Many years ago, my daughters were in youth sports. Both really enjoyed their time there. And they both had success, to varying degrees.

One time, when Emma was in fifth grade, she was on a basketball team. At that age, nobody really knows how to do anything. (That’s what the coaches are for.) But also, the teams are drawn at random, so, in theory, each team should have some very good athletes and some not-so-good ones.

In theory.

But for Emma’s team, that was NOT the case. There were no standouts on that team. In fact, even though I’m her father, I can say pretty sure that Emma was the best on her team. Mind you, she wasn’t great – definitely no Caitlin Clark. But she was decent.

One time they entered a youth girls’ basketball tournament. Her game was at the local high school, so of course I went to watch.

You know how it is watching kids’ sports. It’s just a game; it’s not life. But young kids take things so personally, you really, really want your kid’s team to do well because you hate to see them sad.

But they didn’t do well. Like I said, there were no great athletes on the team. So it was upsetting, but not really surprising, when, at the end of the half, Emma’s team was losing. I don’t remember the exact score, but it was something like 32-0. Yes, they had not scored one point. The coach was trying to be encouraging, the parents were trying to be supportive, and the girls were trying their hardest. They never gave up, which is a good thing. But they just didn’t have much talent.

But as the time ran down for the half, Emma brought the ball down the court. As time was winding down, she launched a long shot. It wasn’t three-point range, but it was pretty far. And lo and behold, the ball went in.

There was just one problem. The shot was clearly after the buzzer, so of course it didn’t count. But I remember watching the referee. He heard the buzzer, watched the ball go in, then paused for a second. Finally, he signaled the shot good. Yay!

Was the shot really good? Almost certainly not. But it was 32-0. That basket wasn’t going to make a difference in the game. And I don’t know the referee, and I never talked to him, but I’m pretty sure he made a quick judgment. He must have been a father as well, or maybe just a guy with compassion. Because when he signaled good, even though they were hopelessly behind, everybody on Emma’s team cheered. It didn’t matter that they were going to lose; they had scored. Finally. And Emma was so happy.

You can debate all day whether what he did was right or not. It certainly wasn’t legal. But sometimes right is right, even if it’s not following the rules. And this was one of those times. He allowed a team to be happy.

I’ve always been grateful to that official. It was just a little thing. But sometimes little things mean a lot.