Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for youth, reporter

By Ben Austin
Special to the Pioneer Times
    Fourteen young athletes from Houlton sat nervously in the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on Friday night, waiting anxiously for their turn to take the floor for a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to warm up on the court before a Boston Celtics regular season game.
    In the time before their appearance on the floor the fifth- and sixth-grade Houlton basketball players of the Aroostook Youth Basketball League appeared to be overwhelmed by the idea of getting a chance to play one of the best arenas in the country. Each and every player looked ready to explode as their eyes shifted back and forth from the NBA players and dancers warming up on the court to the giant scoreboard that was counting down the minutes until they would be able to show their skills.
Ben Austin photographs
WAITING –  several of the Houlton fifth- and sixth-grade Aroostook Youth Basketball League (AYBL) team members wait their turn to take the floor at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on Friday night before the Celtics game.
    Time must have been standing still in the minds of the overly-excited kids as each one took their turn asking coach Marty Bouchard how much longer it would be until they were able to play their game, with only three minutes having passed between each of his answers.
    “The anticipation was fun to watch. Their smiles began on the subway and lasted until the return to the hotel,” said Bouchard.
    However, the butterflies in the stomachs of the youngsters instantly disappeared the moment that they stepped onto the court. It was obvious that the AYBL players were  focused on their drill while on the court, and the nervous feelings that they had before stepping on the court had faded. What seemed like hours and hours of pent up energy for the pre-teen athletes came out in six minutes of a three-on-two full-court warm-up drill. Each player performed with the enthusiasm of playing in front of a packed stadium, while also holding onto the same confidence they would have had they been practicing the Houlton High School Alumni Gymnasium.
    “The kids looked like champions on the floor.  I thought nerves would kick in and we would see air balls and bad passes. On the contrary, as we hit almost every shot and our passing game was crisp,” said Bouchard.
    Following their designated time on the court all of the players scattered off to greet their parents, who had taken over the seats near the court that they had previously been sitting in, and to get ready to watch the main event of the night.
    At this point, I found myself standing alone on the court, where I had been taking pictures of their event. It was at this point that I myself began feeling anxious and child-like. As the game began I found myself, as a student working for the Houlton Pioneer Times, sitting on the court in the TD Banknorth Garden side-by-side with Associated Press and ESPN photographers. My mentality changed from acknowledging the obvious excitment of the young hoopsters to recognizing my own similar experience as a photographer for a small town newspaper.
Garrett Putnam fires up a shot over Jacob Condon on the parquet floor of the Boston Celtics.
    While the AYBL players were getting the chance of a lifetime, in being able to play on the court, I was getting my own breathtaking experience by being allowed to sit on the baseline of court and take pictures of a Boston Celtics game. The same press pass that had gotten me in to take photographs of the AYBL fifth- and sixth-graders gave me the power to do the exact same job for the professional game. I soon realized that my experience with the Pioneer Times had lifted me from taking photographs at high school sports events to sitting alongside professionals and the elite of the medium.
Ben Austin photograph
TOGETHER – Team members of Houlton’s fifth- and sixth-grade AYBL team on the Celtics floor are, from left, front, Ian Goetsch, Cameron Clark, Mo Diane, Connor Grant, Garrett Putnam, Garrett Ring and Jacob Brown; back, Jacob Condon, Daniel Howe, Kyle Bouchard, Jacob Drew, Parker Brewer, Noah Holmes and Ryan Dee.
    Eventually, much like the AYBL players had done earlier in the night, I found myself getting lost in the act of photographing the game, exactly as if it was once again the middle school kids on the court excitedly going through their warm-up routine. In the end, the night was one full of nervous energy and eventual gratification for all involved, from children to parents.