We're Ballers

I had to look up the term "Baller" online before I posted it in my title.  I didn't want to use it as a title post and then find out it means something totally gangster and vulgar.  This is what Google said it means: 1. a player of a ball game, especially a talented basketball player.

I think it fits!

And boy have we ever been balling this year.  A couple of weeks ago we had FOUR games in one day. Why do you ask?  Well, we don't ever have very many girls out in our area that want to play basketball and therefore can only form about 4 teams of combined 5/6th grade girls.  And though it doesn't make sense to me, someone decided that the girls needed to play each other more than the boys play each other?  Why? I don't know!  So that requires the girls to play back to back games.  And Miss Ashlyn has a small team (in number and size), so she plays pretty much the whole game and has to run twice as hard as the other teams because other teams have twice the amounts of girls, so they can substitute in and out and keep their girls refreshed.  And then when the game finally gets over and these poor girls collapse onto the floor in exhaustion, it is time to pick themselves up again for the next game that is scheduled right on the back of the first game.

Ashlyn has been a trooper this year and improves every time I watch her play.

She is my hero.

And these boys have heart!  Their coach is one of Tanner's good buddy's dad, so he was fortunate to be on a team a bunch of his friends.  The only problem is, they are mostly fifth graders and they play other teams that are mostly sixth graders.  I can't believe the height difference from one year to the other.  Though it makes for a challenging game, it makes me excited to see how much my fifthies are going to grow this year.  Tanner's team is 1-1 so far this season and they are learning so many great skills.  Their coach is working on plays with them and trying to get them to work as a team, which is a hard skill at this age, but they are starting to get it and they are fun to watch.

Tanner is getting lots of playing time in and has done great at getting shots in, getting rebounds, running plays and doing all the things that make a well-rounded player.

It makes my heart sing to hear his coaches yelling praises to him from the bench.

And then there's this guy... 

I swear Ian was born dribbling a basketball.  He is so passionate about the sport and has been playing with the family since he was easily 2 or 3.  This is his second year in a league and he just ate up every minute of it.

Zac and I have a rewards system worked out with our kids.  We let them set a goal for themselves for the first game and when they hit that goal (sometimes they get it the first game, sometimes after several games) they get to pick a treat at the gas station.  After their self-set goal is met, then Zac and I get to set a goal for them and if they hit it, they start earning basketball gear.  Ian's first goal was to get two baskets in a game, which he achieved in the first or second game.  Next, Zac and I set a goal for him to rebound 3 shots and to put one of those rebounds back up.  It was a hard goal for him, but he made it and in turn got a really cool water bottle that he adores.  His last goal was to try to help some of the smaller kids on his team who hadn't had a basket during the season to get some points.  That was hard for him to not just shoot when he got the ball, but he had to look for those kids and pass off and he did great! 

We are so proud of Ian and all that he is accomplishing.

Now we just need to get these kids to grow.  In spite of having a 6' 4" dad, they are still average to small height in their classes and on their teams.  They are starting to give me dirty looks and ask their dad why he didn't find a taller wife to marry.  I wish I could tell them that at least I contributed to their coordination or something, but well.... my talents lie more in writing blogs.... so there's always that :)