Fall Basketball 2015

And so we begin another season of basketball.

This summer we had an unintentional break as Coach didn't have his teams in leagues. Out of town tourneys instead. I think we might have hit one.

I was hoping that Dash would have one more season in a 9u league. Give him a chance to be a big guy. He's worked hard, well, he's attended a lot of practices, without a lot of glory. Need those glory moments to help sustain motivation...

When I saw the league schedule it read 3rd/4th Grade; I had some hope.

Turns out that it's a 10u league. But he is one of the biggest and oldest on his team. Mixed blessing.

But, for whatever reason, the switch flipped in his head, and he's been busting his butt in practice. We're all very happy about that.

Will it translate to the court?

A little practice with Dad this morning confirmed that inter-family practices aren't going to be any different. A block by Dad results in a permanent bad mood.

In the gym, practice looks practice-y (click pictures for full size)

As mentioned, Dash is one of bigger players on his team, though everyone on the other team was at least his size, with a couple of mooses. The opponents were fast and rough.

His great hustle on display in recent practices carried over into the game.

The shot to the left is interesting (to me at least) for a couple of reasons.

1) Elias is a very good 9-year old point guard who is pretty much unafraid to play against any level.

It looks like Dash will be #2 point guard. He and Elias shared duty for a good portion of their time together on the court.

2) Those four points are Dash's. Generally, that's his total for a good game. Generally, he scores less than 10% of his team's point.

Dash got some cheap points by breaking down the court and cherry-picking (that's new, he typically prefers to hang back), he also made some aggressive moves to the basket and drew fouls (he's also reluctant to get physical). He did get knocked in the head hard a few times; he played through tears. I was worried that he'd back off.

Dash finished the (poorly-photographed) fast break below. Number 50 was huge, but Dash shielded him with his body and did a nice finger roll to make the layup. He does that to me pretty much all the time.

Lots of rebounds, some great steals, and constant hustle Very proud. "Dash, if you want me to buy you a car, now's a good time to ask."

The second game was against a team their size, so they won handily. Dash displayed a lot of leadership out there, with some hard drives, some coast-to-coasts, directing the offense, and playing aggressive D.

He obviously has a lot to learn, but a good day, and an opportunity (and a responsibility) to lead and improve his court sense. Cool.

Elias and Dash