SuperNova Afterglow: End Of Days

The Problem With Goggles

I realize I take a big risk just by participating in pick-up games at the Y. My eyes are vulnerable even with goggles...rec specs. And I have broken two pairs from collisions with my head. Most mishaps I cause, the last a swipe at the ball by another player who landed on my head. It broke my recently glued pair for the last time. Yet, I held on to those frames instead of tossing them in the can. Why?

My oldest pair are ready to go, super glued after a crack to the frame that ended their service over a year ago. I could wear them again today, or wait under I find a new pair (not a chance).

I prepared to order a new pair, but needed a prescription to complete the transaction and my eye doc offices closed at five. I could walk in and get the prescription tomorrow to hand deliver, but I also just started wondering if I need the corrective lens after all.

I decided I do, because I am trying to get every kind of edge possible to help my play. It's bad enough that I have so many blind spots to go with the tunnel vision. Going back to the old frames, which weren't clear like the new ones that broke (or the pair that I'm ordering), makes me realize how a little hinderance greatly affects one with limited vision. When the blue goggles started fogging up last week, I was blinder than ever and had to rely on my instincts even more.

The new frames will have coating to reduce glare from lights and the glass backboard that reflects light. When I'm under the basket and so near to my target, it is really difficult to see the goal and the ball. It's like flash photography that holds or distorts imagines, like a camera being adjusted to focus on an image. I'm dealing with split second images and decisions. I want to get back anything I have lost to glaucoma to help me see and then be more confident on the court.

It took me forever to get used to receiving passes. The shorter the distant traveled, the more difficult to pick up the ball on my radar...because I don't know sometimes if it's a bounce pass or coming on a straight line. And then there's the speed.

The more time it takes the ball to arrive, the better my chances are of adjusting. I looked foolish for awhile. People started to wonder about my play because I looked so uncomfortable trying to haul in a throw or even go after a rebound or loose ball. They yelled at me for spending so much time on the perimeter, my comfort zone, instead of rolling with the picks I set or generally making cuts, even with picks set for me.

I learned to put myself in the best situations to catch a ball. I eventually got more confident with pick-and-roll plays and knowing how to space myself and finding a pass as I flashed to the hoop. But, I was only as good as my last play. So, if I got on a roll and the juices were flowing, it was going to be a good day. If I screwed up early, I would have to work extra hard to earn the trust of my teammates.

It helped that I adjusted my game to that of a perimeter shooter. But, I need to challenge myself more. I need to put my back to the basket and react to the direction of the ball when I don't see it. I have to do that on defense, because the person I'm guarding dictates where I get to position myself when the ball is working its way around.

I now enjoy passing up a three-point try and making people pay for guarding me too closely outside. Driving inside presents a lot of options, but again, I have to have the right eyewear to help my vision so I can make quicker, better decisions that will allow others to entrust me with the ball more. More touches equals more greatness.

I can distribute the basketball very well and remember it was the part of the game I first fell in love with when I was 15 and impressed my coaches with the three-on-two fast break drills. I think it was my ability to show what I could do handling the ball that got me on the sophomore squad.

It was the last year I participated in high school athletics. A story for another day.

It feels like I am getting back the edge that I lost when I use sports equipment like goggles, patella straps, ankle braces, sports drinks, energy drinks, over the counter pharmaceuticals, and more. Anything that will inspire confidence, even though with a bandanna wrapped around my head, I look like that annoying dweeb who thinks he can play basketball. I have to work a lot harder now to show them I can. I wish I could play sans all and just be out there with a good pair of high tops, baggy shorts and a grin on my face.

Goggles will be ready in two weeks! yeesh.