James Naismith essays

James Naismith essays James Naismith, better known as the Father of Basketball, was born in Ramsay, a town near Almonte, Ontario on November 6, 1861, where he was the eldest son of Scottish immigrants John and Margaret Naismith. Ever since he was a young lad he had a passion for sports. Although he wasnt the head of his class in academics, he was a leader among his peers in all-physical activities and showed signs of becoming a fine athlete. Ever since he was a young child, he lived a rough life. In 1869, at the age of eight, James moved with his family to Grand Calumet where his father began work as a sawhand. Orphaned at age ten, when his parents contracted typhoid fever while working in the milling community, James and his brother and sister spent the next two years in Bennie's Corners living with their maternal grandmother. Where he attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse. James was known in the neighborhood as a strong and skillful boy, but at school his monthly report cards showed poor grades. Mr. Thomas B. Caswell, James' grade school teacher, instructed him in reading, writing, arithmetic, advanced mathematics, Latin grammar and other subjects.(Glenn Dickey) When their grandmother died in 1873, the Naismith children, Annie, James and Robbie, were left under the care of their authoritarian uncle, Peter Young. Before and after school hours, Jim was assigned chores around the farm and worked in the w oods. James learned to chop trees, saw logs, and drive horses. As well, James learned many lessons in honesty, initiative, independence, and ruggedness. When James was sent into the field or the woods with a team of horses, he was expected to do the assigned job without asking for help. If trouble arose, he was depended upon to take care of it himself. Despite the burden of farm duties, there was time for play. In Bennie's Corners the blacksmith shop was the gathering spot for the children of the area. Here ...