From an early age, Matt Gaffney had always been coached the right way. In fourth grade, his father wanted him to put some of his lessons to the test.
Ted Gaffney will never forget it. He was coaching Matt’s team for the Saint Joseph School, a Catholic school in Wakefield, Mass., in a game played, poetically, at Malden Catholic. Ted put Matt in the game with a message.
“I said, ‘Let me see some of your dribbling skills,’” Ted recalled.
In this Catholic school league, rules stated that defense can’t be played until the offense passes half court. No pressing allowed. Gaffney, knowing this rule, took his father’s instructions literally. He received the inbounds pass in the backcourt, and started dribbling up the court. What happened next made the entire gym stop.
