On Tuesday night, for the third time in three years, my son’s basketball team finished the regular season undefeated. That’s 5th grade, 6th grade, and now 7th grade… the boys have not lost a conference game. Shit, when it’s their team out there, they haven’t lost ANY game. There were no playoffs in 5th. In 6th grade, they brought home the championship cruising through the playoffs; OK, the championship game was actually tight. And now, once the calendar flips to 2025, they’ll be looking to do the same this year. I’m not kidding when I’m telling you he and his team have been carrying sports for me… haha.
Tuesday night was a great game for my boy. 12 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 7 steals, and 1 block; let’s dig into the numbers a bit. He didn’t shoot one 3 pointer first of all. His team, in its 48-14 thrashing, didn’t make one 3 point FG; take that today’s NBA! He went to the free throw line 4 times; he made all 4. I know he was proud of that. All his other buckets were in the paint, whether on a fast break, or one of them, on a slick move. Yeah, he grabbed the rebound, and acted like he was taking it back out, when he spun back towards the hoop, and tossed it in. He pivoted like Hakeem Olajuwon down there… His dimes continue to impress. One of them was a bounce pass he threw down court in front of his teammate, letting him catch up to it, to convert the layup. He had his hands on the ball the whole game. He was tipping balls, getting on the floor for some, and even got a couple gifts; one kid from the other team threw a pass right to him. Still, I love seeing him play defense; this is a trait that is strong with his entire team. And of course, there’s the blocked shot… my son, the shortest player on the team, getting a swat?!?! I know he liked that. Yes, it was a stat stuffing performance to end the season; bravo boy!
We have been on the other side of this. There was a year when I coached my son in baseball where we didn’t win one single game; it’s not fun. Trying to keep my son’s spirit up each and every game; it was tough. And now, we’re on the right side of it. I don’t ever want to take that for granted. I want to appreciate each and every W, no matter how easy or hard they are. There will come a time when this is not the case any longer. I know each of the boys have lost games in their sports playing days; I know that day will come for this team… eventually… maybe. Until then though… I’m enjoying the heck out of this ride. Finishing this year off with another championship is the only acceptable outcome. Then there’s next year… First thing’s first. Keep it up boys!
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