For the first ten minutes, the score stayed low—it reached 3–2 in favor of Derek’s team, then stayed there as possession went back and forth. Dave would clank a shot off the rim, and Derek would snag the rebound. Or Derek would take a wild, long jumper and catch only air, with his dad grabbing the ball back for the other side.

Then Derek caught fire, finding his shooting touch and running off four straight baskets! “Whoo-hoo!” Sharlee yelled, her arms raised in triumph. “Derek’s on fire!”

But just when it looked like the game was decided, Mr. Jeter and Dave kicked their games into high gear. Dave stole the ball from Derek and sank an uncontested layup. Then Mr. Jeter blocked a shot from Mrs. Jeter and found Dave for another easy put-in.

“Time out!” Sharlee shouted. “We need a break!”

“Good idea,” Mrs. Jeter said. “Come on, everyone. Drink some water. It’s hot out here.”

They soon resumed their game, and now it had gotten serious. Everyone was putting their utmost effort into it—including Sharlee, who actually stole the ball from her dad when he wasn’t looking her way.

“Great job, Sharlee!” Derek said as he took the pass from her—and right before Dave grabbed it away from him and sank a jumper to bring their team within one point of Derek’s side.

The scrimmage remained close most of the way, with the lead switching back and forth. In the end, Derek’s team won out, with Derek sinking a couple of difficult shots to ice the victory, 21–18.

Sharlee wound up with the most rebounds and held on to the ball at the end as she went into her victory dance.

“We would have won if I’d shot better,” Dave said as they all sat on a shaded bench at courtside, drinking water. “I just can’t seem to get the feel for it.”

“You hit that one tough shot,” Derek said.

“Yeah, but that was just dumb luck,” Dave replied. “I couldn’t hit that one again if I tried.”

“Let me have a closer look at what you’re doing,” Mr. Jeter said, getting up and beckoning Dave to follow. “The rest of you relax for a few minutes.”

Derek watched as his dad worked with Dave on transferring from the dribble to the shooting position. He showed him how to roll the ball off the fingertips and end with a flick of the hand toward the rim. He told Dave to put more of an arc into his shot. And he made sure he was vertical and balanced when he went up for the jump shot.

By the end of their short session, Dave was at least coming close every time. He was throwing up fewer bricks and fewer air balls, and even swishing a couple of shots along the way.