Conor's Basketball Season

On Sunday, Conor and his fellow teammates wrapped up their 3rd grade (debut) basketball season, and what a season it was!

The boys have practiced every Tuesday and Thursday (5-6 PM) for weeks to learn a bit about shooting, defending, and plays. These boys have never played on a basketball team before, so everything they learned was brand new. That's the beauty of CYO sports ... they give kids a chance to learn a sport before winning/losing becomes a factor. The kids play for a few years before score is kept. At this age, the refs also take on the role of educator/pseudo-coach during the games to help the kids learn and understand the sports. Love it!

  

The funniest moment was during their first game. The whistle blew and LITERALLY, not a single boy on the court moved.... on either team. No one was 100% sure what to do and just stood there. After a second, the coaches and ref offered a little guidance. From then on, it was smoother sailing. (Full disclosure: There were still plenty of comedic moments, but hey! They're little kids!! Coordination and follow-through aren't exactly their defining characteristics at this point in life!)

This past Sunday was the boys' fourth (and final) game of the season. It was such fun to see their abilities develop and confidence grow over the season. They had a much better understanding of how to run their screen play (yes, play .... again, they are 3rd graders ... learning multiple screen plays would have probably made their minds explode and bodies combust), pass effectively, and try to out-maneuver defending players. Sure, there were still many instances of traveling, double dribbling, and waaay off-target passes, but we just see that as part of the learning process. This game also included some strong offense (Eric taught Conor how he could use his backside to keep a defending player from stealing the ball as he dribbled toward the basket ... and he did it!!!), some knee-sacrificing moves toward recovering the ball when it went rogue, team communication, and some impressive rebounds.

 The boys enjoyed their season so much that they opted to practice this week, even though they are done with their games. A special shout out to their coaches for taking the time to work with the boys and showing what patience can achieve!

 Here's a quick video of Conor making one of his three (four?) baskets during this week's game. (#ProudMama)