13U battles hard against Lanakila

Second game in two days for our 13U, lost to Lanakila by about 12 or 15. (I'll have the final score after the video is done uploading.) Was 16-15 at the half, but their depth and height wore us down. Didn't have Jaren today and that had a big effect on our rebounding. But I'm proud of you guys. We hung in there with just seven guys and kept battling.

Sifo and Kyle gave all they had under the boards against their big guys. Lanakila rotated 5 in and 5 out, used their depth well. But even though we are just getting started as a team, I really felt this was a winnable game until we got fatigued.

We'll do much better with more practice time and experience. The chemistry is developing each day. We might be the youngest team in our division, but I know we're going to be a good team soon enough.

And speaking of improving, I'm opening up the 15U roster and adding Sifo, Kyle, Jared, Micah and Jerson to the lineup. This will give these hard-working 13U players some valuable experience against older teams. It will also fortify our 15U roster, which is important since some of the 15U guys have been missing practices. 

At least with the 13U who will also play 15U, we add more talent and, in time, good chemistry. I'm pretty stoked about this idea. Sifo is one of the guys who is quickly emerging as a great leader, very much in the mold of one of our now-graduated leaders, Drew Viena. Quiet, always encouraging his teammates and plays hard, 100% to the end. 

That's right. It's good to acknowledge when we've been blessed, and our 13U has so many good kids and parents. When we were struggling to put this team together less than two weeks ago, I didn't imagine it would be this fun.