Most people are probably going to think I’m nuts, but this actually played a role in where my family moved this past August. We were deciding between a few small towns in Eastern Iowa, and one of the things I kept coming back to was something most people probably wouldn’t put very high on their list: Access to a gym. One of the towns we really liked had a community center right next to the middle school and high school... And only about a half mile from some of the houses we were considering. That mattered to me. Growing up, I had a community center not too far from school, and I went there all the time after school to play basketball. I didn’t start organized basketball until sixth grade. I didn’t play club summer basketball. I basically played during the season every year... And then spent a lot of time just playing pickup basketball with friends. I was a point guard, and coaches always considered decision-making one of my strengths. Looking back, I think a lot of that came from those hours in the gym. No coach telling us exactly what to do. No drill dictating the solution. We just played. We experimented. We tried things that didn’t work. We figured things out. We played against older kids, younger kids, different styles and different types of athletes. And we played other sports too, which I believe helped develop even more pattern recognition and problem-solving ability. There’s obviously tremendous value in organized basketball, good coaching and skill development. But I also think kids need environments where they can simply play. That’s becoming harder to find. So, yes, when we were deciding where to live, having a community center close enough that my kids could eventually walk or bike over and play on their own actually factored into the decision. Maybe that sounds crazy. But I wanted them to have the opportunity to experience a little bit of what helped me fall in love with the game... And learn how to play it.