It starts with a ball. Then a little boy or girl standing in the gym, not quite able to get the ball to the basket, but trying anyway. To an awkward middle school stage where everyone is arms, and knees and out of control. All of it leads up to the player they will become. Giving a kid a ball is the spark that lights the fuse to falling in love with the game. Little do they know that that game will end up being much more than that.

They will learn hard work. The kind that only comes from standing on the baseline, absolutely exhausted, and yet running your hardest the every time the whistle sounds. Hard work that comes in the form of blood, sweat, and tears. Hours spent repeating the same drill over and over. Sore muscles, bruised knees and the floor burns that just won't go away are all scars of hard work.

They will learn how to overcome obstacles. Any basketball player out there will face many trials. Injuries and illness play a huge role as obstacles. Athletes of all sports learn patience and endurance as they take the rough road to recovery from injuries. Perhaps an even harder obstacle is learning to win and lose gracefully. Winning is easy, losing is hard and can sometimes be a huge setback. Learning to accept a loss and then learn from it is one of the hardest things you'll learn.

Overcoming these obstacles will be easier with the team that comes with the ball. Once you give a child a basketball you give them a team. As an incoming player, you find out how important it is to be a follower. As a senior, or veteran you experience being a leader that helps keep the team together. Becoming a team player is vital to the sport. If you don't work together you won't succeed. Every player has heard their coach say a thousand times, "TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!" As annoying as it can be sometimes, it couldn't be more true. Through the good times and the bad, your team will be there for them all.

When you give a kid a basketball, you're going to change their life. It will be hard. You'll be giving them hundreds if not thousands of hours in a gym. You are giving them tens of thousands of made baskets and even more missed. You're giving them the opportunity to learn how to take a loss and the chance to feel like a champion. You give them a team, a team that will become their family.

When you give a kid a basketball, you're not just giving them a game.

You are giving them a way of life.