Post Up!

Sorry I've been MIA friends!  This basketball season is sometimes overwhelming, with tournaments all weekend long.  The upside is that we (yes, I said WE) are having a blast!  The downside?  Oh yeah, I have no TIME anymore!

Joining our team has been by far one of the best decisions we have ever made for our little guy.  Well, for now, anyway :).  We have made great new friends (as has he) and watched our little guy grow exponentially from last year.  Not only is he much more confident in his body structure (which to me would be impossible given his growth spurts are no less than 3 inches every year!), but he is much more confident in his abilities to USE his body, resulting in a much more aggressive player.

We couldn't be more proud.  Even when he makes mistakes.

We completed the third leg of our college campus tournament, which began last month at UMKC, traveled to (gag) Lawrence and ended in our fave place... Columbia!  Coop would sign up for college today if he could figure out how to get in.... particularly, Mizzou of course.  He was born for college.  He can't wait to get to college.  He doesn't care what he studies, he just wants to be there... stat.

I've learned a lot about these traveling competitive teams.  We are identified as a Division 1 5th Grade team, and as such our coach enters us in the majority of the tournaments we play as such (meaning we don't play down divisions, we play equivalent teams or higher).  The result is that we are playing some of the best teams in the state most weekends.  We don't always win.  But we don't always lose, either.  We are most definitely challenged, that is for sure!  That's why I believe little guy is challenged so well - he is finally playing with and against kids at his talent level.

Our parents are fantastic.  They don't get mad or complain if we lose (well, not to or around me anyway).  They support our coaches and their efforts knowing that we have longer term goals than just this weekend's tournament.  We are all winning, even when we are not.

This weekend though, just to take the edge off a bit, we played down in division.  To make it fair, we played up in age.  So we ended up in the 6th grade Division 2 and 3 group.  Coach didn't say of course, but I believe he was giving us a break... asking us to drive 2 1/2 hours away, pay for hotel rooms and food and playing the same ole same ole tough teams would have been a harder pill to swallow.  This way we still had competition of course, but we were given a better shot of winning more.

The Lone Star actually let these monsters in... :)

Pool time at the hotel with the team

Winning we did... but not without work!  We played four games in two days, ending the tournament run in 1st place.  The kids were ecstatic.  And so were the parents. 

Campus Challenge Tiger Classic Champions!

A weekend off and we will be back to fighting hard for movement in our tournament bracket.

It's time for soccer sign ups but since they are going to overlap, little guy has elected to sit that season out.  He is absolutely loving basketball and can't imagine trying to do both.  Me either... these p's are TIRED!  But not as much as little guy of course!

Have a great Tuesday, friends!

Jen