"The Last Gathering....."

Well we closed out our regular season with a pizza party and a few "unexpected" events....It' been an interesting season and I am sure that I will have some things to keep with me for many years to come...(some of which I may actually enjoy...)  ;)

                                                 

There are always going to be certain "events" that should demand "special" recognition after a season...I like to think of them as "Uniquely Valuable Player Awards"....Here are some of those special recipients this season....

In the catagory of, "MOST EFFECTIVE PLAYER FOR THE "OTHER" TEAM...." The award goes to..............
- Clayton "I-sco-fo-yo-team" O'Neal...(executing a perfect steal and lay-up....Unfortunately, the basket he decided to shoot at, which in his defense, was much closer, was not ours!)

In the catagory of, "BEST CHARGE TAKEN WITH ABSOLUTELY NOBODY AROUND"...."
The honored recipient is.....
- Logan "where-be-my-feet" Benefiel: Who' display of "grace" and "elegance", decided he wanted to "take a charge", while by himself....(by falling down on the court...) And to show it was no fluke, he did it twice!

The award for, "BEST IMPERSONATION OF A VERY LARGE ANIMAL WHILE RUNNING...."
- Nathan "Clydesdale" Ennis: Never before have I heard such a sound on the hardwood by just a single person...(I thought for sure this horse had "thrown a shoe...")

The award for, "HOW CAN SOMETHING SO SMALL "DO" AND "NOT DO" THAT...." goes to,
- Clayton "tomato-ROLL" Baugh: This young man will not only be in my memory for his "non-basketball" related demonstrations, but probably more so in my "nightmares"....Never before had I ever witnessed such a sight as when I had the unenviable task of watching this young man "attempt" to do a "forward roll"...(How one so small, be so uniquely, how shall I say,...."Eli-esque" is beyond my imagination, but he was...And if that wasn't enough, I had to watch the "Kobayashi" of tomato eating in action prior to a recent ball game. Clayton may be "gymanastically" challenged, but when it comes to putting away tomato slices, he has no peer! (33 slices of tomato at one sitting....He only stopped because there were no more tomatoes!)

In the catagory of, "THE BEST LOOKING SHOT TO THE WORST...."
DISCLAIMER: "No consideration was given to Eli since he didn't qualify for half of this catagory...) The winner is....
- Brandon "line drive Louie" Rollings: Brandon evidently decided about half way through the season that just shooting a basketball through the hoop was "child' play", so he decided that it was much more challenging, (and yet to discover, much less effective...) to make sure when you shoot the ball, that it never gets more than 3 centimeters above the rim!

In the catagory of, "YES, I HAVE HANDS, BUUUUTTTTT..."  The winner is....
- Eli "Iron mitts" Atterson: Never before have I seen a young man treat the basketball like it was layered in butter when it came to holding on to it....
NOTE OF INTEREST: Eli recieved more votes in this catagory than, "Chunk" from "Goonies" fame, the previous record holder in this catagory...

In the catagory of, "I DON'T CARE HOW CLOSE OR FAR I AM...." The award goes to,
- Nick "fade away" Parker: Like Brandon, Nick decided the game needed to be modified to become more challenging than it already is...Nick decided to take the approach of, "every shot needs to be a fade away....regardless of how close or how far! (More than once resulting in me having to utter, "your killing me Smalls..."

In the "STEVIE WONDER" catagory....the winner is, 
- David "where be my shot goin" Fiddler: Another first....to see a 2 footer leave his hand, only to land somewhere near the support beams...(A classic example of, "you wouldn't believe it if you hadn't seen it...")

Special "Honorable Mention" goes out to the following......
For "FASHION"....Jordan "Fashionista" Schaffer,  Jordan claims, "I have more fashion sense than my sister..." (An important quality you want to see in your ball players...)


For "VISUAL EFFECTS"  goes to Luke "I'm not so big" Bigger: For his amazing "disappearing" act...(I'm pretty sure at least a quarter of him  has disappeared this season..                       

The award for, "ANIMATION" goes to.....
Jordan "oh, I'm suppose to dribble before I hop..." Ross: During the county game at Honey Creek, Jordan on a couple occasions decided it was better to look like, "Bugs Bunny" than a basketball player...(I bet just because the refs didn't call it a couple times, he thought it must be "un-noticed".....NOT!

   
Finally, in the catagory of  "SOUND", the award goes to both, Bailey "Big Huh" Sherrill and Trevor "What? I Didn't hear ya...." Roskovensky....This catagory was too close to call. They both performed the same ALL season long when it came to "hearing"....

This was a good season....We even learned a little bit along the way. We learned "how to compete" as well as "what we still need to do to be more competitive". There is always something good to look forward to if you strive to be better tomorrow than you were today...  :)

 

"2nd Season Practice Sched."(01/23-28) REVISED

Monday:        3:25-5:00 (New gym)
Tuesday:        No Practice (County tournament @ Honey Creek)
Wednesday:  No Practice
Thursday:      5:00-6:30 (New gym)
Friday:          No Practice
Saturday:      8:00 - 10:00 (Old gym....2nd season players)

All future posts will be on the "2nd Season blog"

Game 14: Honey Creek 43 West Vigo 23

Well it wasn't exactly the way I was hoping things would end up, but "it is what it is..." so they say. It was just one of those nights that you don't want to see the "wheels falling off", but we did what we could and it just wasn't enough.

