Logan's team entered a tournament this last weekend and went bananas. We got in at the last minute. The tournament director called our coach and asked if he could get his team there. One thing leads to another and we got put in for a team that had withdrawn after the brackets were already set up. Thing is, it was a little easier bracket than what we are used to.
The boys played 4 games. Won them all: 42-12, 30-10, 33-6, 34-17.
They have been an utterly reborn team ever since 6 of them lost that rec game. Prior to that, our boys played pretty tentatively for about the first 8 minutes of each game. It always cost us. Sometimes we won in spite of it.
Granted, the teams we've played have been weaker, but our boys have been coming out from the tip-off lately. It's good to see. Logan also had his best game of the year: 8 points and 8 rebounds.
It's hard to get Logan motivated for baseball when the basketball season is still going on. I've heard a few other parents talk about this. Mentally, our kids have trouble shifting gears from one sport to another when the season is going on. I'm not sure whether to chalk this up to being only into basketball or simply not being into baseball, period.
I guess we'll see once the season starts. On the other hand, Logan looks exceptionally sharp in preseason workouts. I just met his coach and the guy seems awesome! Pitched Div I ball before his shoulder blew out. Is very into the Sylvania and Northview baseball scene. I think a little change of scenery is exactly what Logan needs.
With any luck, this year, he'll see how fun baseball can be. If that doesn't happen, oh well. Football season is just around the corner. After all this time, if he's just not into baseball, I'm okay with him playing rec just for fun or doing a different sport, entirely.
I have told him that he's good at basketball, but much, much better at baseball. At this point, he loves basketball far more, though. So, we spoke the other night and I pointed out that one of the reasons he's better at baseball is that he's put so much more work into it. If he works that hard at basketball, there's no reason why that can't be his best sport.
We'll see how it goes. I think the suburban kids are at a disadvantage because there aren't constantly games going on all Summer long. I told him that if he really wants to improve, though, he needs to spend this Summer riding his bike around the neighborhood to very kid he knows who plays cage and getting them to play with him as often as possible.
I'll do what I can for him. At this point, though, it's getting to where I can't do it for him anymore. I bought a pitching machine and threw tennis and baseballs with him in the driveway while waiting for the bus for years to give him an early advantage in baseball.
From here on out, the kids who do great will be the ones who spend hours hitting a ball off a tee in the basement. It will be the kids who take a bucket of baseballs out into the yard and pitch them at a hanging tire. It'll be the kids who spend hours a day practicing their jump shot. Even at 10, I can help a little, but if he really wants to succeed, it'll have to come from him.
No comments:
Post a Comment