The Oldest 5th Grader in History

Gotta get this down while still fresh...

Last night was travel game night, playing a team I had never seen. Started with an idiot parent dunking on a 8ft insert at our gym after the 4th grade game ended. FYI - not made for that.

So as this town (population 1.5x my little burg) warms up, I am struck by #4. Now we are a 5th grade team. The kind with 5th graders. Y'know, kids.

#4 is a man. Literally.
Stands about 5'6". OK, I've seen tall kids in 5th grade.
Has really hairy legs.
And the beginnings of a moustache.
And muscalature. Biceps. No baby fat at all.

If we were playing an 8th grade team, I would think he was a left-behind 16 year old.

So I have to ask to see his birth certificate (as is my right). Holy crap, WWIII just started. Father starts yelling, other fathers start yelling, blah, blah, blah. No BC. They want to see all of mine. "OK, here they are."

So I want to see all of theirs. No gots. Refs call limp-d*%k league official. I can file a protest if I like. Whatever.

Anyway, think I saw the kid driving a semi over the Tappan Zee this morning. Probably getting to his 5th grade class!

A Sunday of Baseball

Going to a local collectibles (flea) market in a bit. Boys looking for baseball cards mostly.

Speaking of baseball, lots on tap today! 11U team will practice outdoors at 2:30PM. Forecast is looking sunny and 43. So as long as the junior ninjas dress warm, we should be good. I would say it's 50-50 that somebody shows up in short sleeves though.

Then at 5:45, my 13U squadron of death-dealers has an indoor workout, mostly throwing and catching. Also get the pitchers 35-45 throws so we can build up arm strength. First year at 60'6" can be daunting if you don't have decent pitching. I think we do. MPO is that we are built for big field. Everything we have worked on since these guys were 9 and 10 has been meant to be ready for now and beyond. Hope I'm right!

In basketball news, my 5th grade team won the other night against a team that beat us by 13 the first time we met. Using our full-size court (vs. their tiny hoopdy court) we were able to control game well. That team is now 4-6, could just as easily be 6-4 or 7-3 with a couple of breaks. Now we get to random part of schedule where I play 6 games over next 6 weeks. Gotta try to stay sharp through this.

Tough Decision

Sometimes you have to think clear and make a decision that is staring you in the face...

So truth be known, SoulSlam is enjoying coaching basketball less and less. From the parents who complain to the (rec) coaches who play do or die basketball, I've not really had a great time this season. I think the kids are great, always will.

So SoulSlam has to make a decision. And right now, it looks like this will be my last as a basketball coach. I don't know if this is making me sad or some other factors, but the doldrums are here. Oh well...

So I will finish out my commitment (about another 6 weeks) and do my best to stay sane. At least I'll always have baseball!

Oven-like

At a local HS while OSSS has an interview for one of the HS Academies. Sitting in hallway. Wow it's hot in here.

Got One

Despite our efforts to let the other team win last night, they ran out of time and we got the W. Score was 34-31.

With 90 seconds to go and up by 5, with clear instructions to "hold the ball, kill the clock" - a player decided he would rather play basketball his way and drove the basket for a missed layup and a subsequent fastbreak and 2 pts by other team. A foul and a free throw later, we are up by 2. With 37 seconds left, I tell the team to kill the clock for 37. So what does my BEST PLAYER do? He runs the length of court for a missed layup and a tie game when the other team scored. AAAAAARGGGGGHHHHH!

We got 3 points off a layup and a free throw to seal it. Can't wait until baseball.

OT

Lost by 2 in overtime to a team that slapped me around pretty good last year- probably lost by 30 to them then.

Small victory I guess.

Try Again

New app - didn't work yesterday! Try again they say!

Who is they?

Snow Day Saturday

Woke up to a forecasted snow...when these geniuses say 100% they are right on the money!

So our in-town leage games get cancelled and I wait to see if travel game tonight is cancelled. The league is pretty crappy, so I'm sure they won't make a decision and leave it to coaches.

Had baseball practice last night. My 13U team was mostly there, missing two; one for illness and one went to SF to see the Giants lose. Overall I like my team, it's how they respond on big field that will make or break. OSSS will be ready though, and for the father in me, that is all that matters.

The Bliss of NJ

Got home around 8:30PM Thursday. Huge accident at EWR parking lot almost slowed me down.

