H1 Thunder Basketball: Sunday reflection: 16U/17U done good

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Sunday reflection: 16U/17U done good

Sunday is almost over and it was a good time to reflect for our 17U/16U Thunder. We were almost entirely a team of 16-year-old players competing against 18-year-olds at the Aiea Tourney, but the fact is, we competed hard. To win more games, we would've needed much more practice time together, but that was almost impossible with every school practicing for summer leagues.

(I hope next year around this time, the guys who have only two practices a week with their school teams actually show up for Thunder practices while we're in leagues, and before we're in tournaments.)

Losing is rarely fun, I know. But by today, I felt strangely content about what we did, even before we played Ikaika and Mililani Rebelz. Our guys were completely running on fumes by today thanks to the summer league games we had on Thursday and Saturday. But they kept playing hard and our reserves, like Cody, pitched in a great deal. Cody's 3-point shooting stroke is back!

In the next year (and the next after that), we'll have our chance to compete for the 18U championship at the Aiea tourney. I have no doubt about that. We'll return everybody (I hope) in 2013, and almost everybody in 2014. By then, we should be immersed once again in a system of fast tempo basketball while still using the fullcourt pressure that is one of our strengths.

For all of the Thunder who played six, seven, even eight games this weekend, thank you for every drop of sweat and effort. It was fun to watch, and when it was hard, we did it together, win or lose. We keep growing as a team, maturing through every victory and loss. And, if you didn't know already, losing to older teams often helps us grow faster.

We've got 10 days until the NJB Summer Classic, if they allow me to pay the entry fees on Wednesday when I get some cash. I expect everyone in 17U and 12U to be at practice as often as possible (everyday, 3 pm) so we can be at full strength with total team chemistry by July 18. It will be refreshing for our 16U and 17U to play teams their own age again. It might even be awesome.

We had a solid practice this afternoon with mostly 13U. Got through most everything in the playbook. They're usually better prepared for games than our older teams simply because they come to more practices. It's been a lot of fun with the 13U, and with the playoffs coming up, anything is possible.

I LUB THIS GAME!

Updated Schedule

Monday, July 9

3:00 pm Shooting practice

4:30 pm Regular practice

6:30 pm 15U leave for Kilauea gym

7:00 pm 15U warmups, Kilauea gym outside court

8:00 pm 15U vs Boom, Kilauea gym