This past weekend I got the chance to travel down to Ohio to watch my niece play a couple of basketball games with @mrsbozz. It's a bit sad to think that this is the last year we will get to watch her play basketball, but honestly, I think mentally she has already moved past this phase of her life.
Her heart has always been with softball and although she is quite skilled and she enjoys the game, basketball is more something she does to stay in shape for softball season. That doesn't mean she doesn't give it 110% when she is out on the court. She is a defensive beast and she absolutely kills it.
Unfortunately, her team isn't quite as good as they have been in past years and they lost both games this past weekend. I actually think they could be a lot better than they are if they just had a bit more discipline and better coaching. I've talked with @dbooster and @dkid14 about this lately and there seems to be a "let the players do what they want" kind of mentality across the board these days.
Thankfully, that mentality hasn't hit the NCAA yet, but it has pretty much proliferated across the NBA and as young players look up to those NBA players, they have been following suit.
I'm not saying I know enough about basketball to coach, but my wife does, and I have a feeling if that were to ever happen, we would have some pretty upset parents hounding us. I don't think either of us would stand for the mentality that "our child is the best and they are going to go pro one day".
The home game on Friday afternoon was a "youth night" game, so they had all the little students from the elementary school basketball program in attendance. After they game they got a poster of the varsity squad and they could take it through the line for the players to sign.
It's a special moment for both the young students and the players.
I forgot to mention that my niece is one of three captains on her team this year. She has always been a bit shy, so it is cool to see her taking on a leadership role like that. She is growing into quite an amazing young lady!
The second game we attended was a bit closer than the first one thanks to a buzzer beating three point shot at the end of the game by none other than my niece. Unfortunately, as I said, it still wasn't quite enough to get them the win. They still played hard and that is all you can ask for I guess.
As I said though, with a little better coaching, I think they could be a pretty decent team. Unfortunately, with the season half over, they are likely past that point now.
I haven't been able to do as many of these posts as I usually do or as I was hoping to do through the year. It seems the streaming camera at my nieces school is broken and the athletics director has no inclination to get it fixed any time soon. Which reminds me, I need to cancel that subscription. No point paying for something that doesn't work right?
This is likely one of the last times we will make it down to Ohio during the basketball season to see our niece play. She's probably okay with that quite honestly, but you better believe come softball season we will be back down there again!
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