Each passing season, we lose our younger Thunder to the older divisions. Some of the guys (and gals) understand that being 13 or at least in 8th grade is the "sweet spot" in a way. You get to play in Intermediate, JV and Varsity games. That's a maximum load and it can be incredibly fun.
But it's also a new concern for me each year, not knowing what's coming next. I try not to focus to far into the future because of that, and if we have enough competitive players, we deal with the questions then. If we don't have enough, I'm OK letting it go and focusing on our 15U/JV/V.
We went from a strong group two years ago that won one tournament in Anaheim and nearly another one in Las Vegas to a mostly new bunch a year later that had very little height, but a lot of heart and speed. That crew (2014-present) has been together now for about a year and has done amazing things by playing smart, fast "small ball", easily and truly one of the top Inter teams in the state.
Now we're entering CAL 13U League (Gold Division) and the young group is in major transition. Our returnees are led by Ryan and Jonah, while the other Thunder returnees (some are 12 and younger) are also developing, learning and improving. This is basically our "Pups" team from winter season. We have some nice potential with the coming 13U group. Some very hard workers. Some others who have missed a large number of practices due to other commitments or obstacles (distance), but everybody works well together when they make it to the court.
Down the road, we might have 11U and even 9U teams, depending on commitments and time availability of our younger Thunder. There is a lot of potential.
This summer's 13U group will have fun as long as everybody listens and focuses, and plays as one team. It takes a lot of reps at practice, running plays, working on defense, ballhandling and shooting drills. It's not a secret. It's just plain hard work and intelligence that take us far. I'm looking forward to H1 Thunder 13U, Summer 2015 Edition.
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