B-Ball: The Team That Never Lost a Game

I first read "B-Ball: The Team That Never Lost A Game" when I was in my seventh grade English class. We had to choose a book to read from the teacher's collection, and this one just drew me in. The title is what caught my attention. What sports fanatic wouldn't want to read about some incredible basketball team that could never be beaten? It's seemed too good to be true. I began to read this book and quickly realized that this team was a different type of team. It was a recreational league team that was comprised completely of mentally challenged players. The author of this book was the coach of team. He took the job having never dealt with these types of people before. In their first practice he quickly became frustrated that the team members had no real sense of competition and didn't understand his ideals of how to play basketball correctly. In the beginning he nearly quit, but hung on because he felt something deep down that told him to keep trying. He continued with his team and his practices. They played their first game, and to his surprise, the coaches of the other teams in their league, also comprised of mentally challenged individuals, did not keep score, and played for fun. After weeks of these games, the author/coach came to the realization that basketball is to be played for fun, not for competion, for recognition, or for money. As long as everyone had fun, everyone was a winner. He continued coaching his team through the years, and his team continued winning. They eventually broadened their competition, and played regular school teams, high school teams, and other recreational teams made up of players who were not mentally challenged. Each and every game however, they found a way for every player on both times to just enjoy themselves as much as possible. And in this way, the team won every game they played. Along with the focus on the basketball aspect of this book, other areas were covered. How people dealt with these mentally challenged basketball players was shown well, and the problems that the coach and his players had to deal with to play some of the teams they did was the focal point of the book. It was a great book about how one can deal with a mental disability, and still have the time of their life. I last read this book nearly four years ago, but I still remember it vividly in my mind. I read it more than once in that English class in 7th grade; I probably read it 10 times. I am not a huge fan of books, but I loved this one. I it one of my favorite books of all time, and I feel that everyone should read it. If you can find a copy of it, read "B-Ball: The Team That Never Lost A Game".