There are so many things that I think we were capable of doing better this year, but we played hard in every game and as the season went along we made progress and that' all (as a coach) that you really want to see. We made strides in the right direction and good things started happening for us. Here are a few of the "positives" that we can take away from this season....

1.) "We DID get better as the season went along..." 
- We lost to Wilson our 1st game of the season by 40 points! The 2nd time, we lost by 10 and we had them concerned enough to put some starters back in at the end of the game....
- We lost to Sarah Scott by 21 the 1st time and then we lost by 10 to them the 2nd go round...
- We lost to Otter Creek by 18 the 1st time and 9 the 2nd time...
- We lost to Honey Creek all 3 times we played them this year, by 32 the 1st time, 30 the 2nd time and then 20 tonight...
- We beat Chauncey both times. The 1st by 24 and the 2nd by 19...We won the games we should win.
- We picked up a nice win against Crestwood, winning that one by 6, with our highest point total of the season, scoring 54.

2) "We learned a lot of basketball...."
The bible says, "where much is given, much is required..." and I know I poured out a ton of new things for you guys to try to absorb in a short period of time during the season. But as the above shows, you guys were able to take some big steps this year and for those of you that are planning on playing at the high school level, you now have a head start going foward. The goal for me is always to give you as much of an advantage as I can so the transition into next season will be as smooth as possible. Much of what we implemented this year is what Coach Boehler and his staff will be using. This is going to allow you to move forward at a much faster pace than those that didn't participate this season. (It is especially important for all of you that are planning on playing next season to be a part of the off-season opportunities. We will have camp again AND "Open gym" opportunities that will be extremely beneficial to you. Make it a point to be there when the gym times are available....)

3) "We learned how to compete..."
This was as important as anything we did this year. When you guys first came in, I knew that was going to be the biggest obstacle I had to work through with you guys. As I told you from the beginning, it wasn't going to be about, "wins and losses", but rather, "learning" how to compete...the sacrifices needed....the WILL that it would take to get rid of the attitudes of "accepting defeat before you compete"....I watched this team literally turn itself around during the year. We went from being a "door mat" for everyone to walk over, to a team that the others didn't take for granted. That is a credit to each and everyone of you for "buying into" what I was trying to do. I know it wasn't easy at 1st, (and I told you it wouldn't be...) but all of you worked hard and truly became a much more competitive basketball team.

I am looking forward to the "2nd Season" and into the off-season opportunities as well.

"Thank you" for letting me be a part of this journey with you guys...  :)

Finally, I would like to have a pizza party for you guys on Saturday, around 2:00. Please let me know as soon as possible, (by text or f/b "message") so I can make sure I get something booked in.

Player Profile..."Trevor Roskovensky"

"Rosco" has been a young man I have admired this year. He has shown me that there are still young men that are willing to work hard even if the reward isn't immediate.

Rosco was faithful during our conditioning this season as well as during the Boys Club season. One of the hardest decisions I had to make this year was not to include him on our 12 man roster for the school season. But Trevor never missed a beat! (I told those that didn't make the team that I would keep 2 more players on the roster as "manager/practicing" players. Trevor was all over that! He has continued to work hard and is going to be a part of our "2nd Season" team that will begin tournament play in a few weeks.

I can honestly say I am as proud of Trevor for "hanging in there" as I am of any player on this years team....Trevor is an awesome young man and with this type of work ethic, he will go far in any endeavor he sets out to accomplish....   :)

"Practice/Game schedule..." (01/23 - 28)

Monday:        3:25-5:00 (New gym)
Tuesday:        No Practice (County tournament @ Honey Creek)
Wednesday:  3:25 - 5:00 (Old gym..."When" we win on Tues.)
Thursday:      No Practice  (County Championship @ North)
Friday:          No Practice
Saturday:      8:00 - 10:00 (Old gym....2nd season players)

"REMINDER......"

Tomorrow night is the "Recognition Night" for the middle school athletes during half-time of the varsity basketball game. As I told you earlier, I have a wedding tomorrow and will not be attending, however Coach Nevill will be there and has said he will help out as needed. As we discussed already, please make sure that Coach Nevill' concerns are kept at a minimum...(Also, when you line up, do so as if for the National Anthem as previously discussed.)

I know that Trevor will be unable to attend. If there is anyone else not able to be present, please let me know so that I can let Coach Nevill know as well....

In advance, "Have fun"...., (just not too much fun...)  ;)

"Practice cancelled....."

Due to the projected bad weather and icy road conditions to begin this afternoon and evening, there will be "NO PRACTICE" tonight or tomorrow a.m.