4th Grade First Tournament

Jitters and nerves is the best way to describe the 4th grade team's first tournament game.  There was excitement in the air as well as anticipation.  As nervous as these boys were, imagine the nerves of the parents.  AAU is a different world from the previous CYO season.  It's faster and more aggressive. There is no mercy rule.  There is no mercy.  At 8:30 early Saturday morning on April 7, these boys walked onto cold hardwood for the first time as a team.  As if in slow motion, they found their positions ready for the jump.  The still air can be cut with a knife.  Unfortunately, some nerves take longer to shake than others.  Our 4th grade team fell to the opponents, who were a more experienced team.  The other team, with much respect, were taller, bigger and, again, obviously, more experienced.  Our boys warmed as the game progressed and game back in the second half stronger.  You can see the boys meshing well as if pieces of reeds weaving a tight basket.  This second half effort was just a little too late. 

Onto game number 2.  Another team who were larger and appeared more formidable.  The Thunderbirds raced up and down the court in streams of orange.  Our boys, however, most of the nerves gone, were side by side with them.  Unlike the first game, this game, UH was more comfortable with their positions and with each other.  The game was filled with fast break points, fadeaway shots and layups.  You can see the improvement from the first game.  Unfortunately, this was another loss. 

Our Uptempo Hoops fourth grade team played hard.  They have a lot to learn, but you can see the potential.  What makes this team exciting is to see how they will be even a month from now.  It's good to get that first tournament out of the way.  They have to leave behind the CYO mentality of everyone plays fair and everyone gets a turn at scoring.  AAU doesn't work that way.  There are teams out there who will continue to run up the score just to humiliate another team.  UH has class.  We know what respect is and what good sportmanship is.  As that may be, it we can't expect to get the same respect.  I think our 4th grade boys got a wake up call today.  We walked away with injuries such as a jammed finger, scraped eye, bruised knee and hit to the funny bone.  By the second half of the second game, there was a more aggressive 4th grade team.  They woke up quick.  They realized,  a foul is not a foul unless it's called.  They learned to play through bad calls and injuries.  Playing hard together, supporting each other made our basket weave a little tighter. 

Practice will be on Monday.  Coach will review the errors and work on them as he enhances the team's strengths.  As a team, they may have a lot to learn.  But they will get there.  Just with these two games, you can see the improvement.  You can see the determination and the emotions.  I'm excited to see the next tournament because I know they will be even better.  It's hard to remember these are just 3rd and 4th graders playing together for the first time as a team.  What's great about that is they are young, there is room for them to learn and they will learn quickly.  There is a lot of talent swarming on that basketball court. Sitting here, blogging as I watch a Warriors game, I see these grown men playing a game they love and doing it well.  It's not that hard to make the same connection to our boys.   It's all for the love of the game.