First, practice went fairly well today. Occasionally, Chris and Tanielu take the bus from Kalihi to Makiki Park. Most times, it's Kyle's dad, Roy, who picks them up after work and brings them to practice. By the time they arrived today, several of our other Thunder were at the park.
By the time we were rolling, after Sean had been working diligently on his shot and Walter arrived after two weeks in Chicago, we could go 5-on-5. We kept it simple with shooting and ballhandling drills. Then we worked on two new plays: '2 Out' and '4 Out'. The 2 Out play is for zone offense against a 1-2-2 (or 3-2). The 4 Out is for our smaller lineup(s) against man defense. It's the Princeton Continuity series, actually, and we already incorporate the principles in one of our other plays. But I'm calling it 4 Out to make it easy to remember.
The boys did a pretty good job learning the new stuff, though we had (as usual) some mental hiccups along the way. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: our 13U has better focus at practice than our 15U and 17U. It's not a slight. It's just a FACT.
That's why I'm not surprised when 13U hits the court for a game. They're prepared and handle whatever the opposing team offers. From press breaker to inbounds plays to man and zone offenses, they're smart, aggressive and cohesive. They're fun to watch AND coach. I feel blessed every day with them.
Tonight, we won our first playoff game in 13U, 41-25 over HomeGrown. The team rose to the challenge and everybody contributed. I normally don't single out players, but when they consistently come to practice and work hard, they've earned every bit of praise. Sifo was reliable in many phases of the game, as usual, the rock of the team with his ballhandling and passing, rebounding and toughness inside. He didn't hit his usual two or three treys, but we didn't need them tonight. Chris was a mountain in the middle, strong and persistent, working hard on the fullcourt press to challenge every pass his way.
Tanielu was, possibly, the smartest guy on the court again. He makes so many plays on hustle — offensive boards, making the right cuts on inbounds plays, breaking downcourt for layups after we get steals — it's hard to measure his value with only statistics. Jared was a beast tonight on the press, making great reads for steals and beautiful bounce passes for buckets.
Kyle was steady with the ball, making smart decisions on the perimeter, taking good shots and keeping turnovers fairly low. When Kyle plays well, we really catch fire as a team. His defense on the press — riding the ballhandler upcourt without fouling — plus Jared's tough D made the press really tough all game long.
The bench? Micah and Paul were solid with passing and decisions for the most part. Kodee was tough on the boards and press. Jenna's versatility is another big factor. She is tough as nails in the paint, quick enough to run the break, but also strong enough to handle the middle of the pressbreaker. It takes a lot of confidence to be that middle in the press breaker when the defense comes swarming.
Mackie was smooth. I knew she could shoot the ball, and she took advantage of almost every opportunity. Mackie, like Kodee and Jenna and the rest of the team, is a really good passer.
I love good passing, probably because I grew up watching Bill Walton, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in their primes. To see a group of 13-, 12- and 11-year-olds do it this well is almost indescribable. I saw such basic, fundamental, precise passes out there. It's a lost art, so I suppose we have a team of artists.
It gets tougher from here. The semifinals are next. But the way our team works hard each day, I know they'll be ready. That's all we can ask for as coaches. And thank the Lord each of our 13U kids play with a great joy and spirit for the game. Seeing that beats just about anything else on any level of athletics.
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