Couple of thoughts on Canada:

The complimentary breakfast was horrific. I actually spit out the sausage.

Quite an eclectic bunch up there.

They are absolutely rabid about hockey. Dummies.

The Toronto airport is a maze of hallways and eh's.

The Wait

Waiting for a flight that is a little delayed is agonizing. You say "it'll get here soon and I can go where I need to go".

Do you really believe that, Cowboy?

Here I sit and mumble.

H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

International Man of Mystery, SoulSlam has to go to the Great White North today for an overnight jaunt for work. First time ever. Be back Thursday night, so the pod-people will be hard pressed to take this red-blooded AMERICAN!
Some things you should know:

I hate Hockey

I don't like the cold

I feel we should consider taking over Canada, paving it and making it a giant parking lot for NYC.

Awesome. Flight at 3PM. Nausea at 2:30.

P.S. - hey wikipedia, give it a break. Commies.

Proud

So you regular ol' townsfolk who follow the man (SoulSlam) know I lost by one in a lackluster effort Friday night.

Played today and lost by 6. But I couldn't be prouder. We played as tough as nails and kept it close against a team that was probably more talented and definitely quicker than us. Great to see.

We did miss 22 free throws (THAT IS NOT A TYPO!) - so we had a chance, just didn't capitalize. Enjoy MLK DAY! Gotta go watch the Packers put a whoopin' on the Giants.

Lost by 1

This week, my 5th grade travel basketball team worked 2+ hours on defensive positioning, particularly on a full court press, how to "close the door" and what to do if you do get beat (get down the court faster than the other guy, use an angle to get to a spot where you can defend again.
So what happens when we play last night? It was like we never worked on any of it. Frustrating.
Lost by 1. Actually had multiple chances with less than 30 seconds to go but fell short. I have a team that wants to drive the basket as quick as humanly possible in the 1stQ of a game, but pass and pass and pass when 12 seconds are left. My fault.
So we play a team on Sunday (that is much better than the one we played last night) and see what we got. I think some players sat a little more than usual, so maybe that will be a wakeup. We are now 2-4 record-wise.
My in-town 6-8 grade boys team will look for 1st win today. As in many rec-type sports, you got the playas and the other kids. And since we are supposed to play everybody at least 1/2 a game, it becomes a juggling act as a coach. Wish us luck.

The Eternal ?

What you may ask?

Why do parental units have to interfere with their kids' athletic endeavors?

Everybody wants to yell things from sideline counter to what I teach, yet nobody has the time (or can make the time) to get involved and do something.

Frustration x 100 is the formula.

BTW, most (make that 99%) of kids wont be professional sports stars - so let them learn something, get some exercise and excel while they can. Here's a simple little bit of SoulSlam (unscientific) deductions:

On a travel (town-type) basketball team with 10 players, approximately 4 will be able to play HS ball. Less than one will play college ball. So that guy in my town that thinks his kid the center is going to be drafted (and will most likely top out at 6'3" with no ball handling skills) will be sadly disappointed.

On a travel baseball team of 12 players, about 6 will quit by time they are 14. Field gets too big to compete. Of the 6 left, 3 will start for their HS team. Less than 1 will go beyond to college or pros. Those parents who don't want little Johnny to bunt or do anything that makes baseball what it is are in need of a talk.

Common sense never prevails.

Sports Weekend!

Besides the NFL playoffs -

My travel baseball teams start winter workouts tonight at an indoor facility, so that is always sweet. I will work for 90 minutes in the tunnels with about 30 kids getting their swings back. I am dedicating myself to what I do best this season - HITTING! And take it from Coach; if you can hit, they will find a position for you!

Got a little in-town hoops with my 6-8 Grade Boys team tomorrow at 6PM. I have some strong players and some not so strong players. Gotta play everybody at least half a game, so it's how you rotate the boys that counts. First game.

Sunday my 5th Grade travel team goes to a neighboring (upscale) burg to play our 6th game of season, and hopefully get us to .500 with the W. We played Wednesday night against a team that beat us in December and put the hammer on them, winning 45-31. A real team win. I do have some parental issues now; a parent who shall remain nameless complained about my "yelling" at her kid. To be fair, I "yell" at all the kids. Whatever. I have a new rule. I don't talk to parents anymore, and your kid can sit the bench when he won't listen or do what I ask.

Audi.

Back to Work

After a nice vacation. Happy. I. Am. Not.