end of the season

baylee was playing in a 3rd and 4th grade basketball league. there were 3 teams from panhandle playing. lee coached baylee's team which was made up of mostly 3rd graders. the other 2 teams were coached by dads of 4th graders and the assistant coaches also had 4th graders and since there aren't many 4th graders to start with that leaves few choices if you wanted a 4th grader. so lee decided he would just take the 3rd graders and try to do the best. if you haven't ever noticed there is a BIG size difference between 3rd and 4th graders. many of those boys were a good 6 inches taller than baylee's team. but, lee did a great job and the boys did awesome. the win column wouldn't agree, but the really did improve tremendously throughout the season. they got tougher. fought for the ball more. they had the speed to start with, they needed the control. they did gain a little of that.

they played in pyb (panhandle youth basketball, i think). then they played in a tournament this weekend. the rules that they had played with during the season were not the same rules as this tournament. which i think really threw off some of the boys. they had played man-on-man with no pressing. well this tourny was full court press if you wanted. and one team wanted. they were jerks led by the king jerk. why press a team you already beat, especially when you are up by 10 points. and when the games usually have no more than 30 points a game. really? i'm not into violence and i really don't get worked up at games, especially this age, but i wanted to punch that guy. and you don't make excuses when you lose. you try to learn from what happened and try to do better next time. but, (i'm sure you knew there was a but in there somewhere) if a kid has the ball and another kid steals it and makes the first kid spin around twice there is a foul in there somewhere. but was whistle blown? no. so that will mess with kids mind especially if you are a lot smaller than that kid. if that darned ref. would have called something baylee's team woulda hung in there. but they started fighting back. and when you have 5 quick short guys on the court lots can happen. and when those kids can be a little spastic, it is quite funny to watch.

baylee made a basket this season. he got meaner on the court. he gained confidence which is what i want him to get out of this whole experience. now if we can get him to stop hopping.

lee learned a lot coaching. one thing he learned is that he is not very patient with a bunch of 9 year olds. especially nine year olds that don't listen. but, he did make them better than what they were and that is what coaching is all about. he has coached baylee's team since kindergarten. he also learned that him and baylee need a break. he is a dad and wants his kid to be better. he needs to be the dad and yell like the dad. not the dad/coach.

so basketball was over yesterday. and baseball practice starts tomorrow. glad to have the day of rest between seasons.

tara