For 11-year-old Finley McLaughlin, walking onto the court at Cooper Flagg’s ProCamps basketball camp was a pretty big deal. This was Finn’s first basketball camp, and, honestly, his first real experience playing basketball.
Finn has recently become interested in the sport, and while basketball has always held a special place in our family, he is very much a beginner. His step-mom played on a team that made it to the state tourney a couple times years ago, so there has always been a little bit of basketball history in our family. But Finn is starting from the beginning.
On Saturday, those beginnings were hard. Finn walked into camp incredibly nervous. He knew he was one of the least experienced kids there, and as the drills went on, he became increasingly overwhelmed. He didn’t understand what he was supposed to be doing, and eventually the nerves and frustration became too much. He walked off the court crying.
We got into the truck to head home. But as his mom, I looked at him and said, “No. We aren’t giving up.” So we went back.
Finn switched to a different team, and that is when Coach Ben Francis, an Orono Red Riots Alumni, stepped in. Ben took Finn under his wing. Instead of letting him continue to feel lost, he slowed everything down and went back to the basics. He helped Finn understand what was happening and gave him the encouragement he needed to get back on the court.
Then Ben said something that stuck with us: “Every kid deserves to play basketball.” Those words changed everything.
By the time Finn left camp, he was smiling. The kid who had been crying and wanted to go home was suddenly excited about basketball and couldn’t wait to come back the next day.
For us, that was bigger than learning how to dribble, pass or play defense. It was about belonging.
Getting the opportunity to attend Cooper Flagg’s camp and see Cooper in person was incredibly special. But the person who made the biggest impact on Finn that day was Coach Ben.
That is not meant to take anything away from Cooper or the camp. In fact, it is exactly what we believe these camps are supposed to be about.
Yes, there are incredibly talented athletes on the court. Yes, kids get to learn from some amazing basketball players and coaches. But there are also kids like Finn…kids who are just starting, kids who are nervous, kids who aren’t sure they belong yet.
Coach Ben saw one of those kids. He didn’t make Finn feel like he was behind. He didn’t make him feel like he didn’t belong. He simply met him where he was. And because of that, Finn left believing he could do this. That may sound like a small thing, but to an 11-year-old kid, it isn’t.
I truly hope Coach Ben knows what he did for Finn that day. He may have thought he was simply helping a kid learn the basics of basketball. But he gave him confidence. He gave him a reason to come back. And he may have changed the way my son sees himself on a basketball court. Sometimes the most important thing a coach teaches isn’t how to play the game. Sometimes it’s simply teaching a kid that they belong in it.
