Almost a two week gap in posts; just been a busy busy time at work (I was in Columbus last Wednesday, I’ll be in Ft. Collins, CO, next Thursday, and New Castle, DE a week from Tuesday)…..plus a not-so-notable time on the home front…..well, let’s get back on track.
Kevin: Musical practice is in full swing; we’re 2 months away from the production and he’s there every day after school right now. The cast will be performing a number during the Collage Concert in two Saturdays so I’ll tape it and you’ll get a sneak preview. Other than that there isn’t much new here….had a road bump in geometry recently but seems to be coming away from that nicely. I watched his orchestra perform last week for districts; they received a ‘I’ rating and really sounded great.
Christopher: No sports until after spring break. Will do a detailed post on academics later on (it’s about time for the yearly round-up post anyway)….
Matthew: Basketball ended yesterday, indoor soccer in full swing. Let’s start with basketball.
I think Matthew had 8 points in a 22-20 win….as he just told me, he had the most important two though, the last ones. It’s a close game all the way through, and, just the way the rotation worked out, Matthew was going to be on the court for the last four minutes of the fourth quarter…..and the other better players on his team would be on the bench. It’s 20-20 as they start out, and it seems pretty obvious if we’re going to win Matthew is going to have to make it happen.
Shockingly, the Matthew ball-hog kid I know kind of disappears. Runs a play and passes to a kid that loses it out of bounds; comes down as the point guard and passes it inside, the kid on our team isn’t paying attention (even though he was wide open) and the ball damn near beans him in the head as it sails by…..so, we’re coming up on less than a minute to go and it’s still tied (Matthew has been gobbling up the rebounds on the defensive end and coming off of his guy to help out on defense)
35 seconds left, Matthew is coming up court, fakes left, goes right, and stops just near the free throw line and takes his first shot since he’s been in. Swish…we’re up by two! Good defense for the rest of the game and that’s that……Matthew’s best buddies on the team jump up as time run out and hug him on the court after time runs out…..it was really kind of cool. Suzanne mentioned to me afterwards the look on Matthew’s face: stone cold determination…no smiles, no laughs, just focus.
After the game the team gets together to hand out medals and the coaches have put together certificates as well…
The coach had a story about Matthew to tell….I’ll try to recapture it here. The coach has focused on telling the kids, that, if they make a mistake, and they will, to not get on the other kids, to give them a pat on the back, say you’ll get it next time, etc. Matthew, because of indoor soccer, has missed a bunch of practices. So, the coach, before one of the first games, says to the team “and what do you do if there is a mistake?”. Matthew, hearing this and thinking “what if the OTHER team makes a mistake?” shouts out the answer. CAPITALIZE!
I’ll do soccer in the next post….
