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 My Site News: Rites of Passage: In Basketball and Life. Written by an IAABO State Interpreter from Vermont. |
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Sunday, November 5
Rites of Passage: In Basketball and Life. Written by an IAABO State Interpreter from Vermont.
Rites of Passage: In Basketball and Life
American Heritage dictionary defines a rite of passage as,
A ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person's life
indicative of a transition from one stage to another, as from
adolescence to adulthood.
In the avocation of refereeing basketball there are many rites of passage that officials observe. There is the initial passing of the IAABO new applicant exam. A moment where we went from being a person interested in officiating basketball to a member of one of the most prestigious officiating organizations in the world, IAABO. Members who have stayed with officiating may have experienced many other rites of passage. The first assignment, the first high school assignment, the first high school varsity game, the first playoff game, and the list goes on, depending on how different individuals treated the avocation as well as an individuals ability. Each rite of passage was, however, an extremely satisfying and exciting time at that point in an individuals life.
In life there are equally exciting and satisfying rites of passage. For many one of the earliest and most memorable is obtaining a drivers license and venturing out on the road alone. For those of us in the officiating profession, little did we know just how much time we would spend behind the wheel going to and from games. As we age, we go through many other firsts of varying importance depending on our attitudes and beliefs. The right to vote for elected officials is one of the great privileges we enjoy in our country. The right to purchase an alcoholic beverage is a right of passage that many look forward to and is many times associated with post-game discussions. Those drives to and from games and the varied post-game discussions, many times done without alcohol, are some of the great moments of our avocation and help build the sense of family that we call IAABO. As we age there is, however, another rite of passage that everyone will have an opportunity to experience, and one that you should take advantage of for the good of yourself and your family.
Its a rite of passage that I experienced recently and would like to encourage you to do likewise for it saved my life. I am talking about reaching the half-century club (50 years of age) and having a colonoscopy done. A colonoscopy is a test to detect polyps or growths in your colon, also known as your large intestine. I had the procedure done in July 2005 and the doctors discovered a cancerous polyp. Hearing the words, Youve got cancer is not something I ever expected to hear in my lifetime! Im a health and physical education teacher, I like to run, am within 10 pounds of the weight I was when I graduated from college, officiate 60-70 basketball games every winter, eat reasonably well
this was not supposed to happen to me
but it did. Fortunately, because the polyp was detected early I was able to have one foot of my large intestine removed and the test results indicated that the cancer had not spread into any of the tissue in the intestine and even more importantly, the lymph nodes all tested negative for cancer. I was cancer free!
In July 2006 I had a follow-up colonoscopy and the doctors found NO polyps. My next colonoscopy is in three years. This simple procedure is recommended for males and females once you reach 50 (or earlier if there is a family history), takes about 15 minutes to complete and might just save your life. Colo-rectal cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer, IF detected early. The technology is there; all you need to do is access it. Dont put it off; dont assume it wont happen to me. As we approach another basketball season and reflect on seasons past, we recall the excitement of that first assignment or that first drive. Are there other rites that you should be thinking about? Believe me, NOTHING can compare to the exhilaration of knowing that youve helped yourself be cancer free!
Dan Shepardson
IAABO Board #105 Vermont
State Interpreter
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