Lost in the craziness that was the week before we left to head south was Matthew trying out for the travel basketball teams. We were pretty confident heading in; he had played well during the middle school season and about half of the A team wasn’t going to play (playing AAU instead). So, maybe a chance to make the A team….
I never would have guessed how it turned out.
There are about 40 kids; they do a few drills to quickly sort into two groups. Matthew, almost immediately, is sorted into the lower group. Now a few years back this happened to Christopher….after about 5 minutes they realized their mistake and moved Cpher back up. Matthew notices he isn’t placed where he thinks he should be and starts to, well, pout. Doesn’t try, doesn’t hustle….and as boys are pulled up from the lower group to the top group he is never one of them until the very very end. And by then it is too late.
I’m not happy with #3 son as we walk out…..he is hoping that whatever team he makes practices at the same time as soccer so he can back out. I am adamant that he’ll play on whatever team he makes….and it will most likely be a ‘C’ team. DO NOT EVER STOP TRYING AT A TRYOUT!
Get the email while we are on the cruise….he is on the C team and they practice on not-soccer nights. Matthew, by this time, has resigned himself to his fate.
The first games were this weekend, exhibition games against the other 7th grade C (Silver) team. I am not there….in the ‘Burgh. Suzanne can’t make it; she is on call for work and that’s going how it sometimes does….very busily. I had paid Cpher to tape for me and so Suzanne dropped Fric and Frac at the High School for the games.
The video is, well, was not Cpher’s finest effort. He had been doing a great job; I’m not sure why he didn’t do so well here. And that’s too bad. Because one thing became obvious to everyone after the first practice……Matthew has to be the leader on this team. Which means he is everywhere….getting rebounds, taking shots, distributing the ball, playing defense. Cpher texted us during the game that “Matthew is like Wiley at an egg buffet at eggs-a-world”. Which might be the best text we receive from Cpher in a long time……and makes more sense when you know that Wiley goes absolutely crazy for scrambled eggs.
They win the first game; Matthew has about half of the team’s points. They tie the second game; Matthew again has over half of the points but this time picks up four fouls (and plays a quarter and a half with them) and drains the tying three-pointer with less than 10 seconds to go. Cpher, sadly, misses this late game heroic moment.
(maybe we’ll just pretend this shot was the tying three…..)
This C team thing will work out well in the end…..forces Matthew to be “the guy” and the embarrassment of being on the C team will hopefully keep Matthew from ever dogging another tryout again!
