.
The PE teacher continued, "Yuan Baoya, the district's middle schools are organizing a basketball tournament soon, and our school's girls' basketball team still has spots available. Would you like to participate?"
"Sure, we have a test next week, but we're worried that practice will take up too much of our study time!"
"Don't worry, the basketball tournament doesn't start until the middle of next month, there's plenty of time," the teacher explained patiently.
"This is the first time the district has organized a basketball tournament, and all schools are required to participate."
"We mainly teach everyone ball skills in physical education class. The team members practice together once a week to practice teamwork and coordination, so it doesn't interfere with their studies."
"Sure! I'll participate!" Yuan Baoya was happy to join and readily agreed.