Basketball!

Whew! I am so glad basketball season is nearly over for this year! Please don't misunderstand, as I really enjoy watching the games, it just makes for a long week. Fortunately, we have not been attending the away games, so it hasn't been quite as expensive, and it has given me a few friday nights "off" from any planned activities!

Ben has played much better this year, and he has started in every game (I think). He is still not real comfortable with the ball during a game situation, but he is improving, and he has even attempted a few shots this year. He has been so afraid of "messing up" and disappointing the team, but I keep telling him that even the "best" players on any team make mistakes, and many more shots are attempted than actually made during games (I think I heard even Labron James -Cavaliers- had a "bad" -low scoring- game this week against the Lakers.) Anyway, they have one more away game on friday, and that will be it for his season. Ben was disappointed they did not qualify for tournaments this year, but next year will be here before we know it! The older boys will have one more week and then jv tournaments. I don't plan to attend them as they are out of town(unless Anna can talk her daddy into taking a family trip.)

I will post a few picture highlights, but I must apologize for the poor quality. Although Anna received a much stronger lense for Christmas, it is still not really sufficient for taking sports pictures in the gym (especially without flash which is not allowed during the games.) Also, there were a few different cameras used for pictures, and different picture "takers" (some of us are not as talented in this area as others!) I have kept them small on purpose to hopefully not look quite so bad!

This is one of those great "bench" pictures.....Ben is number 44, and his coach is Joel Cave (11th grade). The younger boys don't have an "official" coach, other than Mr. Stratton (mainly just for supervision and authority), so a high school boy takes charge of this special opportunity. Joel has been great this year.

Ben is practicing his foul shot...

More "warm up" before the game

He is shooting again...

I'm not sure how "clear" these actually are, but our team is quite small, both in number and in stature! We are usually compared to a David and Goliath situation at our games! But, again I must say how much the team has improved just from last year! By the time these guys are in high school they could be a great team. I love to watch teams that have "grown up" together, and how well they seem to "sync" with one another! So, I say "goodbye" to basketball for now....and will look forward to relaxing fridays for a change!

Update: Ben made his first three points at his last away game on friday! I heard he had a great game, and I was sorry to have missed it!