If you're a basketball fan, this is your month.

After all, we're close to the annual NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness.

The weather's not exactly conducive to doing much more than sitting on the couch eating chips while watching your favorite team move through the brackets — unless of course you happen to have kids who participate in recreational basketball.

I do, by the way.

Oh, and let me mention I am an assistant coach for my son's team and a dedicated half-time devotion reader every week. Yes, my Saturday schedules are full.

Kids learn an awful lot about dribbling the ball, getting in position for a rebound and playing defense with their hands up.

I'm partial, but my son seems to be the best at having his hands up and jumping around like his shoes are miniature pogo sticks. Unfortunately that's all he does, but he does it with a smile wider than the court itself.

He hasn't made any baskets yet, but to be fair, it's pretty hard for anyone to make a basket when 10 boys ages 8 and 9 congeal into one mass of flesh that moves around the court like a swarm of angry bees.

Really, the kid who scores the most is the one who is: A) the tallest, B) the fastest and C) the most aggressive.

My son is cursed with my height, the speed of molasses running in March and the aggression of a dove. He won't ever score a basket.

But that doesn't matter. He's having a lot of fun.

My daughter has made two baskets this year, which is probably a result of my not coaching her. Plus she's not a dove — not even close, in fact.

Perhaps she's more like a hawk or a vulture, based upon the way she hovers around my food. Rest assured she's not related to a famous bird associated with basketball, Larry Bird.

At the end of the (long) day, however, it's really about learning to work as a team, enjoying new friendships and getting some exercise. Each of my kids has gotten that, making new friends and being dog tired at the end of the day.

But I've gotten more out of the league than they have.

Aside from making new friends like Coach Don and parents like Ray and Jodi, I learned 9-year-old kids are really cool and have a lot to say about everything.

They are worried about school, tough teachers, beating Mario Brothers on their Nintendo DS, how to deal with their younger siblings and riding the bus. Please notice none of their worries involved putting an orange ball through a round hoop.

I learned some kids surprise you by hustling even though you've never seen them move a muscle off the court, while others who can't sit still during the day have a tough time moving to catch an inbound pass.

Practices are a convenient excuse to take a water break every 10 minutes, and the games are really a great way to bring families together each week.

For some, it's the highlight of the week, as grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends get together to watch the kids run around for an hour. It's great fun and something everyone needs to experience.

Oh, and finally, the score doesn't matter. I've seen kids make baskets in the wrong hoop, run the entire way down the court without dribbling and two kids hug at center court while the game was going on.

And you thought that they called it March Madness because of the NCAA tournament!

Christian Ola, a community columnist for the Butler Eagle, resides in Mars with his wife, son and daughter and can be reached through his Web site, christianola.com.