Column: Thoughts from Dr. Joe: A visit with a young champion who’s gifted on and off the basketball court
Art captures motion and holds it so others can appreciate its splendor. Movement is perpetual and one can appreciate the rapture of poetry in motion.
Motion evolves in numerous modalities. Everyone appreciates Mikhail Baryshnikov’s explosive leaps or a meteor moving across a black sky. Leonard Bernstein had his own magic as he moved his hands to the beat of Beethoven’s Ninth.
But what excites me is the run and gun. A point guard drives the length of a basketball court and, as they enter the paint, their movements define no predetermined paradigm. The totality of self is synchronistic where every fiber turns and twists and dominates its space as though one is suspended in air. As the guard moves over, under, through and around the defenders, the momentum is forward. The ball is finessed, it floats, and there’s nothing but net.
Such movements define the poetry of motion. I am reminded of Walt Frazier of the 1970 World Champion New York Knicks, Bobby Joe Hooper in the 1967 NCAA finals against UCLA and, Sarah Kurdoghlian of the 2016 La Cañada High Lady Spartans.
Sarah began playing basketball when she was just 6. She was a savant, and with no predetermined methodology, her skills were just there. Through hard work, repetition and persistence she excelled.
This year, La Cañada’s own, Sarah Kurdoghlian, a sophomore at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is a member of the Women’s USA West Basketball Team and will represent the United States in the 10th Pan-Homenetmen Games in Yerevan, Armenia. The American team will play on the world stage against such teams as England, France, Iran, Syria, Australia and Lebanon.
Sarah and I met at Starbucks, where I attempted to intellectualize her Zen. After analyzing her responses to a myriad of questions, I realized this kid plays basketball for the pure pursuit of gratification.
“I feel free, like I’m flying from one end of the court to the other,” she commented. “It’s difficult to explain what it feels like to be in motion. I don’t feel pressure; I play for fun.”
I persisted, asking her what goes through her mind when she runs the length of the court.
“I can’t tell you; it comes naturally,” she said. “I don’t think about the moves I make.”
Our conversation evolved from the specifics of playing basketball to the subliminal virtues of the game. I began to realize that what makes Sarah a champion is who she is as a person and not as a basketball player.
She explained the importance of having humility, honoring the concept of team, competing honorably and respecting the competition.
This July the Pan-Homenetmen games will host hundreds of youth from around the world to meet, compete and strengthen their Armenian identity. Sarah, who has never been to Armenia, anticipates the thrill of arriving at Yerevan International.
“I will get shivers when I see the sign, ‘Welcome to Armenia.’ It is the homeland of my great-great-grandparents, my origin. I’m coming full circle with who I am.”
She continued, “My only knowledge of being Armenian is experienced through my family, but I want to understand my identity through the eyes of the nation.”
“Then, do you think you’re part of the diaspora?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah,” she responded, “I can trace my lineage by a direct line to those who fled.”
I tried to understand her identity with her heritage. Armenians are scattered all over the world, and yet they are still one, and regardless of circumstance, their culture, religion and language are intact.
“Elevate yourself and elevate others with you,” Sarah said, citing the motto of Homenetmen.
“We’re from different places; we’re the same,” she said.
That’s the secret, and I came full circle with Sarah Kurdoghlian.
JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
