Upward Basketball x THREE!

This year the Zoo Crew’s THREE youngest played Upward Basketball at the local Baptist church. Ben and Matthew have played in seasons past, but this time the Abbinator was able to join the fun, too! We had wonderful Saturdays watching the beasties bloom into real players of the sport!

Abbey played on a co-ed kindergarten team. No weekly practices, just weekly game times. For the first half hour each Saturday, the kids did drills designed to give them great fundamental skills. Some of the drills were as easy as follow the leader around the court boundaries to learn the lines. When the drills were over, the teams gave game play a go. WHAT A BLAST to watch!

We called it “Riverdance Basketball” because the kids would prance around using their best dancing feet. Some of them would forget to dribble and just race to the basket with the ball. Wonderful fun, truly! Abbey’s best trick? Stopping on the court to engage in deep conversation with her friend & teammate, Lewis. You can check out more pictures of Abbey’s team by following this link: Upward Penguins 2010

Ben was fortunate to play under the same coach as last year. The Lions are a rowdy bunch of 1^st and 2^nd graders, but thanks to Coach Mike, they managed to come together to play fairly well! Ben is, I think, grasping the basics of the game and starting to be able to really see the game as a whole. He’s a great dribbler and FAST, too….when he wants to be!

This team played tough and kept their spirits high, even when faced with really tough opponents.

Based on this season, I’m really looking forward to watching the Benster next year…it’s all gonna click and he’s gonna make one heck of a ball player! For more Lions action, follow this link: Upward Lions 2010

Which brings me to Matthew Man. WOW! This was HIS “light went on” year. Defensively, my boy-o managed to shut down a couple of the league’s high scorers, keeping his opponents to uncharacteristically low scores. He learned better ball control and gained a greater degree of accuracy with his shots. We’re still working on mastering body control, but this kid AMAZED us all with his “come from nowhere” mad skillz. He was a wonderful example of genuine compassion and sportsmanship, too. As one coach put it, "he takes 'em down, then helps 'em up!"

As for his team this year…what a wonderful bunch of young men. Seriously, we had the nicest team on and off the court! I sincerely hope we are able to get them back together again. And the games? It was so much fun to watch these guys play—win, lose or draw! At this age, they keep score and put it up on the big board. We had a couple of crazy close games, including the last one! A serious nail-biter, I tell ya! Going into the final period, the Wolverines were down 20-27; the other team needed to bench the one player our guys hadn’t been able to stop. After a whole lot of back & forthing, multiple shots with multiple rebounds, a set of free throws each, the game came down to the last 30 seconds…all tied up at 27-27. We spectators were out of our chairs, cheering and encouraging; parents from the other court were even watching our game!! And there it was, with 7 seconds left, a Wolverine basket….final score of the final game…29-27 Wolverines. WHEW! I tell ya’, I was drained! Want more Wolverine Action? Click here: Upward Wolverines 2010

I’m already getting psyched for next season!!!