A proud dad goes wild in celebration as he witnesses his five-year-old daughter’s determined efforts to make her first-ever basketball shot.
The moment marked the end of a two-year journey for Brielle Egan, who had been asking her parents if she could play basketball since the age of three.
Brielle’s father, Craig, from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, said he had no idea where his daughter’s love of basketball came from, as his family has always liked football and soccer.
After Brielle had played soccer for a couple of years, though, she was signed up to play basketball, and Santa brought her an “early” Christmas present of a ball to practice with.
Having dribbled around her family’s kitchen over the holidays, Craig decided it was time to take his daughter to a local court on December 31.
There, Brielle said she would like to try to make a basket, which Craig, knowing a five-year-old would not be able to shoot up to the hoop initially, let her try.
After missing the first shot, Brielle said she wanted to keep trying until she made a shot.
Brielle missed about 20 shots in a row, Craig said – but he soon noticed she noticed he was making improvements, realizing that squatting and jumping were helping get her shots closer to the hoop.
At this point, Craig decided to set up his camera to record his daughter’s determined efforts.
After miss after miss, Brielle eventually made her first basket – a moment that caused Craig to throw his own ball in the air and jump around in celebration with his daughter.
He said: “As a parent, you watch them grow and learn – from walking to talking, to using the bathroom by themselves, opening their own bag of chips, and putting their own shoes on.
“You want always to help them when you can, but, at the same time, they need to figure things out on their own.
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“I want her to know that if she tries hard and doesn’t quit even when it feels like she can’t do it, something is bound to happen.
“Most people quit not knowing that the next shot might go in, and I want her to know their is always a chance, there will always be a chance if you just try.
“Missing a shot only opens an opportunity to take another one.
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“Learn new things, help your children understand that life isn’t always fair but if you don’t quit, you can do great things.
“Sometimes, it takes try after try – but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
“And have fun doing it, life is way too short not to have fun.”