Hoops

Five-year-olds, five-on-five, high fives...bitty basketball was all it promised to be. I've written here about our first attempt at soccer and t-ball with mediocre to no success. But the third time was the charm and basketball was the sport for Charlie this year. Maybe it is because he is almost a full year older than when we first tried soccer (he looks so young here!), or maybe it is because he is just much more familiar with watching and playing basketball.  Whatever the reason, our experience with basketball this winter was fun for everyone.

We had 6 sessions, two nights a week for three weeks, and it went fast. The first three sessions were practices and the last three were games - and I use the word game very loosely!

Check out that jump shot!

I love that every time Charlie shoots he puts his entire body into it. Classic Charlie.

As I said, it was fun for all of us - Izzy included. On this particular night, Wonder Girl made an appearance at the school gym.

We were surprised at how well Charlie listened and paid attention during all the practices and games. He stood (mostly) still in line waiting his turn during practice, watched the other players and listened to his coach closely. Whenever the coach gave everyone a water break, Charlie used the few free minutes to shoot more baskets. He was very serious about it all.

Once they started playing games, Charlie figured out what it meant to play defense and he was the first one back every time. He would race down the court, stop under the basket, turn around and throw his hands up in the air - it was awesome.

Leading the not-so-fast break...

Ready to score, but wait, that is his own teammate playing defense against him. It happened a lot.

The ball is up! Charlie scored quite a few times and although I didn't get a picture of his smile after making a shot, I won't forget it.

By the time the games were over, Charlie was hot and sweaty and ready for more. This was the last game and the Bumblebees (the inspiration for this cake!) huddled for one last team talk.

The coach was really patient with the kids and good at channeling their energy. At various times throughout the one hour sessions he would have them run in circles until they could focus again. It is hard to get the fundamentals across at this age, but Charlie definitely learned from the experience.

A medal! 

Time for ball players and super heroes to head home - until next season!