The Mills Gang: Young Guns

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Young Guns

London was asked to play basketball this year with one of her friends from her class. The season is short-November to February. Her team is called the Young Guns. The girls are cute and they all love to play. They practice every Wednesday and they work hard. I have tried to teach London about the love of basketball. I played in elementary and in middle school and loved the sport. I probably would have kept pursuing it but I was introduced to cheerleading and I never turned back. But basketball is what I know. It's fast, it's challenging, it's easy to follow, it's so fun! The league consists of 1st and 2nd graders so many of these girls have never played. When we met the coaches, they were all about teaching the girls to have fun. They worked on some skills, practiced some dribbling, and shot a few baskets. We went into the first game thinking it was going to be cute and light and fun. Well, that quickly changed when the other team stole the ball away from us like we were standing still, dribbled down the court like college girls, and went down for a lay up and made it. The cuteness suddenly wore off. I'm not sure what happened to me that first game. A monster emerged. I yelled, coached, screamed, and acted a fool. Thank goodness I was not alone. You should see the other parents. I consider myself a calm, level headed woman, but when my daughter is out there on the court, a demon takes over and I'm suddenly a different person. You would not recognize me.

Watching these games every Saturday has made me want to coach---bad. I just wish I had a partner in crime to do it with me. Sister? You moving back anytime soon?? I feel like I could do it. The other teams run plays and know what rebound means. It takes our entire team to bring the ball down the court. It's the most frustrating thing I have ever been apart of.

London has come a long way this season. She has improved with her dribbling and her shooting. We had our last game today and they actually won! I have been explaining the difference between offense and defense all week long. London would usually spend the whole game guarding her girl---even when her team had the ball. Today was the first time, it clicked, and she knew when to play defense and when to get open for the ball.

Playing a game every Saturday has been a lot. I guess though, this is inevitable with sports. The team has improved a lot and they should be very proud of themselves. It's funny to watch the other parents too. What is it about sports that brings out animals in so many of us? Anyway, I brought my camera to two games and tried to capture some action.

Getting warmed up.