High Hopes for High Hoops

Last summer a coach at an opposing school asked if I would be interested in coaching a travel hoops team with him. I initially said probably not, I wasn't interested in travelling every weekend, yelling and screaming at kids all the time, basically doing the things you needed to do to coach a travel sports team.

He insisted it wouldn't be that way, and he needed help. We talked about his plans for the team, and I decided to do it.

We thought we were going to have a team made up of 5th and 6th graders. As it turned out we had 20 girls, and split the two teams up. The season has now ended, and there were special moments with each team. Our 5th graders, overwhelmed by having to play mostly 6th grade teams all season, never quit and never backed down from a challenge. We went 2-2 against teams in our own division, and a coach couldn't be prouder. The Big O started for the 5th grade team, and had some good games and some not so good games. But she grew alot in terms of her play, and had a lot of fun doing it.

Another great aspect of the team has been the closeness of the girls. They all have enjoyed each other, and they made some great new friends. It was a joy getting to coach these girls, and I'm thankful to have been asked to be a part of it.

VEGAS!!

7 years ago some buddies and I headed out to Vegas for the first weekend of March Madness. The kids were little, the Tornado not even here yet, and the CEO went with us. We stayed in a crappy hotel, had to get up at 6am to get a seat at the Venetian Sportsbook, and it was all fantastic.

This year, the kids are older, the CEO had no interest in going, 10 other guys were out there, the Spiders made the tournament, and we stayed in a suite on the 54th floor of the Wynn. And yeah, it was all fantastic.

A decade of perfecting CKK, folding in 1st half CKK, getting to shoot free throws for vodka-red bulls in the Wynn ballroom, all made for a great weekend. Of course the best part though, was getting to spend time with the guys, as we either just passed or just approached 40, catching up on our lives. It was a memorable weekend and a special time with friends.

The Knights of Columbus hosts a free throw shooting contest every year, ages 10-14. Big O decided to compete in it, and we went to SFX for the local level contest. They shot 15 free throws, and O olny made 6. She's a much better shooter than that, so she was kind of bummed. Her friend Sarah was the last in her age group to shoot, and made 6, so O and Sarah had to have a 5 shot shoot off. O went first, made her first three, then missed 2. Sarah missed her first two, then made her last 3. Another 5 shots. O made 3 again. Sarah made her 2 of the first 4, then rimmed out her final one to make O the winner.

On to Sarasota and the regional competition. She did great - 17 of 25!! Great shooting O, and on to the state finals! One of the cool things was Dick Cunningham was at this contest, he played on the 1971 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks with Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson - the original Big O!

There were a lot of people at the state competition, not just shooters, but family members. The first girl in O's age group went out and knocked down 17 free throws. Again O was the last shooter of the group, and 17 was still the number to beat. She knocked down the first three, and looked good. Then she shot an air ball, and seemed to get rattled. Missing 3 more in a row, she never got her groove back, and finished with 12. That was good for 3rd place! It was a great experience, she had fun with her friend Caroline who was in the next age group up.

It was fun watching her shoot, and a neat time for everyone :) We were so proud of her!

The King

Sadly, we are still teaching the Tornado how to go to the bathroom. He knows how to go, but unfortunately, he still relies on us to clean his back side afterwards. He gives it a try, but then we have to do the rest.

Last week he called me to come in and wipe his rear after going to the bathroom. As I was walking in, he yells for me to stop, he wants Mommy to do it instead. Then he yells for her to stop, and drops this one on us. "Mommy and Daddy race in to wipe my heiny!"

How secure with yourself, how high must your self-esteem be, if you think people are going to race to wipe your rear end? I mean really, is it that much of a treat that I would race someone else to complete that task?

She's Making Up her Own Mind Now??

Soccer season at SFX started in early March, and Big O wanted to play. She's also playing travel hoops, and doing a number of other things at school, and of course her school work. Some of her soccer practices or games are on the same day as her travel hoop practices, so she would be pretty beat should she do both.

I was willing to let her try it, while the CEO was kind of against it. So the CEO and I talked, after the CEO had talked to O and told her no, then I told the CEO I would tell O we didn't want her to play. The CEO was shocked "you think just because you tell her not to she'll listen?" You're darn right she'll listen, she's my baby. I'm her compass, I'm her guiding light, I'm her voice of reason. She looks to me, she trusts me, she knows I know her.

I walk into her room, and tell O that her Mom and I talked, and we think it's best that she sits this one out. O asked why, and I gave her reasons for being overscheduled, focusing on her homework, getting the right sleep, things like that. She looked and listened intently, she understood. Her big hazel eyes looked right into mine, and cracked a little smile. Then came her response - "I still want to play". Umm, WHAT??? Were you not listening to my impeccable logic? I'm your light, your compass, remember?

I turned and walked back into my bedroom, tail between my legs. I told the CEO that O still wanted to play. This put the CEO in a tough position. I had been humbled, she always gets a kick out of that. But O still wanted to play, which was against her wishes.

The three of us got together and chatted it out, and decided that she could play. As it turns out, it's been fine as practices have only run into each other a couple times. She's having fun playing on the school team with her friends.

It was hard letting her make the decision herself, particularly when it was counter to what we had suggested. But I guess it's things like this that we have to let her decide, to hone her decision making skills. It's not going to be easy, I can tell you that. But she's a good kid and a smart kid, and hopefully the good ones far outnumber the bad.

She's No Sherlock Holmes

The Big O was going to Target with her mother the other day and was looking for her wallet. She had a decent amount of money in there thanks to Christmas presents and had her eye on some things at the store. They were preparing to leave and O couldn't find the wallet. The CEO gave her a lecture about being responsible, yada yada yada.

They left for the store without the wallet, and O wasn't able to spend her money. She was very upset, partly with herself I'm sure, but partly because she wasn't able to get anything.

The next morning she was still looking for the wallet, and the CEO had helped her some as well. I asked where they had looked, the CEO said everywhere inside and in her car. Now, we all know how lazy men are when looking for something. But hey, I figured I'd try to help. I walk out t the car first, open the door on the passenger side, bend over and open the glovebox. HELLO WALLET!!

I walk back in the house, find O, and hand it to her. I get a thanks Daddy, and a hug from her. The CEO comes downstairs, sees that I found it, and asked where it was. I told her in the glovebox. Instead of a "hey thanks", or a "that's weird, I looked in there", I got a "why did you put it in there when we went to the game the other day, no wonder I couldn't find it"!!!

Oh to be a Dad :)

He Was a Good Dog

The family was visiting my friend Rob and his family back in January for the evening. Rob started asking the Tornado questions about his life, etc. Then he asked, "How's Cooper, your new dog?"

After a little pause, the Tornado said, "I miss Morgan, he was a good dog." Then he paused again and said, "Morgan only liked to play some of the time when he wanted to play, Cooper likes to play all the time."

It was just nice to know that he remembers Morgan, that he wasn't too little to have memories of him. It was nice to know Morgan was his buddy too.