Basketball

 

Celeste and Eddie are playing basketball this year. They’ve never played before, so it’s all new for us, but there is a program called Upward Sports that has all different sports in the area. They are held at different churches and private schools in the area. We heard about it from our neighbors who have a son the same age as Eddie. He was going to be starting and they called to tell us about it so we could put Eddie in if he wanted. Technically Gordon turned four before the season started, so he could have played also, but we decided to keep him out this year and start next year. I don’t know if it was a good idea or not, but we’ll definitely put him in next year!

The kids had their first game on Saturday. Celeste is the only girl on her team and probably the youngest or one of the youngest, so she doesn’t get the ball much and she can hardly get the ball to the basket, but she really works hard and hustles to get where she is supposed to be. The age group she is in is 3rd or 4th grade through 6th grade. She was a little nervous about her first game, but now that it is over, it wasn’t so bad and I love that for the most part, the parents are good sports and clap and cheer for everyone, so kids like Celeste can feel good about doing their best, even if it isn’t as good as the other kids.

Eddie’s team is adorable! The kids are working on dribbling the ball and staying in bounds on the court. Every once in a while they make a basket, but they aren’t keeping score. Our neighbor kept score and said our team won 8-4 or something like that, but the score board was only used for the time and not the score. Eddie, along with most of the kids, love chasing whoever has the ball. These kids are so new at this that the coaches are even allowed to be out there on the court to keep the kids from hurting each other and help them learn to pass, throw and dribble the ball during the game. It was really funny. I can’t wait for Gordon to start next year.

(Eddie is yellow #4)

The church school that is sponsoring it is the Evangel Church. The kids earn stars to iron on their shirts by memorizing scriptures, showing good sportsmanship and being Christ-like. They also have little devotionals during their practice time and during half-time of the games, they had a bible story and activity. I don’t mind it at all. I like that they pray before the games and they talk about how Jesus loves them and wants them to be happy. My kids may not need that kind of stuff from basketball because we talk about it at home and church, but there are kids there who do need it. For some of those kids, it’s the only place they hear that Jesus loves them, so I’m okay with it.

So, for the next couple of months, our Thursday evenings are taken and our Saturday mornings are busy, but the kids are learning new things and making new friends and I love it!