Up next

First, I'm so glad we didn't forfeit our two games on Saturday. In fact, with a soccer player (K.J.) and just six players, we had the Kapolei Huskies right where we wanted them. Down 24-21 at halftime despite not playing well, I felt good. But the second half was all Huskies, so props to them. We ran out of gas, were rusty, short on rebounders, etc. But they earned it and I give them respect.

Our third-place game, sorry I had to go to work during the second half, guys. We were right there with Saint Louis. Very beatable team. But I'm happy overall with our mostly 15-under team doing this well without hardly any rest and reserves.

This morning, in CAL League, we looked good in spots, but overall we were drained from the tourney. Again, we were short on numbers. Bryson and Anfernee would've had nice games today, and without them, we had to put the burden on some new players, John and Alec, who did fairly well.

WE NEED TO PRACTICE AS A TEAM. This is the least, by far, that we've had team practices since the Thunder were born in the summer of 2010. The results are reflecting the lack of practice time. I'm not sure how much further I'd be willing to go on unless we show some cohesiveness and unity by showing up for practice in numbers beyond 2 or 4 players.

I don't expect perfection, but I do expect you to give yourself the best opportunity to improve as a player and as a teammate. The next tourney is Aiea's 15U starting Wednesday. We will not have some of our Maryknoll players; they start school that day. But the rest of us who were there for last week's 17U, I expect you there for practice on Monday and Tuesday at Makiki Park. We have LOT OF POTENTIAL, but without working together and doing reps as a team and individually, it's just hype. I'd like to see us turn our potential into success.

The schedule for the 15U tourney is on hold because the Kapolei Rebels dropped out and they were supposed to be our first game. I'll keep you posted on the change.

I'm pumped for the tourney. We have a chance to do quite well based on how we did against older teams last week. We were right there, close and competitive. But we need to improve day by day at practice. Let's do it!

I love this game.

Schedule

Monday, 4:30 p.m., Practice, Makiki Park

Tuesday, 4:30 p.m., Practice, Makiki Park

Wednesday, 5:00 pm, Thunder vs. TBA (Kapolei Rebels dropped out)

Thursday, 5:00 pm, Thunder vs. Monstarz

Friday, 5:45 pm, Thunder vs. Pearl City Chargers

Saturday, 1:45-6:00 pm, playoffs

Sunday, 10:10 am, Thunder vs. Sharks, CAL League, Kilauea Gym