BALLER

I've always been a big basketball fan, I enjoy watching it, playing it, and now coaching it. I've been coaching youth basketball since I was 16 years old (holy cow - I've been coaching for 23 years!). I've coached everything from 4 year olds to 15 year olds, girls teams, boys teams, travel teams and school teams. I've been coaching at St. Francis for the past 5 years, and it's been a ton of fun. Sure there have been some unhappy parents, maybe a few frustrated kids, but the majority seem to have had a wonderful time.

But this season is going to be different. The Big O tried out for the team. We prepared extensively for the tryout, as she made over 1500 layups and 1500 jumpshots in the 4 months leading up to the tryout. HOLY COW O!!

The tryout came, and Mr. L, the athletic director said to me how excellent she looked. He commented on her progress since his camp in the summer. It was a great lesson for O about how how work and dedication can turn into results.

We've got 15 girls on the team, 6 of them from O's class. As any season, I'm sure there will be ups and downs, but it will be exciting to get to coach O and her friends as part of the school team.

First practice is today!