My son’s team was back at it this weekend. With a “tough game” scheduled for Friday night on the road, and a “not-so tough game” the following Saturday afternoon on the road as well. Is the 2+ year undefeated streak alive? Does a dog have 4 legs? No offense to those pooches who may be a leg or two short, but… yes, the freight train kept on rolling through the city/suburban catholic league.
The road game on Friday took us back to a place where the streak was in the biggest jeopardy. Yes, last year our boys won by 1 point, the closest game in this stretch, and yes, I know, you can’t win by less than that. It was one of the most exciting games, obviously. In that one, my son actually was the MVP, scoring 17 points, leading the team to that 1 point W. This time around, his heroics weren’t needed. Sure, he still did well (he must like this gym), scoring 10 points, but the game was over early in the 2nd half. Another 20 point win was in the books. The game the following afternoon wasn’t as close. I knew it would be bad; I predicted a 30 point win. Little did I know, we’d almost reach that in the 1st quarter! Yes, after 6 minutes of play, our boys were up 29-0. Because of “the rules” and not wanting to run up the score, we didn’t score again the whole game. We kept giving it to one of our boys playing up, but he kept missing. 29-10 was the final. Yawn.
I understand the whole not wanting to run it up thing; I get it. However, at what point is this beneficial for any of the kids on the court? Sure, I don’t want the other team to forfeit, like one of the kids joked before the game; he knew… this team’s reputation is preceding itself. Word is out. Still, give it your best shot; work on your game. See what a great team looks like, and try to be like that… or not. It’s only 7th grade, but the kids aren’t exactly 5 years old either any more. There are winners and there are losers. Take the L in stride and keep it moving. One of the teams we beat by 43 points earlier this year fit this description. They didn’t give up. They kept playing hard. They didn’t care what the scoreboard said. THAT is what we should be teaching our kids. At the same time, we weren’t trying to run it up, but we were still playing. Respect both ways.
What’s up next for our boys? The first tournament of the year awaits next Sunday. It won’t be the 7th grade team per se… it will be a combination of 7th and 8th graders, so technically the undefeated streak is not on the line. Yet, for our boys playing up with the 8th graders, including my son, it will be a taste of what’s to come. A step up in class if you may, that they need. Honestly, I think my son’s 7th grade team could probably beat a lot of the 8th grade teams too… Looking forward to a fun tourney. Let’s go!
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