Evacuate the Dancefloor!

Today we scrimmaged the boys in basketball. The Jr. high team got steamrolled (literally...I think it was 12-40) but the Sr. girls were BOMB. They worked really hard, and very hard together. I was so impressed with 6 or 7 of them. YES!! I am going to say this -- basketball season is SO long...and to make these girls practice since August is exhausting.

I should explain what I mean. In Arkansas (or at least at a few schools around me) there are "athletic periods" that are different from gym class. For instance, 1st period is Jr. boys athletics. Therefore, any boy who plays football in the Fall, basketball in the Winter, and baseball in the Spring and is in 7-9th grade has athletics 1st period each day. This period does not count as their gym credit, but is just a way of working practice into the day. Unfortunately what this translates to for GIRLS is a Sr. and Jr. girls athletics period during the day...but in the Fall - no sport. So, we just play basketball but with no true direction for the first month and a half.

Why have a focus? The first game is November 18...and we're in that period August until then. It's just a frustrating time because you can only teach so much in a 45 minute period, but do you even really want to teach during that time? Especially in August and September, the kids don't have much perspective. They can't think past lunch or Friday night plans, why would they think two months down the road?

Next year I need to make some changes around that stuff. Like, be more focused and skills centered - then when we actually get into practice we won't have to work on that as much. In hindsight, this would have made life a lot easier now.

If the football team wins on Friday our game is canceled next week. I am at a moral crossroads - support my boys on the team or get my team PUMPED up. I kind of hope they win so we have some more time, but I kind of hope they lose so we can get on the court! Tonight was the first time I really got to see things come together, and it was a huge relief to some extent. I just feel super pumped up and that we are competitive, something I wasn't sure about before. I don't really care if we lose every game if we're trying hard. Well, that's half true. I do like to win, I don't know if you know that about me...but I'm kind of competitive.

GO LADY LIONS!