Basketball season has come to an end! I have to say, we all really enjoyed basketball season this year. The program was run really well, the girls grew exponentially with their skills, and we all got to make some really nice friends. I'm sad that it had to come to an end (and I reeeeeally miss the indoor games and practices as I'm now sitting out in the cold/rain at soccer...)
Anyways, this blog post is about Sydney. Sydney had only played one season before this one, and during that season (3rd grade), she didn't get a ton of playing time... she was put on a team that had, for the most part, been together for a couple of years and had some really strong players. Luckily, she learned some basic skills that she could bring with her to her 4th grade team. I say "luckily" because holy cow- some of these 4th graders are ballers! I guess if they've played since the age of 4/5, and they're now 9/10, they've had some decent experience. Sydney's two closest friends are the two best players in the 4th grade, which is both good and bad... good, in that they play together all the time and they can teach her, but bad in that she can get a little frustrated that she's not at their level.
They had two 4th grade girls' teams at her school, and the two "best" players were split up. One team had about 5-6 players that had been together before, while Sydney's team had maybe 3 that had been together before. So their team was relatively new to each other. (Oh, and to give a perspective... up until this year, there had been one team at the school for this particular grade, and they were 40-0 since Kindergarten- league championship games included!)
Their first game... they lost by TWO! The three girls who had never lost before (who were on the previous team) were heartbroken. I am pretty sure in this game, Finley (the point guard and really strong player) scored all but maybe two points.
After that game, the girls went on a roll and won several in a row. They were finding their groove and improving each game! Finley was still the high point scorer, but other girls were contributing at this point, including Sydney! Everything was improving- their shots, their dribbling skills, rebounding, their passing... it was super fun to watch.
Izzy & fam came to watch a game!
A big win!
At the end of the regular season, they had won all but one other game. The other game they lost was against a team that was really strong. They beat us something like 34-16! (which, in elementary school basketball, if you can score 30+ points, you're doing pretty well). Sydney's team's final record was 8-2, enough to score second place in their division (behind the team mentioned above).
Playoffs arrive... Sydney had to face a team they didn't play in the regular season. (There are probably around 30 different teams in 4th grade alone and 4 divisions). We have become friends with the assistant coach and one of the girls on the opposing team through Sydney's new soccer team. We had heard they were a strong team, but we ended up beating them 20-6! It was a really great game.
Sydney and her soccer buddy, Addison.
Next round of the playoffs... guess who we had to face? Yep, the team that beat us 34-16. NOOO! Stephen was in California, so he had asked me to "Facebook Live" the game. (I totally had to ask people how to even do that ;) It was SUCH an exciting game. We actually led or were tied the whole game, until... 9 DANG SECONDS left, they made a basket and went up by 2. We couldn't retaliate. The final score was 21-19. It was heartbreaking! It was great that it was such a close game that could've gone either way, but it meant the season was now over for them. Oh, the tears! (This team went on to win the championship this year- it was well deserved on their part, and I'm super glad our team came as far as they did to almost beat them!)
Sydney has discovered a love for basketball. She plays basketball outside everyday (well, when it's not monsooning) and has gained some great skills. Super proud of her! Can't wait until next year.
