Balance and rhythm

I moved to Boulder City almost 50 years ago and quickly became fast friends with Will Ferrence.

There was a time when we did almost everything together. But after high school, we went our separate ways and sometimes didn’t see each other for months or years. Still, we somehow stayed connected. And now, after almost five decades of friendship, there aren’t too many parts of our lives that we haven’t shared in one way or another.

We played sports of all kinds together. Attended legendary coach John Wooden’s basketball camp together. Took math, English, government, chemistry, and physics classes together. In the process discovered our handwriting was virtually identical. Won the 1984 Nevada AA state basketball championship together. Cheered for the Show Time Lakers together. Campaigned and lost our bid for BCHS student body president and VP together. I bought my current home from him almost 25 years ago. He used my legal services to buy, operate, and eventually sell his local home healthcare business. We worked in the same office building during much of that time. He regularly made time to walk down the hall to laugh about life and talk about family, sports, philosophy, science, psychology, faith, politics, or any number of other interesting and endearing topics of the day. We collaborated on the design and installation of his back yard landscaping. Shared a boat slip for a year or two. Made memories together with our families at a BYU vs. Notre Dame showdown in a frigid South Bend squall. Played on the same Rec League basketball team seemingly forever. Coached, mentored, and helped to raise each other’s kids together. And so on.

Will and I maybe aren’t quite soul mates. Those are our respective brides. But the common threads and crossroads of our lives are too uncanny to be coincidence. One thing’s certain: my life would never have unfolded like it has without Will’s positive influence on me for good.

Like me, Coach Will loves basketball. But he’s not just a phenomenal coach and player, he’s a real student of the game. One of Coach Will’s favorite mantras is, “Balance and Rhythm.” Every time anyone shoots a free throw, that’s what he chants from the sidelines to remind us what we need to focus on.

Balance is physical, mental, or emotional steadiness. It means having harmony, proper proportion, even distribution, and equilibrium in all aspects of our game. Balance results in stability.

Rhythm in sports is a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement. It’s consistency of actions that flow together with proper timing. Rhythm allows athletes to move fluidly, efficiently, and with precision to maximize speed and coordination.

When it comes to free throws, balance and rhythm are crucial for consistent and accurate shot-making. Maintaining a stable base and a smooth, consistent motion throughout the shot ensures that unnecessary movements are minimized and that the ball is released with proper power and trajectory. Balance and rhythm help free-throw shots feel more natural, leading to better consistency and confidence.

Like the circadian rhythms in our body’s internal clock that regulate sleep, hormones, body temperature, digestion, cognitive functions, and other physical, mental and behavioral processes almost automatically without our conscious awareness of them, the best free-throw shooters use balance and rhythm to develop muscle memory so that their shots are virtually automatic.

Just a few months ago, Will was diagnosed with colon cancer. It had already spread to his liver and lungs. Recently, he’s been undergoing chemotherapy to shrink the malignant masses in preparation for surgery. That’s not easy for anyone, but his doctors recently reported that his body is responding “exquisitely” well.

But what his doctors don’t know or are only beginning to learn is that Will is relying on the same “Balance and Rhythm” principles to fight his cancer as he does to consistently sink his free throws. To Will’s credit, he isn’t just a student of basketball. More importantly, he’s always been a serious student of life. And he’s committed to be the best possible student of his own cancer as well. The body’s health and healing processes are fascinating to him, even if sometimes also excruciating and crippling. But he’s determined to not only endure his trials well but, better yet, to also eventually whip the cancer that’s trying to rob him of precious years.

Just like his sharp-shooting at the free-throw line, winning that war is going to take an extra measure of balance and rhythm. He’s going to need a double dose of that physical, mental, and emotional steadiness that he’s spent a lifetime developing. He’ll have to stay true to the faith, family, and friend patterns that he’s relied on to help him through soul-stretching times in the past.

Of course, nothing is automatic about surviving cancer. Or depression. Or divorce. Or a faith crisis. Or disabilities, pandemics, relationship problems, dementia, betrayal, anxiety, bankruptcy, job layoffs, family rifts, or mental illness. Or any of life’s other debilitating challenges.

But balance and rhythm help us endure those well. Even, or especially, when the outcome is uncertain.

So, Coach Will, I’ll keep barking “Balance and Rhythm” from the sidelines just like you’ve done for me so many times. When the game is in doubt, I always like our chances when you’re on the free-throw line.