Basketball Season

As you all know, this is a busy time of year for us. Jared is very busy with basketball. He has practices every day after school except for Tuesdays and Thursdays when he has games. If there is an away game, then the parents of the players usually provide a sack lunch or snack for the boys and the coaches and the bus driver.
One day, Jared comes home with this gigantic rice crispy treat in the shape of a basketball. Jared had fun snacking on that treat for a couple of days. He loves rice crispy treats.
But we weren't just busy with Jared's basketball schedule, Mackenzie had a schedule of her own too! Every Monday she would have basketball practice. They were run ladders, dribble, practice passing the ball, and shooting the ball. This is her team. The team was made up of kindergartners through Second graders. She was the only girl kindergartner, and the little blond boy in the front row, far right was the other kindergartner. His name was Beau.
Now I am going to tell you that at first Mackenzie hated basketball. I was hesitant to start her in basketball so early because I didn't want to push her into it. Jared was insistent that she started. He figured that we could start her and if she liked it, then she had an early lead, if she didn't, then we could give her a few years break and start her again. So he signed her up. She hated it, saying, "girls don't play basketball!" (We had been going to the high school basketball games for the boys. She would watch the boys play ball, and the girls dance teams perform during the half times or the cheerleaders cheer on the sidelines. In her mind, she was right, girls didn't play ball.) We quickly remedied that by attending the girls basketball games. She was in awe! After going to a girls game, I asked if she like basketball now, and she happily replied that she loved basketball! (Phew!!!)
So I will tell about the pictures below, and I will add what I think Mackenzie is thinking in parentheses.


("I am so glad coach benched me! This is my favorite position to play!) In truth, I really do think she liked to be benched, she would trot up and down the court, but the minute coach said she could sit, she would run like the wind to the bench. :) Funny!

The coaches would line the kids up and then put on matching colored bracelets on the kids so they knew who they were suppose to guard.

("I like it when I get the purple bracelet...la de da...guard who? I don't know what guard means!")

("I love my hair in pony tales! I love to twist my hair around. What! Huh? I hear dad saying to turn around and guard my person...what?")

The refs for the games are just the local basketball players from the high school or Jr. High. They were really good about making sure that every one had a chance to touch the ball either by passing it in, dribbling it, or shooting it. The refs would back the other kids away so that everyone had a chance with the ball.

Out of all the skills needed to play the game of basketball, Mackenzie is actually very good at dribbling. Most kids just run the ball up the court with one or two dribbles, but Mackenzie was diligent in dribbling the whole way up. It took like a full minute to do this...but she was super cute doing it!

("I love to dribble...la de da....dribble, dribble, dribble. Ooops, it got away from me. Start over...la de da!)

Mackenzie would normally just stand in the back and stare back at us longingly, like she really wanted to go. If the ball came near her, she would flinch and duck!

And most times, she was the last one down the court. She sure did love to trist her hair. I sometimes wouldn't put her hair up to see if she would stop playing with it, but the alternative was worse, she would constantly pick her nose and then eat whatever she found.

("Hey, where is everyone going? Huh, oh, everyone is down there on the other side of the court. I am a butterfly, skip, hop, trot, trot, trot!)

In the second to last game, Mackenzie finally made her first basket! The whole gym cheered for her. By that point in the season, the parents of the other kids could see that she was...humm, how do I put this delicately....really bad at the game. :) Mackenzie was so excited, I was excited, Jared was excited. She talked about it for a week afterwards of how she made a basket during her game. It was so so so cute! Jared had worked at it with her during her Monday practice and she was having such a hard time getting the ball high enough to even go over the rim. But finally, they did it! Mackenzie made another basket during her last game too. We are super proud of her! We're super proud of her even if she didn't make a basket. She was really fun to watch!



("I'm suppose to get this heavy ball all the way up there? You've got to be kidding me! Well, I'll just throw it up and then skip over to the other line...la de da....")

Jared and I think it was a fun season for her, she ended up liking basketball, and Lexi is anxious for her chance to start basketball next year.