A Month of Basketball

We signed the girls up for a basketball camp put on by the Gonzales High School girls' basketball team.  Since the girls have only played soccer with a group from church before, we figured this would be a nice way for them to learn about basketball to see if they like playing.  Plus, the camp lasted for only 4 weeks - 2 practices and 2 games a week.  I figured we could handle that.  

Shelby played with the 4th-6th graders.  There was a huge range of skills.  Some girls had obviously played competitive ball before because they dribbled and shot WAY better than anyone else.  Fortunately, they did try to focus on learning basic skills and basic fundamentals, but at game time with the score being taken and the games run by the high schoolers, all of that focus went away.  I think Shelby liked some aspects of playing, but it was definitely a good experience for her.  She wanted to give up on some of the drills, but by the last practice and games she had learned to just keep going, even when your legs are screaming for you to stop.  She also toughened up throughout, and in the end she was able to do stuff she struggled with in the beginning. She definitely needs to be more aggressive, but hopefully if we practice on dribbling and other basics, then that will develop.  This was the first time that this camp had been held, so it was a learning experience for the coaches who oversaw the camp.  I think we'll give it a try next year too.

 

Back Row: Coach, Lindsay, Shelby, Mallory, Coach Tameka
Front Row: Piper, Rayna

Running horses

Shooting a free throw ... she almost can get it to the rim.

Going after the ball, but the other girl going after it played competitively before, so Shelby got beat, but she tried!

Defending another 4th grader

Taylor got to play with the1st-3rd graders.  Again, there was a wide range of skills.  Taylor's coaches were really good at practices on helping them learn to dribble with both hands, dribble as you move, pass the ball, and shoot the ball.  At the end of practice, her team would scrimmage with another team, but unfortunately the girls didn't get any instructions on how to play in a game, so the games ended up a little crazy and a bit rough.  The games were very entertaining to watch because many of the girls would forget to dribble and would run around with the ball trying to find the right spot to shoot.  Unfortunately by the end of the season Taylor noticed she wasn't getting any chances to play during the games.  It really bothered her and hurt her feelings, so by the last games she started to refuse to participate in the middle of the game.  The game even stopped once as she got bonked and started crying.  It was hard to watch her being ignored, but fortunately a girl on her team realized what was happening and tried hard to get the Taylor the ball.  The last game was the hardest for Taylor, but it was a good learning experience for her.  Hopefully if we work on her dribbling and passing, she'll be more comfortable and more aggressive next year so that she will be included more next year.

She'd practice passing, but in the games she would try to just hand the ball to someone ... haha!

Dribbling was a new thing for her; she'd start dribbling high and then slowly the ball would bounce less and less until it was on the ground and she'd pick it up to try again.

The coaches worked hard with her to get the ball to the reach the rim.  A few times she'd get so close.  We need to keep working on this.

She was an awesome defender and did a good job staying with her man and having her hands up.  

 

Unfortunately, the better players on her team didn't give her hardly any chances during the game, but a sweet girl on her team saw Taylor's disappointment and worked hard to get the ball to Taylor whenever she could.

The girls were all surprised with trophies at the end.  

 

Coach Francesca, Taylor, and Coach Taylor
They were really sweet with Taylor, and she enjoyed having them as her coaches.