Last night at 7 p.m., J.P.'s MBA 7th grade basketball team played a game at St. Bernard's. They won big, 68-31, as they have in most of their games. All wins and one loss, when the played Providence Christian Academy, a team with a 6'5" center who is the highest ranked 8th grade basketball player in the country.
J.P. scored six points and played good defense on St. B's best player. It's been a good basketball season for J.P., all things considered. He worked his way into the starting lineup after the first game or two and he's stayed there. He's had a couple of games where he's scored nine points. His defense and hustle have been impressive. He gets his hands on a lot of balls and probably leads the team in steals. His passing, as always, has been good, too. He sees the entire court well and plays unselfishly.
Joe, of course, loves going to J.P.'s basketball games. He intently watched the games, of course, and he's always al over the referees if he doesn't like a call. What he really enjoys, though, is shooting baskets at halftime and after the game. Last night at St. Bernard's, for example, Joe was the last person on the gym floor, shooting, when the coach was ready to lock up. I laughed and asked if I could just leave him there to shoot basketball all night and pick him up in the morning for school.
Joe's had a pretty good basketball season, too. He's one of the two better players on his team and handles the ball quite a bit. He and his friend, Pike, shoulder the scoring load. Joe turns the basketball over way too much, though, something we talk about a lot and something he's working on. His team isn't that talented and although they have been together for a few years, they're not improving like other teams and players are. That's a different story but it's been frustrating for me - and other dads - to watch.
On my way home from J.P.'s basketball game last night, he called me while I was at the grocery store. He had just gotten an e-mail from the baseball coach confirming that he had made one of the two middle school baseball teams at MBA. Apparently, after a couple of days of tryouts, the coach let several players know by e-mail that they were on the "in" list and had made the team but would be assigned to varsity or junior varsity at a later date.
J.P. was excited and I was relieved. I felt like he would make the baseball team, particularly since it's his best sport and he's been working diligently on pitching and hitting and I knew he was better than most, if not all, of the 7th graders. Still, you never know, and I just wanted it to work out for him.
When were thinking about switching him from USN to MBA, last year, one of my concerns was whether he would be able to play sports at MBA. My concerns were unfounded, as it turns out, since he's 4 - 4 now, having run cross country and making the soccer, basketball, and baseball teams. It won't always be like this, of course, and at some point he will probably need to concentrate on one or two sports. For now, I'm happy for him and excited to watch him compete.
For Joe's baseball team, Oliver and I organized workouts at D-bats - a new baseball facility in West Nashville - on Sundays from 1 - 3 p.m. Joe also is working weekly with Coach Sam at D-bats, a half hour on pitching and a half hour on hitting. He enjoys his time with Coach Sam and it's good for him, I think, to hear someone else's voice instructing him.
I won the lottery, it seems, with my boys and their love of sports. Playing sports, reading about sports, and watching sport, live or on television. It's something we do together. It's our common currency and I suppose it always will be. As a father, I will love anything and everything they love, of course, but it sure makes it easy for me when we love the same thing.
I don't take it for granted and every time I watch them play, it makes me happy. I'm blessed, I know.
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